Monday, December 14, 2015

The Twelve Days of Gheorghemas: Day Five

On the fifth day of Gheorghemas big Gheorghe gave to me:
Five podcasts for listening
Four posts zman meant to write but never did
Three French Hens
Two in-state rivalries
And a dork with a split personal-ity


We have entered what many are calling The Golden Age of Podcasting. This is odd, because the technology and the means of distribution for podcasting have been around for quite a while. All you need is a microphone, a laptop, and a method of streaming an mp3 over the internet. Simple stuff. So why the increase in popularity? There are an abundance of hypotheses. The boom could be because podcasts are just getting better. It might be because of Serial. Or perhaps because podcasts are so cheap to make. And they can reach a niche audience. Commercials and product placement are more effective on podcasts than they are on the radio. It may be technology: cars and phones work well together now, so people don't have to listen to the radio or SiriusXM. There are apps to pull in all you favorites, and you can subscribe on iTunes. So there are a plethora of reasons, Jefe . . . a plethora.

In other words,  it's a fantastic time to walk the dog (that's when I do the bulk of my podcast listening-- my commute is only a few minutes).

Here are five podcasts for listening. These are all good shows, but I've selected specific episodes, curated for the niche audience of Gheorghe:The Blog. Each one gets the Official Dave Seal of Approval. Enjoy.


1. Planet Money Episode 667: Auditing ISIS

I love Planet Money. It's short, informative, and entertaining, and it makes me feel smart. It's rarely over my head, but I always learn something new.

"Auditing ISIS" goes above and beyond the normal episode-- and it doesn't have all that much to do with economics. It's more about how terrorists think and operate. The Planet Money team analyzes a municipal budget that was smuggled out of ISIS territory. One month of detailed expenditures, disbursements, and collections from the ISIS controlled Deir ez-Zour province of Syria.

You'll learn how ISIS spends its money-- mainly paying their fighters, and how ISIS fighters spend their money-- mainly on hamburgers and chocolate and Ferraris. You'll learn how ISIS makes its money-- oil smuggling and black market antiquities and "licensed" confiscations (the ISIS term for looting). You'll also hear the firsthand account of one man's experience living in this economic nightmare.

2. Radiolab American Football

I'm guessing that neither of the nerdy hosts of Radiolab (Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich) can throw a spiral, but they do a great job on this comprehensive, funny, controversial, and historically informative episode on American Football. They visit the brutal ghosts of football past-- including Pop Warner and the undersized Carlisle Indians-- and then return to present controversies and future speculation. Highlights include an interview with a Georgia football mom who is firmly on both sides of the concussion issue and her gigantic and talented eight year old son, who decided to spurn the sport in favor of soccer, because he felt like a bully when he ran over opposing players, and wishes he could do some "synchronized swimming." His mom's reaction to this revelation is priceless.

"La Mancha Screwjob" is another fantastic Radiolab with a sporting theme: the episode uses professional wrestling to discuss reality, illusion, and the fascinating meta-reality that lies somewhere between the two.

3. 99% Invisible Game Over

This is the closest thing to live audio from an actual apocalypse. The fact that it's not exactly that makes it even better.

I am also to partial to The Modern Moloch-- which is an account of how automobile lobbyists won the battle in America and heavily influenced the design of our cities so that they favor the automobile and punish the pedestrian. Zman will hate this one.

4. This American Life Petty Tyrant

This American Life can be hit or miss for me . . . and most of the time it's a miss, but this episode is fantastic. It's the story of a public school maintenance man from Schenectady, NY whose ruthless rise to power rivals Richard III . . . and once he gains total control, his reign is fearful and intimidating, and his fall is appropriately epic.

5. The Test The Moral of the Story (No Napping on the Job)

The most important podcast on this list is obviously The Test. Whitney guest stars on this episode, and I am also partial to Stacey Demands (More) Numbers and all the other "number sense" episodes.

Once you listen to all the episodes of The Test twice, then you might want to check out season two of Serial. The first episode is compelling on many levels and promises the same slow drip of information as the first season, some of it dredged from the past, some of it culled from recent events, and some of it ongoing.

29 comments:

Danimal said...

Sorry z. In response to comment in previous post, the Royal and Ancient Golf Club, the body that runs the British Open as well as governs the rules of golf (w usga) has pulled Turnberry out of the rotation to host the Open. Owned by Donald, Turnberry which he purchased just a couple/few years ago, was set to host the Open in 2020. This was Donald's shot to host a major and he knew it. And the decision to pull it was solely based on recent comments of The Trumpster.

