Podcasts

Jon here.

I’ve been hitting Ocarina of Time on the 3Ds as much as possible when I’m not at work. It’s fun to look back on it with a more refined sensibility than I had 13 years ago. The game is still awesome – much faster paced than more recent Zelda games. Especially as Young Link, the dungeons are smaller and discovering the next area to explore takes far less time, even compared to Majora’s Mask. The 3D looks great, but I have it shut off most of the time to save battery life. I’ll have some more in-depth thoughts later this week, but so far, I’m really digging it.

Today, I wanted to talk mostly about some of the different podcasts that I’ve been listening to for a while now. Here at IGN, there are some great podcasts. Some of the editors have a tendency to talk over one another more than others, but they have a good track record of delivering quality content and have a good time doing it.

The only other current gaming podcast I listen to is the weekly GoNintendo podcast. It’s my go-to podcast for a roundup of the week’s Nintendo news. They also have an official Pokemon for each show that coincides with the number show they are on (the 1st show – Bulbasaur, etc…). It’s a clever idea and I wish I thought of it first. They don’t really incorporate it into the show much, other than reading the Wikipedia entry for the Pokemon. After recapping the week’s news, they move onto what each of the podscast crew has been playing, and that’s usually when I stop listening. The podcast host, Raw Meat Cowboy (Kevin Cassidy) brings a lot of energy to the show, but does not get much backup. It’s a good show for Nintendo fans. I also download an old episode of Idle Thumbs every once in a while, which is a great show featuring some guys that work in the gaming industry. Unfortunately, they aren’t making any new podcasts. They discussed a lot of current (at the time of recording) topics, so it’s often a little dated. But it’s a fun show to listen to nevertheless.

I keep up with a couple of movie podcasts worth recommending as well. The weekly /filmcast (pronounced “slash filmcast”) is a good show that sometimes run a little long. The three main podcast members also play video games, so sometimes a crossover occurs in their discussion. They always review a new release (in theaters) movie and dissect the week’s film news. But they begin by talking about what they’ve been watching, and sometimes go on for a long time. It’s not unusual for them to go on for 30 or 45 minutes before getting into the actual show. They usually have interesting things to say about their feature review, so it’s worth listening to. The weekly Filmspotting podcast is one for more ardent film lovers. They also pick a current film to review, but often wax intellectual about films that are not… let’s say mainstream. It’s a great show, but definitely not for everyone. The Scene Unscene podcast is similar to the Idle Thumbs podcast – great, but not they’re not recording anymore.

There’s a lot of sports podcasts out there, but I’m partial to the BS Report with Bill Simmons. He talks about different sport with guests, whatever sport is hot at the moment. He’s a little irregular with updates, so it’s good to supplement it with other shows. Baseball Today is a good baseball podcast that records 4 or 5 times a week. I’m a Red Sox fan, so I also download the Officially Unofficial Red Sox podcast, the Original Red Sox podcast and the Boston Globe Red Sox podcast. Since all but the later only update once every few weeks, subscribing to all of them is a requirement for all Sox fans.

I’m starting to branch out and listen to different types of podcasts. I tried listening to the Mysterious Universe. They talk about a lot of supernatural and extraterrestrial and unexplained phenomenon, but they’re a little to fixated on conspiracy theories for me. I just downloaded but have not yet listened to StarTalk, which bridges the intersection between pop culture and pop science, covering subjects like space travel, extraterrestrial life, the Big Bang, the future of Earth and the environment, and other breaking news from around the universe. Or at least that’s what the description says. It’s hosted by Neil deGrasse Tyson, who has been on the Daily Show representing Science Now numerous times. I’ll keep everyone posted.