Podcasts

I love podcasts, especially audio podcasts. Podcasts are just audio or video recordings, often put together by amateurs, about topics they love. The best part is there are thousands of them and almost all are free. For example, I love technology so I regularly listen to (or watch) several technology podcasts a week. The audio versions are great for when you are doing chores around the house or are on a long drive. You can learn something or stay up-to-date while making the work or idle time fly by.

Today I discovered one called "Physics for Future Presidents" which prompted me to make this post. As the name implies, it is all about physics with the gimmick being that it is the least about physics any U.S. President should know. In fact, it is just a recording of the lectures comprising a course given by a very popular UCLA Berkley physics professor, Dr. Richard A. Muller. What's cool about it is he keeps things simple, interesting and focused on real life considerations. It is one of the better physics podcast I've listened to -- at least so far; I'm only through two lectures on this one. I've tried others and they are often way too complicated and boring for all but true physics die-hards.

Finding podcasts you might like

• Look over Apple iTunes' "Podcasting" section
• Visit PodcastAlley.com, especially "top 10" and "featured" podcasts, and try a few out
• Listen to any podcast that deals with a topic that interests you. Podcasters -- the term used to describe folks who make podcasts -- tend to do a lot of cross-promotion
  

Subscribing to podcasts
The easiest way to get podcasts is to subscribe to them in iTunes' Music Store. The iTunes software is free from Apple. Just search google for iTunes, download the software, and install it. Then, just find a podcast you might enjoy using the methods above, open iTunes, search for the podcast by name, and click on it from the list, and click subscribe. From then on new episodes of the podcast will automatically appear in your podcast playlist in iTunes. Also, if you have an iPod, the new shows will transfer over to your iPod any time you sync your iPod to your computer.

My current favorite technology podcasts are:

• Security Now
• Physics 101 - Physics for Future Presidents
• TWiT
• Windows Weekly

My current favorite technology video podcasts are:

• Geekbrief.tv
  
• Techzilla
• Systm

Get any of the above by searching for them in iTunes or by doing a google search.

Oh, one more thing, if you always wanted to know what it's like to pursue a course of study in college, check out iTunesU in the iTunes music store. iTunesU stands for iTunes University. There you can find college courses by the dozen from even the most prestigious universities, e.g. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) puts all the lectures online now, for free!