Podcast Reviews

2006-09-04T15:41:00.000+10:00

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Filmspotting

2006-07-31T22:25:00.000+10:00

Filmspotting is a podcast that is hosted by two film buffs; Adam Kempenaar and Sam Hallgreen. Together Adam and Sam review the latest films, analyse classic movies, discuss listener feedback, and generally discuss a wide variety of movies.

In its present format the show is released once a week and runs for about an hour. Filmspotting (formerly Cinecast) has been running for well over a year and currently (July, 2006) there are 116 shows in the archives. All of these shows are available as direct downloads at www.filmspotting.net or the more recent episodes via the RSS subscription. The show has excellent sound quality and runs very smoothly from a production standpoint.

Sam and Adam will generally see one new release a week and spend 10-15 minutes discussing their views of the said film. Recent movies that they have reviewed include: Pirates of the Caribbean and Superman Returns. What make these discussions so interesting are the very different perspectives that Adam and Sam bring to the show. Adam is known as the host with the more traditional opinions, while Sam’s point of view is often slightly left of centre. Some of the most interesting episodes are when the two hosts are at odds with each other. I have rarely completely disagreed with either host and find myself increasingly respecting what Adam and Sam have to say, and almost always find that their experience coincides with my own film experience.

Another interesting feature of this podcast is the ‘Top 5’ section of the show. The guys will take one particular theme and compile a list of appropriate films from their own cinema experience. Recent ‘Top 5’s’ have included ‘Male Bonding Movies, ‘Religious Movies’, and ‘Top 5 One-Timers (Disturbing Movies) Revisited’. This feature is a great way to get ideas for your movie queue, however at times it can be frustrating to hear the same movie appear in different ‘Top 5’ lists.

While the latest Hollywood blockbusters are reviewed on a regular basis, Adam and Sam frequently go back in film history and explore a variety of movies on various themes in their ‘Movie Marathon’ feature. Some themes that have been explored in these ‘Movie Marathons’ are: musicals, westerns and, currently, screwball comedies. They will do this in a very systematic way and review a given theme over a five week period. The five movies are posted on the Filmspotting website so that if the listener wants to they can watch one movie a week along with the hosts.

Filmspotting is a very well produced podcast that I would recommend every film lover subscribe to. I have found that over a period of months my knowledge of movies, actors, film genre and film history has increased. This knowledge by itself would be pretty useless except that it helps me more fully appreciate all that the world of movies has to offer.

Podcast Rating: 10 out of 10

Click on this link to subscribe to the RSS link of this podcast.

Smart Bomb Radio

2006-07-27T20:19:00.000+10:00

Smart Bomb Radio is a show that is new on the horizon but is set to have a big presence in the podcasting world. The shows are released once a week and run for about half an hour.

The shows are a mix of story telling, music, short audio skits and listener feedback. I was very impressed with the production values of the show. Will Ross, the host, has only released six shows at the time of writing however it is clear that he has done his homework on what makes a successful podcast. The show flows seamlessly from segment to segment, is fast paced and is always entertaining.

My one quibble with the show is in regards to the audio quality of some sections of the show. The segments where Will interviews guests or tells his own stories with a guest are not of the same audio quality as the rest of the show. I did notice an increase in audio quality when comparing episode 4 to episode 6, so it is clear that Will is trying to improve this issue.

While there are a variety of segments on the show, the meat of the show is the storytelling section. I really enjoyed the stories from episode 6 where Will talks about some of the high jinks he and his best friend got up to while they were growing up. I can relate to the stories they told about having sword fights, beating each other up over playing Street Fighter II, and being set on fire while being stupid with flammable substances; I’ve been there and done a lot of that too.

Episode 4 is a ‘mature’ show where there are a number of stories told with a sexual emphasis. These stories are not pornographic and are told with an emphasis on humour. Like all of the stories on Smart Bomb Radio the stories on this show were engaging and amusing. Releasing one show every once in a while with this more adult orientated content is a good way of maintaining creative control over the content of the show while at the same time not alienating your audience who would rather listen to a more clean-cut show.

