Spotlight On: Podcasting

I first discovered the notion of a podcast when iTunes added podcast functionality, but I didn't listen to my first podcast until December of 2005. A Tom Waits themed blog I read from time to time mentioned that the music podcast Coverville had done an entire show dedicated to covers of Mr. Waits, and considering that Tom Waits is basically my favorite guy, like, ever, I downloaded it and gave it a listen. It was a lot of fun, but the rest of the Coverville stuff didn't set my mind on fire, so I decided to drop it. A couple month later I discovered The Instance, which led me into ExtraLife Radio, which through a phone call played at the end of an Instance show led me to 1 to 70 and the rest of the RealmsRadio gang. I've got a list of 10 podcasts I love on the side of this here bloggy thing, so I thought I would throw out my thoughts on each podcast to give you folks an idea of what to expect if you decide to take a listen.

The Ring Has Chosen - You guys all know The Ring Has Chosen. Cliff and Squire have fast become the ambassadors of the game, especially from a casual perspective. I love this cast, and I really look forward to seeing it download into iTunes every Friday/Saturday. Sure, the sound quality isn't the best in the world, but it's better than a lot of other podcasts I've heard, so it's perfectly reasonable to listen to.

Comic Geek Speak - One of the true old guards of comics podcasting. CGS just past their three year anniversary, and have recorded well over 400 episodes. CGS is a rotating panel of eight guys headed up by Bryan Deemer and Peter Rios. They do interviews, cover big events and many many other things. I went to their 300'th episode celebration last September in Reading, PA, and it was one of the most enjoyable weekends of recent memory. The guys from the show are cool as hell, the community is cool as hell, and everything is just cool as hell. They pump out 3-5 episodes a week, so there's always content readily available.

Quiet! Panelologists at Work! - British comics podcasting at its finest. These guys could quite possibly be the funniest people on Earth. If you listen to podcasts at work, you might get some strange looks, because you're going to be laughing your head off multiple times in every episode.

Comic Timing - Two hosts and a variety of guests, this is one of the many podcasts that grew out of the Comic Geek Speak forum community. Ian is a very capable host and tends to create very interesting topics for episodes that tend to last somewhere between two and three hours. It's not as frequent with updating as some other casts, but there are other shows on the feed that can hold you over.

Extra Life Radio - The crown jewel of Scott Johnson's podcasting empire. Covers all things geeky from movies to video games to TV to comics and so on. Co-hosts Obsidian and Brian add a lot to the proceedings, and there is a very strong rapport between the guys. They record every week nearly without fail, and it's a very good listen.

The Instance - More Scott Johnson, with his trusty co-host Randy. This is a great cast for the casual World of Warcraft gamer, with an emphasis on news and community involvement. There isn't much else to say. It's just solid as a rock.

Comic Book Page - This isn't so much a specific podcast as it is a feed of multiple podcasts. Weekly Comics Spotlight looks at three books a week with one Marvel, one DC and one Independent. They also have a previews spotlight every month, as well as ones that go over the sales numbers of individual comics and trades. There is a lot of variety here, and nearly all of the podcasts have a ton of interest to them.

Around Comics - This was one of the best pure roundtable podcasts out there, with four guys just sitting around, talking comics and having a good time. However, the guys have recently gone on indefinite hiatus. The mantle has been taken up by the grad students of a sequential art class in Georgia. It's not as good as it was, and there are some audio issues, but it's still a good listen. Once the Chicago crew comes back, it'll get a lot better again.

So there you have it. Check them out. Links are of course on the side of the page. They are all worth your time and precious hard drive space.