Danimal said...

Blew it.
If someone had told Donnie he would risk losing the Open by running for Pres, he would not have run. He will pretend this is no biggie but I am confident he is gutted. Bahahaha.

Danimal said...

BTW, pulling Turnberry out of Open roatation is akin to, help me out here....was going to say taking the us open for tennis out of Flushing Meadows, but that's not quite the reality. You get my point tho, it is a big deal.

mr kq said...

I'd say it's like pulling the Super Bowl out of Jerry World cause Jerry is a Jagoff.

zman said...

Aha! That makes sense now. Thank you.

I'm confident that Jeb will wind up with the nomination no matter how things appear right now.

Shlara said...

I love the Planet Money podcast. The Auditing ISIS episode is eye-opening.
I'd also recommend "Surprisingly Awesome" with Adam McKay (Anchorman) and Adam Davidson (Planet Money)

rob said...

well, it's like telling pebble beach it can't host the us golf open any longer.

z, the british open has a rota (that's what they call it - don't ask me) of courses that host the open championship. it rotates amongst those courses.

Clarence said...

How much does getting Turnberry bumped from the Brit Open rotation devalue his purchase?

Clarence said...

"Controversial remarks made by Mr Trump in his campaign for the Republican nomination – about Muslims, Mexicans, Chinese and women, among others – have given him a near-pariah status in the global game, raising the risk of a boycott by sponsors and international players."

And pretending for a moment that he had some shot to win the nomination, if you are considered a near-pariah in the global game, even if it's just the game of golf, wouldn't you maybe lose a point or two in the foreign policy category?

Danimal said...

Clarence, Turnberry will lose quite a bit of business by not being on the rota, but Turnberry is Turnberry....like a Pinehurst they'll be fine. If he were to put it on the market I don't think he'd be hurt much if at all BC whoever buys it, absent that person being another Donald type pariah, it will immediately go back in to the rota. In fact one of the comments made by R&a..."the open may well go back to Turnberry but not Trump Turnberry." Donald will never host a major now, anywhere. Bahahahaha

rob said...

i'm as confident that jeb(!) will not win the nomination as i was that norfolk state would lose their first-rounder a few years ago. so you might be getting some new gear, z.

TR said...

Rubio/Fiorina seems the most likely pairing. They will get destroyed. But Mrs. Rubio seems nice. Marco outkicked his coverage. Cruz remains a devious ferret in this mix though.

TR said...

On the podcast side, I'm a wee bit miffed there was no mention of WOOOOO! Nation with Ric Flair. I will confess that is one of the nine podcasts I'm subscribed to.

I will also confess I went down the rabbit hole and (drunkenly) subscribed to the WWE Network. Not gonna lie, I watched the shit out of WrestleMania III the other night. And the documentary on the rise/fall of WCCW Wrestling was awesome, even if most of those folks are dead now, including 4/5 Von Erich brothers.

I was a diehard wrestling fan from 8 to 14, when I became more enamored with beer and boobies.

Danimal said...

bad news: working on budgets
good news: it's on a tour bus heading to Miami for mon night game followed by hard rock gambling. oh boy.

Clarence said...

They have Vanilla Ice memorabilia in the Miami Hard Rock? 2 Live Crew? Miami Sound Machine?

zman said...

Note that in a moment of great humility, Dave lists his own podcast in his list of the five best podcasts for listening.

TR said...

I pretty much hate Danimal right now, considering it's 80 in Miami. It's mild here, but foggy and gray.

My company party is essentially an open bar happy hour at a pub tmrw night. Will be fun, but will likely lead to poor decisions made after 9 PM, ruining the rest of the week for me.

Dave said...

how can you complain, tr? i played tennis with my son today. in new jersey! mid-december!

and i am nailing the ball (no humility here . . .)

Dave said...

i am a robot! (when it comes to my two-handed backhand)

mr kq said...

Have a weekly doubles match going meself. I'm all about that action boss.

TR said...

I did not play tennis. I woke up at 5:05 AM and have a long work day.

I did run at the gym though. So I got that going for me.

rob said...

when is the initial gtb tennis open? and who is the top seed?

mr kq said...

OBTT?

zman said...

WFAN is doing a Twelve Days of Kristaps thing that onlyast for seven days. Everyone has to bite our style.

zman said...

Onlyast = only lasts

TR said...

Beckham is a beast.

TR said...

Beckham beast mode continues, thanks to atrocious safety play by the Fins.

Danimal said...

Hi g's

rob said...

anyone bought a refrigerator lately?