I have said before that usually I don’t listen to music in podcasts so I don’t normally comment very much on the music content of podcasts. This was the first podcast where I found myself liking just about every song played. Usually there are two played in each show.

This is a podcast that I will stay subscribed to and look forward to hearing it improve even further. Once the minor audio issues are sorted out with the interviews this show will be one of the best podcasts currently available that I have heard to date.

Podcast Rating: 8 out of 10

Click on this link to subscribe to the RSS link of this podcast.

The Wonderful World of Danny

2006-07-21T22:21:00.000+10:00

This is another podcast that is difficult to classify. There are elements of an audio blog, radio theatre and a comedy show within the content of any one show. For this reason it is hard to get a handle on where the host is coming from.

The shows generally run for about half an hour and the audio quality is generally pretty sound. The only parts that were difficult to hear were when a portable MP3 player was used to record small sections of the show.

Danny generally starts the show with a discussion of what has been going on in his life. This is kept to a minimum and unless you are a long term listener to the show it will not make a lot of sense to you. On one of the shows that I listened to he did a mini-review of Superman Returns. At best this review could be called half-hearted however this did not stop Danny from giving away the plot of the movie.

The majority of the show is spent with Danny interviewing ‘guests’. These people are clearly not on the show and it is soon clear that Danny is impersonating his guest’s voices. To be honest these impersonations came across as fairly ordinary and soon degenerated in juvenile and low-grade humour.

One extended example was an interview with the hosts of The Half Hour Power Hour. Danny had these podcasters ‘confess’ that they were gay in his ‘interview with them. Soon after they confided in Danny that they had HIV/AIDS and proceeded to die in the interview from the virus. Maybe this would be funnier if one was familiar with the podcast in question, however to me it came across as a cheesy high school ‘let’s pretend to be radio DJ’s’ kind of joke; funny when you’re 14 but embarrassing to hear on tape when you’re older.

The Wonderful World of Danny is a podcast that tries to do something original and for that I give Danny credit. There are far too many podcast that follow a generic format without being groundbreaking in any way. Danny says that “Most podcasts suck”, and that his podcast is the “…the most important podcast EVER!!!” (in an email to me). Unfortunately this podcast, while not being without merit, is some stretch from the best podcast available.

Podcast Rating: 4 out of 10

To subscribe to this podcast click here.

Matt's Today in History

2006-07-15T19:16:00.000+10:00

This podcast puts out about three episodes a week which each focus on an individual event in history which occurred on the day an episode is released. The podcast is primarily US focussed, although Matt does discuss a variety of events throughout the world.

Examples of episodes that I listened to discussed the origins of the Korean War and the lives of some of ‘founding fathers’ of US Independence. The episodes each run for around ten minutes or less and are straight to the point without the massive pre-ramble that many podcasts seem to get into.

Matt reads from what appears to be a prepared script and succinctly discusses the topic of the day. The audio quality of the podcast was good however I did find that the ‘s’ sounds were a bit slurred in the final recording. The benefits of reading from a prepared script are that each episode is tightly edited, however at times spontaneity and energy is lacking with this rigid style.

The main benefit of this podcast compared to other history podcasts is that there is no rambling on about topics in a boring way. Matt seems to understand that many people have an interest in History but are often not catered for by many of the history outlets that are available. Matt is able to communicate his material in a concise and entertaining narrative without getting weighed down in academic theories.

Podcast Rating: 7 out of 10

To subscribe to the RSS feed of this podcast click here.

Barely Podcasting

2006-07-06T19:33:00.000+10:00

Barely Podcasting is hosted by a married man with kids from the Chicago area. The show could loosely be described as belonging to the storytelling genre however I feel it is a better fit in the audio blog category.

Barely (as the host is known) puts out a new show about once a week and the episodes run for close to half an hour each. The audio quality of this podcast is decent without being exceptional, however the production values of the show need some work. It is not always clear (from the point of view of a new listener) what the show is about and the sequencing of the show was not always logical. At times Barely did not spend enough time and give enough detail in his stories but would happily spend 5-10 minutes discussing listener feedback and detailing the many different ways that listeners could contribute to the show.

