I love NPR podcasts - especially Terry Gross' interview series Fresh Air and the comedy news quiz program Wait Wait Don't Tell Me.
I have just finished listening to one of the best Fresh Air podcasts ever. The great thing about Fresh Air is that you have no idea what you are going to get. It could an interview with a former White House Press Secretary on how they came the realisation that torture was wrong, it could be a straight actor on the preparations they went through before kissing another man in a movie or it could be an interview with an evangelical preacher trying to convince you that Hurricane Katrina was the wrath of God against sinners.
Last Tuesday there were two stories that had nothing in common but showed off the best of Fresh Air and its approach to the esoteric yet fascinating and entertaining. Story one - "the Fascinating World of the Dung Beetle". Story two - "Westbound Records: The Sounds of Detriot". Madame BOOT described the Westbound records story as the perfect podcast for me. This is the album lable the first brough Funkadelic (ie George Clinton) out on vinal. In other words the orginators of Funk.
The first story - the Dung Beetle one - is unambigously this years winner of the "story that is least likely to keep you entertained but you will not be able to turn off or stop yourself smiling about" award for 2009. I had no plans in my life to find out anything about dung beetles but here I am telling you that I am glad that I did.
These stories have nothing to do with travel (unless you can somehow link the OTA fee cut war with a Dung Beetle and a man with a long afro and high heel shoes) but are this week's BOOT recommended listen.
2 comments:
Thanks. I'll going to look those two podcasts up.
On The Media and Planet Money are two other great NPR podcasts.
Will definitely check out the Westbound Records. Have Mr C on CD and vinyl (got to love analogue) and once saw him live where it took 35 minutes to get all 18 people on stage. Thanks for the recommend.
Seeing as we've taken a short side trip to the music lounge you might like to check out some of the Late Night Tales (Azuli Records) - a series by some great DJ's and music people for their post night out listening, my fav is the one selected and mixed by Turin Brakes which is decidedly Bluesy. Another by Rae and Christian is more soulful.
Have always been amazed by the Dung Beetle for some reason those lil fella's always seem strangely quite cool. Maybe it's their industriousness.
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