Christmas came early, Mama got iPod! Yep, I made it to 31 before getting an iPod of my very own. It’s a shiny iPod Touch, which is basically an iPhone without the phone part, and perfect for someone who, well let’s face it, almost never leaves the house.

It’s also very well timed because a) my laptop is overheating horrible so it helps not to have to have itunes open there for my loud writing music, and b) I’m really into listening to podcasts right now.

Here’s some of what I’m listening to:

1. Arsecast
Of course! I don’t even download this one into itunes, I just mainline it at the Arseblog site. The dulcet, sweary Irish tones of Blogs has been a Friday mainstay for me over the last year and I am quite bereft when an Interlull (aka international break when beloved Arsenal players go off to play for their country and come back broken) means he’s too despondent to provide the absolutely best football commentary around.

2. It’s Up For Grabs Now
A new addition to my regular playlist – another Arsenal blog, but far from the “news-interviews-silly voices-comedic commentary” stylings of Arsecast, this one is basically actor Alan Davies hanging out in his living room with his mates, chatting over the football news of the week. Seriously, he had a sexy voice *before* he started making Spurs jokes at me. Definitely a keeper.

3. Memories of the Futurecast
This is a promotional podcast for Wil Wheaton’s new book, a humorous memoir/review of the first season of Star Trek: Next Gen. Each week, he reads an excerpt from a new chapter/episode and comments on it – they started out short but are getting decadently long now – and the longer the better! Wheaton has that great combination of fast comedy reflexes, well-thought out sincerity, the ability to poke fun at his younger self, and um yes, a sexy voice, shut up.

4. The Sofanauts
Okay, this one should come as no surprise to anyone as I’ve been raving about it for weeks – it’s a lovely, laid back SF discussion show with a slightly different panel each week, ad a particular focus on the short fiction scene and new media vs. the old dinosaur publications. I loved it so much I went back and listened to every single one, and I may well start re-listening soon. Tony C Smith is a brilliant, relaxed host who manages to coax all kinds of conversational gems out of his guests.

5. CoolShite on the Tube
Possibly the closest thing we have in Australia to the Sofanauts, this is a gaggle of guys (and one occasional girl) crammed into a studio in Launceston, Tasmania, nattering about pop culture and particularly film. They’re not entirely specfic-centric, but they definitely know their Doctor Who from their Star Wars. I especially enjoy their posts which display and discuss soundtracks to movies. Less politically correct than some, and I wince sometimes about the sheer boyclubbery of it all, but for the most part I find it unrehearsed, unabashed fun. Their review of Torchwood: Children of Earth just filled me with Glee.

These are my reliable regulars, but I’ve also started looking further afield – I’ve downloaded episodes of the Penguin Podcast, the Guardian Books podcast and Starship Sofa, and will be trying all of them out this week to see how well they fit. I’m particularly interested in chatty podcasts to do with books, literature, science fiction and fantasy, etc. So what else should I be listening to?

Tags: podcasts