The stories that Barely told in the three episodes that I listened to centred around Barely’s home and work life. Some examples of stories told include: annoying neighbours, annoying co-workers, a Greek wedding and Bar Barely went to and how his office space at work was being refurbished. These stories were not funny in a laugh aloud way, however Barely is clearly a passionate guy and his enthusiasm was passed on through these stories. I feel that Barely needs to work more on his storytelling style to make the stories more interesting and detailed as the stories are essentially the main part of the show.

Another feature that occurs on every show is a Podcast Review. In reality these reviews are more of a podcast recommendation as they are all podcasts that Barely subscribes to and it seems that quite often he has personal contact with the podcasters themselves. These reviews would have more integrity if they were simply billed as recommendations but to Barely’s credit he does give justification as to why he likes the podcasts he recommends.

The Barely Podcasting podcast is an interesting podcast that seems to me to still be in a stage of transition. If Barely maintains even half his enthusiasm then I am sure that the show will keep improving.

Podcast Rating: 6.5 out of 10

To subscribe to the RSS feed of this podcast click here.

ITRadio

2006-06-30T21:30:00.000+10:00

ItRadio is hosted by a couple of guys who originally had planned to form a band. According to their website the guys lacked the motivation and thought the band idea was too much work so they did a podcast instead. This podcast has absolutely nothing to do with Information Technology and would be classified as a comedy cast. The sound quality of this podcast is very poor. The hosts voices frequently sounded grainy and slightly distorted Overall the recording sounded pretty amateurish. The sections of the show where listener phone calls were played were almost unlistenable. The two shows that I listened were show #96 and #97 and ran for just over an hour. There does not seem to be any set format. The hosts seem to be under the impression that their random musings are both humourous and entertaining; sadly this is very far from reality. It is possible to succeed without a tight format however you need a lot of talent and experience to make this style work effectively. From what I heard of this podcast the hosts of ITRadio would benefit from reevaluating their programme schedule. There was an emphasis on sexual innuendo and other topics brought up that did not seem to be planned. Some of the topics discussed included an extended discussion of 'nut caps' and bestiality. There was an excessive amount of swearing throughout the shows that I listened to. There is a fine line between integrating the occasional four letter word for emphasis and swearing every two seconds simply because you can. I swear myself on occasion and don't mind a bit of swearing in context. Too often the hosts on this show seemed to swear and curse simply because they took juvenile pleasure in being able to do so freely and because they were not able to effectively articulate themselves. On the positive side the guys at ITRadio clearly have a loyal following and must be doing something right to last nearly 100 shows. Either that or they are extremely tenacious. Podcast Rating: 2 out of 10 To subscribe to the RSS feed of this podcast click here.

My Marilyn

2006-06-27T16:56:00.000+10:00

This is a podcast that focuses on all things related to Marilyn Monroe. The My Marilyn show is produced and hosted by a Canadian, Melinda Mason. Melinda is clearly obsessed with Marilyn Monroe and she even looks and sounds like Marilyn Monroe (I hope Melinda takes this as a compliment). The two shows that I listened to ran for around 25 minutes and were very tightly produced. Melinda has a very listenable voice and the audio quality of the show was very good. One important thing to remember with this podcast is that it forms just one part of Melinda’s Marilyn empire. I was particularly impressed with the My Marilyn website. It includes music and audio downloads, photos of Monroe tattoos and a myriad of other Monroe related information that would be too numerous to mention here. Melinda has designed the website herself and it is very accessible to the Monroe enthusiast and the casual visitor alike. The actual show is divided into segments such as listener feedback, Marilyn Monroe news, and has an emphasis on Marilyn Monroe collectibles such as dolls, and items being auctioned that Monroe had some connection with in her life. At various times there are interviews with other Monroe enthusiasts and people who have been connected in some way to Monroe, however there were no interviews on the shows that I listened to. In summary this is a well produced podcast that will appeal to Marilyn Monroe enthusiasts around the world. I would have liked to have heard more personal anecdotes and stories from Monroe’s life however overall the show does what it sets out to do. My Marilyn is an excellent example of how podcasting can be used to reach niche audiences that other mediums may not allow. Podcast Rating: 8 out of 10 To subscribe to the RSS feed of this My Marilyn click here.

