The Wonderful World of Podcasts: Part 1

The Wonderful World of Podcasts: Part 1

I currently have a job where sitting at my desk all day and doing the same task over and over is a reality.  In order to not go insane, I’ve developed the habit of listening to audio books and podcasts.  The days go much faster this way and I actually get caught up on my reading, gaming news, and tech news in this manner.  Today, I’d like to introduce you to some of my favorite podcasts.

I’ll start with my favorite, and, in my opinion, one of the best podcasts out there: the giant bombcast from www.giantbomb.com!  This podcast is put up on the internet every Tuesday night and usually runs between two to three hours.  The podcast is primarily about video games, but the cast of personalities will derail at the slightest provocation, which is always a treat.  The personable way that Jeff, Brad, and Vinny joke around and play off eachother’s comments is a treat to listen to.  My wife even enjoys listening to these jokers, even though she isn’t a gamer!
Unfortunately, their host, Ryan Davis recently passed away; however, the podcast has not lost its magic, and the guys at giantbomb keep bringing out the podcast each week despite the circumstances.  I find myself laughing my butt off for most of the time that I spend listening to the giant bombcast.  Not only that, but the gaming news and perspective they bring to the table is informative and entertaining. This is my most highly recommended podcast.  They also have a podcast special called the Giant Bomb Interview dump truck, which has raw audio footage of interviews the staff has had with people in the gaming industry.
Remember Red vs. Blue?  That machinima production chronicling the conflict between the Halo Red team and the Halo Blue team?  Well, Roosterteeth is the company that brought you those awesome internet videos.  It turns out they have a podcast too, and it’s terribly funny and outrageous.  Every Tuesday, the Roosterteeth staff get together in the studio and run a live streamed podcast, which is usually an hour or so long. (It is later uploaded to iTunes)
The Roosterteeth Podcast is hard to define categorically.  The staff is just all over the place with what they talk about.  But, that’s okay, because just about every moment you’ll have a smile on your face.  They like to talk about newly released movies (don’t worry they won’t spoil you without warning), TV shows, video games, and their everyday lives.  The quick-witted humor of the Roosterteeth staff, and their willingness to argue with one another openly, creates an enjoyable experience.  Roosterteeth also hosts two other offshoot podcasts– one for gaming, called The Patch, and the other is called the Spoilercast, where they talk about movies and TV shows in detail.
The Idle Thumbs podcast is primarily another gaming podcast, but with an interesting twist.  The cast of the podcast are individuals who work in the gaming industry as developers.  What’s interesting about this, is that you get a unique take on games from a game developer’s point of view.  Being so used to getting the common game journalist’s point of view, I found this to be a breath of fresh air.
One of the individuals works at Double Fine, while the other three work at Tell Tale Games.  The podcast usually runs about an hour each week.  The goofy nature of the cast finds them in the most ridiculous conversations that will have you in tears much of the time.  Best of all, their enthusiasm is absolutely infectious. When the cast of Idle Thumbs gets excited about a particular game, you can’t help but get excited with them, as they break down the true reason and mechanics as to why the game is enjoyable to them.
Idle Thumbs also hosts three other podcasts in addition to their main podcast. The monthly Idle Book Club podcast is where they choose a book, read it, then discuss it in detail.  The weekly podcast, DoTA Today, is exactly what it says it is– a podcast about DotA 2, where they talk about the game in detail. Lastly, there’s Three Moves Ahead, a gaming podcast dedicated to strategy games in particular.
There’s a few more podcasts I would like to mention, which I’ll post later this week.  However, in the meantime, please check out these podcasts if you have the time.  They are most definitely entertaining and a great way to get through a long commute or a monotonous work day.

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