Monday, December 31, 2018

The Year in Podcasts 2018


MartyrMade a podcast by Darry Cooper

I started listening to podcasts almost as soon as I bought an iPhone more than a decade ago. At first, I listened to news and commentary. My favorite by far was the original NPR Politics podcast with Ron Elving and Ken Rudin. Each week they analyzed the news with Rudin making jokes and Elving acting as the straight man. 

Then "Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me" became a podcast and I listened to that show every week in my ears instead of on the radio.  But the show that moved podcasts beyond repackaged NPR for me was "The History of Rome" by Mike Duncan. It aired between 2007 and 2012. THoR is still on iTunes. The 179 numbered episodes, plus more than a dozen extra episodes, chronicle the Roman Empire from the fall of Troy to the last Emperor Romulus in 472 AD.  Duncan is a self-confessed history geek who found an outlet in podcasting for his personal obsession and encyclopedic knowledge of the history of the Roman Empire. 

I recommend THoR to anyone interested in Rome.

After THoR, I listened to podcasts on history, philosophy and science. In 2016, I switched back to politics. My current favorite, in addition to NPR Politics, is Trumpcast. This show by Slate was supposed to tell people in detail just what a crook and liar was candidate Trump. They planned an End of Show party on the night of the election.  But the show continued when the candidate who brags of grabbing women by the pussy won the election.

It is a deep and fun dive several times a week into the on-going corruption and lies of the current administration. 

But my favorite podcast is another one-man show by an intense, obsessed man named Darryl Cooper.  His podcast is MartyrMade. The first six episodes are a history of Palestine in the first half of the 20th Century.  Six episodes may seem short, but two of them were more than five hours long!  Six episodes is nearly 20 hours of riveting history. Like Mike Duncan, Cooper propels the story by the intensity he brings to the topic. He mentioned reading 30 books to prepare for episode 5. I don't doubt it. 

I am always open to recommendations. If you have favorite podcasts, let me know.

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