Rambling Retard Rampage

2006-06-24T21:21:00.000+10:00

This podcast is written and produced by a 15 year old who is a self-confessed sufferer of ADD. I’m not sure if he is being serious in this claim however evidence of this comes through quite clearly in his podcast. RRR is a series of skits that involves El Nacho playing different voices and mixing in sound effects and music to compliment the skits. RRR has very high audio quality and production values. The show I listened to ran for about half an hour. I was very impressed with the use of sound effects and music throughout which were used in an innovative and creative way. In the episode I listened to (Episode 34: Tubbile) I was intrigued with the segment entitled ‘Hotdog Humidifier Skit’. In this skit the host combines sound effects and a catchy bass beat to make a free flowing and interesting dialogue that loosely sounded like a rap song. The voice acting in the various segments was impressive and El Nacho clearly has a creative and performance talent. It is clear that a good deal of effort goes into this podcast to make it original and well produced. At times, though, I was left feeling disorientated and lost as to what was happening at certain points in the show. The segments tended to run together and very rarely were these segments introduced, explained or wrapped up in a logical manner. RRR is clearly aimed at a young audience. While I did not enjoy listening to this podcast I was able to admire its originality and clever production. At the end of the day, though, this podcast needs to look at how it sequences the various parts that make up a single episode so that the overall show is more logical and more easily understood. Podcast Rating: 5 out of 10 To subscribe to the RSS feed of this podcast click here.

7th Son

2006-06-22T19:15:00.000+10:00

This is a podcast novel written and read by J.C. Hutchins. It is amazing how the more technology changes the more people's tastes stay the same. The podcast novel is basically a reinvention of the radio serial that was popular before the advent of television in the 1950's. The popularity of podcast novels such as this one demonstrate that despite the increasing use of new technology (such as podcasting) people still essentially want to be entertained with a good story. 7th Son is a science-fiction story that is released on a weekly basis. It is marketed as being the first book in a trilogy. There will be 24 chapters in total and at the time of writing the author has released chapter 22. The premise of the book is that seven men are kidnapped and find out that they have been cloned from the original John Michael Smith. The 'seven sons' have been called together by the government to help the organisation find John 'Alpha' (as the original) who has escaped from the government compound with the technology to plant his personality into unsuspecting victims. The book is read by the author with some variation in his voice for different characters. The audio quality of this podcast is very good and the author reads well and brings the story alive with his voices for the different characters. The story, indicated by the title, contains many characters. At first this is difficult to follow, however by around the fifth chapter the author provides a recap of the key plot points at the beginning of each episode and gives a summary of all the main characters on his website. The initial few chapters focus quite heavily on the theory of cloning and the science behind this. This is necessary for the plot of the story and I was able to follow most of what was being discussed in the opening chapters. I come from a humanities background so if I can understand what is going on I would think that the average listener would too. While the plot of the story is interesting and engaging, what makes this story for me is the character development within the story. The seven John Michael Smiths (copies of the original) have all taken different paths in life and as such have quite distinct personalities. One is a priest, another a soldier, and still yet another a musician, to name a few. These characters and their development give rise to questions about nature versus nurture and the potential to mould people to a certain way of not just thinking, but actually being. This is a very well produced podcast that provides a well told story that is relevant on many levels; not least of which that it is very entertaining. Podcast Rating: 9 out of 10 To subscribe to the RSS feed of this podcast click here.

