Chicago MMXII

Train rides, bro.

Xsomething

All the Frontline podcasts are great, but those are the two most recent ones I listened to. Oh, also their series on God and America is AMAZING.

WmC redacted my indiscreet use of n/a's irl name above.

Oh, Frontline. That's a good idea. I showed Post-Mortem to my students! It was a big hit.

Jesse, this is for the train.

I honestly have no idea what you are talking about....

OH! Hahaha.

idgi

You asked me how I have the time to consume so much media. I honestly don't know what you're talking about, but I'm telling you that I listen to podcasts on the train. Also while I get ready for work and sometimes while completing household chores.

god, that would be WAY too overstimulating for me

i can't concentrate on heavy shit like nuclear disasters and death while i'm trying to do something else/dealing with people + train noise

It's like listening to the radio, except with people talking.

Oh, do you mean the Frontline podcast specifically? I probably wouldn't listen to all of them.

songs about nuclear disasters and death are ok, but actual facts? no way!
yeah, frontline especially but even TAL is a bit much because i have trouble keeping track of who's talking, relationships between people, etc.

Yeh, sorry, I do understand, carl. I was having problems, but now I'm on board.

I dislike riding the train if I have nothing to listen to. Part if my hate of overhearing people talking.

i listen to podcasts on the train or when i go on walks at lunch. but i pretty much only listen to podcasts that are people just riffing for 30 minutes so i can't help.

Jeff otm

what is a good radiolab ep?

carl, what is the old time radio spooky story podcast you listen to? Sounds like something I might dig.

wait don't you guys listen to music?! i listen to music on the train, while cleaning, while shopping, walking, getting ready for work, etc.

radiolab ep about SPACE is my FAVORITE

i have listened to it like 5x

I listen to music maybe 50% of the time.

usually morning commute is music + reading, afternoon commute is podcasts (because my eyes are tired from looking at computer all day so i don't feel like reading)

I find that listening to podcasts/audiobooks usually makes the time go by faster than listening to music, which is important to me

I like hearing people talk on the train usually, and I feel weird not being able to hear ambient noise. Plus I don't like having music on unless it's something I want to actually *listen* to.

My dad never let us play the radio in the car b/c you couldn't hear the car. I don't think I "inherited" that trait from him, but I'm somewhat similar to him in that way.

I also am always playing a game or reading twitter on the train.

My problem with listening to podcasts on public transportation is that it makes me feel guilty for not reading. Not that I don't do it at least once a week, especially if there's a new episode I'm excited about. But then I just sit there playing a game on my iPod or something. Of course, if I find myself on a train or bus that's so crowded I can't sit down, then I don't feel guilty at all.

Mostly, though, I prefer to listen to podcasts when I'm at the gym or while doing household chores.

ok i downloaded the radiolab space episode to listen to sometime. it sounds kind of TAL-style emo based on the description, is it? i don't like TAL-style emo.

starts off that way with carl sagan luv story, gets scientific in the middle, then talks about seeds and space art
if i like it, it can't be that emo, please

My favorite Radiolab episode of the last few months was Patient Zero, which is about Typhoid Mary, the origins of HIV, and the inventor of the high five.

tanuki, did we watch The Room together?

yes!

The editing on Radio Lab makes it unlistenable for me.

It can be very very annoying. The space episode is one of the only ones I really like.

Askance, the spooky old time radio podcast is called THE HORROR. It's a production of Relic Radio and it's basically just a dude who is clearly a spooky old time radio podcast geek providing a 30 second intro to an episode, and then the episode (often with hilarious commercials! From back in the day when people were too skinny and suffered for lack of iron due to war rationing!). The transfer quality is pretty consistent, though obviously the quality of the stories themselves vary.

http://relicradio.com/otr/

I also love the intros to the different programs, Arch Obler telling everybody, "We urge you calmly, but very sincerely, if you frighten easily, turn off your radio now." And "Phantoms of a world gone by speak again the immortal tale..."

R swears by the howstuffworks Stuff You Missed in History Class Podcast

I like that one, too. Stuff Your Mom Never Told You is also good.

I don't mind the editing on Radiolab, although I do wonder sometimes how much of the hosts' conversational patter (in which they often profess to be surprised or confused by the other) is scripted:

"Wait wait, back up, you said what?"
"Well, I'm just saying, it's been proven by science."
"But I don't understand!"
"Here, let me explain..."

Fun fact, though: Radiolab host (and MacArthur genius grant recipient) Jad Abumrad is surmounter's cousin.

Anyone up for a movie tonight?

http://chicagofilmmakers.org/cf/content/i-am-secretly-important-man

Looks very cool.

has anyone been to the downtown st. patrick's day parade here? should we take e. to it tomorrow or will it be too much of a clusterfuck? keep in mind that i am lazy.

my inclination is no because i don't like crowds of people, parades, or st. patricks day

i think i just answered my own question

it would take a hefty bribe to get me anywhere near that thing

there should be a podcast that is like WTF but instead of comedians, musicians. like their background, creative process, neuroses, etc. i guess the problem is musicians aren't always talkers, the way comedians tend to be.

shop talkin: a series

thanks Carl, I will probably subscribe to THE HORROR when I get home.

I feel like I might have to barricade myself inside my apartment tomorrow, just in case any st. patrick's day douchebags make it to my 'hood.

I'm unreasonably excited about that! I realized as I wrote and then deleted four totally overenthusiastic posts about this podcast and which shows/hosts I like best (hands down Vincent Price, but that's kind of obvious) and which era I like best, that it is entirely possible I, too, am an old time spooky radio show geek. So it will be nice to have company out here on Dork Island.

I have to be out and about all day and I'm skeered.

You should carry some garlic to chuck at those people. They deserve it.

I just walked up through the Loop at lunch and its already a clusterfuck. They have cops (badly) directing traffic at many of the intersections and all the barriers are up already. I can't even imagine what it will actually be like tomorrow.

I think my dad brainwashed me to like oldee timee radio by playing a lot of episodes of "The Shadow" when I was a kid.

I spent about 20 minutes outside this morning, smashing up an old shelving unit with an ax. It was the best part of my week.