The Big Show

2006-06-19T19:29:00.000+10:00

This is a self proclaimed 'couplecast' that runs for about an hour. It features Aaron and Jenny who are a married couple. The show has been running for some time and as of the time of writing they have put 80 shows out; no mean feat for a media that has only really been up and running for around two years. I listened to show #79 which ran for a little over an hour. The sound quality was listenable without being excellent. The host's voices sounded slightly distorted and the phone messages that were played in the show were of a poor sound quality. The show is produced with show notes, however these are not strictly adhered to. This is a light-hearted podcast that is inoffensive and the hosts adopt a very laid back style. Topics discussed in the show I listened to ranged from incidents that had happened in the couple's week, very brief movie reviews, a discussion of the hysteria around the Da Vinci Code, the Dixie Chicks and listener feedback. It took me about 15 minutes to acclimatise to this podcast. I think this was partially due to the fact that nothing of substance was really discussed in the first 10-15 minutes of the show besides how hot the weather was and singing happy birthday to someone on the show. I enjoyed the discussion about the Dixie Chicks and how they have been exiled by many country radio stations because of their political beliefs. Also of interest were the personal stories from the host's lives. It was clear that this couple are very genuine and nice people. For me, though, this was not enough to sustain my interest as the show was too slow-paced for my liking. The stories told lacked the necessary detail to effectively sustain my interest and make me want to subscribe to this show. I feel that this is another podcast that lacks the required content to last the scheduled length of the show. Podcast Rating: 6 out of 10 To subscribe to this show click here.

Verge of the Fringe

2006-06-13T17:56:00.000+10:00

I was alerted to the existence of this podcast by Dan Klass on his very famous podcast The Bitterest Pill. I listened to a number of shows in the car with my wife and we both found this podcast to very engaging and humorous. Lance Anderson is the sole host of this podcast and each show consists of him giving a short story of incidents that have occurred in his life. The three shows that I listened to ran for about half an hour each and were part of the same series entitled "No, I didn't even kiss her". The audio quality was very good and I had no trouble hearing any part of the show. The story that I heard is about Lance's first girlfriend who he went "steady" with for three days in grade 8 in Junior High. The story follows Lance and his contact with this girl over the years right through to his school reunion. Without giving too much away, one of the important developments of this story unfolds when the audience find out that Lance's first girlfriend has a metamorphosis from a shy girl in Junior High to a well known porn star of the nineteen-eighties. Lance Anderson is a natural storyteller. He provides enough detail in the narrative to provide the necessary back-story of the characters and setting without ever becoming boring. He is able to successfully inject ironic and self-deprecating humour into the story that shows that he does not take himself too seriously. While the stories are funny, what sets Lance Anderson apart from your average good story is that he is able to inject a dose of humanity into each tale that will set you thinking about situations in your own life where you can relate to the content of the story. It would most likely be putting the case too strongly to say that Lance is moralising in his stories, however you don't need to be Sherlock Holmes to find a message in each story. Podcast Rating: 10 out of 10 I am looking forward to hearing more from the Verge of the Fringe podcast. If you would like to subscribe to the RSS feed of this podcast click here.

Barefoot Radio

2006-06-08T22:28:00.000+10:00

This is one podcast I have been meaning to review for a while now. It is interesting to see if people's internet/forum persona match up with their on air personality. In this case I was surprised in places. Barefoot Radio is hosted by two male and one female host. The person running the show is Paul. The show is a combination of talk, pranks and music. This podcast is long and a large download (88 meg); the episode I listened to ran for about two and a half hours. The audio quality of the show was very good. The show is marketed as a radio show and not a podcast. It is here that I feel the show is let down. The hosts do not seem to have enough material to make the full two and a half hours interesting and engaging to the listener. I think the show would flow better running at around an hour. On the episode I listened to the hosts had conversations amongst themselves about topics such as: paedophilia, bestiality, pot smoking, the failures of the Bush presidency, amongst a smattering of other topics. At times the host's conversations were very interesting and they were able to stimulate debate about moral issues such as whether a US President's personal life should be made public and the role of the church in State issues. Too often, though, the humour turned juvenile and subtracted from the quality of the show. I do not need to know that Paul masturbates repeatedly, that he believes bestiality is okay providing the animal consents, or to hear a chime every time someone says the word f*ck. The other major problem I had with the show was that for a show marketed as a radio show there was very little audience participation. In the show I listened to I think one person called into the show who was a friend of Paul's. Perhaps this will change as the show matures and gains listeners. The pre-recorded pranks did not feel witty or funny to me. I feel that the host, Paul, is not suited to making fun of people for laughs as he does not really seem to have the heart for it. Until there is more audience participation this show would be better served having a shorter time format and not focussing so strongly on being a radio show. Barefoot Radio has some very interesting discussions about various issues, although at two and a half hours it will take a large commitment from the listener. Podcast Rating: 6 out of 10 To subscribe to the RSS feed of this show click here.

Rounders-The Poker Show

2006-06-07T20:44:00.000+10:00

This is a well produced podcast hosted by two poker enthusiasts. It runs for about an hour and discusses all things relating to poker. In the episode I listened to there was an interesting interview with an expert on how the novice player can improve their skills and try to make it into the big money leagues. There was also information about the World Series of Poker, online gambling and analysis of what makes a good poker player. The audio quality of this show was generally sound, although at times the hosts voices were not as clear as I would have liked. The production of the show was good although I feel that the show would be a better fit running at 30-40 minutes. The first 15 minutes of the show did not seem to serve any purpose other than to act as an extended introduction. Overall I would recommend this podcast if you are a poker player who is interested in improving your skills and finding out the latest news and gossip in the poker world. The biggest compliment I can pay this show is that I know little about poker and the show kept my interest most of the time. Podcast Rating: 7 out of 10 Click here to subscribe to the RSS link of the show.

World of Skell

2006-06-05T19:34:00.000+10:00

Firstly I must make an admission: I did not listen to this whole podcast. The episode I listened to runs for over an hour and I definitely feel that I got a good feel for the content of the show, despite skipping ahead at times. World of Skell is a podcast for people who enjoy role playing games such as Dungeons and Dragons and other such fantasy turn based games. I was able to learn more about the World of Skell from http://www.worldofskell.com/ (the official website) than I was from the podcast. The podcast seemed to be made up of mostly unedited audio of these gamers rolling dice, interacting with each other in the game through their characters and general chitchat. The audio quality of the podcast was fairly poor, and the show lacked any coherent structure that I could make out. This is definitely an insiders podcast for diehard fans only. By saying that I mean that you would probably have to be personally involved in the 'World of Skell' world to understand, much less enjoy this podcast. Podcast Rating: 3 out of 10 For the RSS feed of this podcast click here.

Nobodies

2006-06-01T21:21:00.000+10:00

Over the last few days I listened to a couple of podcasts from this entertaining and engaging couple. This is a couplecast that analyses any number of topics that are probably too numerous to name. On the shows that I listened to Kelli and Jason discussed their recent road trip, their kids, their favourite music and a plethora of other topics that took their fancy. The audio quality of the podcast was very good and overall the show seemed to be well produced from a technical standpoint. The podcasts seem to be set at around the 45 minute mark and appear to be largely unedited. Sometimes this works in the show's favour, while at other times (for me at least) it may cause you to lose interest when the hosts go off on a tangent. The appeal of this show for me was that the warmth of this couple really shone through my headphones. Even though I am on the other side of the world I could really imagine myself hanging with these guys and having a great time. The parts of the show that I really enjoyed were when Kelli or Jason told a story about their lives. I was less fond of the discussion of music; not because I disagreed but because it was less entertaining to me. Overall, though, I give the Nobodies podcast a big thumbs up. There are too many podcasts out there that take delight in trashing other people. While this may be fun to listen to for a while, these nastycasts leave you feeling like you need a shower afterwards. It's refreshing to hear Kelli and Jason with their mix of integrity, humour and fun. Podcast Rating: 8 out of 10 To subscribe to the rss feed of this podcast click here.

Vox Monitor

2006-06-01T21:17:00.000+10:00

The review of this podcast may be seen as somewhat ironical as it is reviewing a show that reviews other podcasts. I listened to a number of episodes of this podcast including: #80: 808 Talk and #85: Variant Frequencies. The podcast features two guys (Eric and Cohry) presenting their opinions on a wide variety of podcasts. Each episode (of the podcasts I listened to) focused on one podcast and included a number of clips from the reviewed Podcasts. The shows that I listened to were short (under 10 minutes) and gave the listener reasons as to why the reviewers liked or disliked the show. I appreciated the fact that Eric and Cohry were able to articulate the reasons why they liked or disliked the podcast. They discussed a number of different things including: target audience, production quality, whether the content was engaging, as well as giving the show an overall rating. The hosts of Vox Monitor were able to give their opinions with honesty and without personal attack; at times a rarity in this medium. After listening to a couple of shows you quickly get a feel for what Eric and Cohry appreciate in a podcast and I have come to respect their opinion; if not always to agree with them While I appreciated the content of Vox monitor I thought there was room for improvement in the delivery of the content and some of the technical production qualities of the show. A show that is under 10 minutes should have a bit more structure to it in terms of addressing different components of a reviewed podcast in sequence. I noticed that the hosts jumped around from topic to topic, and then back again, a number of times. When this occurs it makes it hard for the listener to follow the host's train of thought. The sound quality of this podcast needs improving. I found it very irritating having one host speak to my left ear earphone and the other to my right earphone . At times the hosts voices sounded a bit tinny and unnatural. Overall, though, I would recommend this podcast. Too often the only recommendations that are given are for podcasts run by friends of other podcasters. The podcasting community is tightly knit and to have two people willing to give their honest (positive or negative) opinion and to articulate logical reasons for their opinions is an all too rare thing. Podcast Rating: 7 out of 10 I will be staying subscribed to this podcast. To subscribe to the rss feed click here.

Quick Hitts

2006-06-01T21:10:00.000+10:00

I listened to two episodes of Quick Hitts over the last few days and I was very impressed with what I heard. The shows are short and punchy. Dave, the host, discusses various topics in what appears to be a prepared and informal essay style. In the shows I listened to he discussed punishment on one show and the impact of religous fundamentalism in the USA on the other. I found that even though I did not always agree with him on his views I generally respected where he was coming from. Dave is an articulate and intelligent podcaster and is able to express his point of view while at the same time keep his podcast engaging and entertaining. Technically the show was excellent. This guy really knows how to edit a show and make it sound professional. I know that most podcasters are amateurs however a bit of editing goes a long. The sound quality was also excellent and I had no trouble understanding everything that was said. Even though I am a Christian and this guy is a self-professed atheist I will keep coming back to hear his opinions. I may not always agree with his take on things but I always respect a well thought out and articulated opinion. Podcast Rating: 8 out of 10 I will be staying subscribed to this podcast. Click here to subscribe to the rss feed.

Red Bar Radio

2006-06-01T21:07:00.000+10:00

This podcast is styled around the 'Morning Zoo' formula of radio. A lot of podcasts try to give an alternative to what is freely available on the radio; RBR sticks with this tried and tested formula. Mike D is the main host, and he is supported by two or three other co-hosts. The sound quality of this show is excellent. The show has been running for some time and from what I have heard the host's voices are clear and the sound levels are stable. The show does not always seem to run smoothly from a production standpoint. Mike D frequently seems disorientated and confused about what should be happening on the show at a given point in time and the live format of the show means that these mishaps cannot be edited out. The show is recorded live and at the beginning of the show the host (Mike) introduces his show and runs through the guests that will appear on his show. I have listened for a few weeks now and it is not uncommon for the scheduled guests not to turn up. After listening to the way the main host, Mike D, treats his callers and guests I wouldn't turn up either. Mike D tries to be funny by slamming everyone including his callers and guests. His interview skills are lame at best and he does not seem to have done much, if any, research on his guests. For a show trying to pitch itself as a professional outfit this seems a strange approach to take. In summary this is a podcast/radio show that might appeal to teenagers who find it amusing to hear someone attempt to humiliate people on the radio. If you don't fit into that category then I would advise you to find a podcast with a bit more substance. Podcast Rating: 3 out of 10 To subscribe to the rss feed of this podcast click here.