Zach Swee

I love podcasts!  If you ever see me with my headphones in listening to my iPod, more than likely I’m listening to a podcast.  Here’s a list of different podcasts that I listen to and recommend.  Search the iTunes store for ones of these if you’re interested in checking them out.  (Average length in parenthesis)

12 Byzantine Rulers: The History of the Byzantine Empire – Ok, so I started with one that doesn’t sound all the great.  However, believe me when I say that if you are at all interested in history, this podcast is one of the most fascinating things you could listen to.  It goes through the history of the Byzantine Empire, something I knew nothing about and really cared nothing about, but once you start, it becomes totally engrossing. (:30)

The Cold Bath – Provocative interviews with an anonymous retired political insider. (:30)

The Dave Ramsey Show – An hour from his daily radio show about finances.  This show will teach you so much about how to handle your money and get out of debt. (:45)

Filmspotting - My favorite movie podcast.  I’ve been listening for many years now.  Two guys in Chicago talk intelligently about movies. (1:15)

Fitness Rocks – Dr. Monty talks about different studies and what they say about physical fitness and your health. (:05)

Hey, We’re Back – A short, funny podcast. (:10)

The History of Rome – Exactly what it sounds like. (:20)

Illinoise - A married couple just chatting.  These two are so funny. (1:00)

IndieFeed: Performance Poetry – If you’ve never heard of slam poetry before, then you should check this out. (:05)

KCRW’s Film Reviews – “Pulitzer Prize-winning critic of The Wall Street Journal, Joe Morgenstern reviews films weekly.” (:03)

KCRW’s The Business – Behind-the-scene interviews with Hollywood insiders. (:30)

KCRW’s The Treatment – Interviews with famous actors and directors about their films. (:30)

LSAT Logic in Everyday Life – He talks about current events not from a “who’s right and who’s wrong” perspective, but from a “which arguments are logical and which are faulty.” (:05)

The Maniacal Rage Podcast – Two guys just talking and it is so hilarious. (:45)

Mark Kermode and Simon Mayo’s Film Reviews – Two British guys doing film reviews for the BBC. (:35)

Mars Hill Bible Church – Rob Bell’s church in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  My favorite sermons to listen to. (:35)

Math Mutation - “Discusses fun, interesting, or just plain weird corners of mathematics that you would not have heard in school.” (:03)

The Moth Podcast – “Stories, told live, without notes.”  This is one of the most entertaining podcasts on here.  These stories are incredible. (:20)

The Movie Blog: Uncut – Two guys talk about movies. (1:15)

MSNBC Rachel Maddow – The entire video of her MSNBC show from the previous night. (:45)

NPR: Intelligence Squared Podcast – These are a series of Oxford-style debates on different topics with really intelligent and prominent people on both sides.  For instance, when they debated if President Bush was a good or bad president for the country, Karl Rove was one of the debaters.  Very good way to become knowledgeable on a lot of current issues. (:50)

NPR: Science Friday Podcast – Different science-related news items. (:30)

Philosophy: The Classics – He summarizes each of the classics books in Philosophy (:15)

Scene Unseen Movie Reviews – One guy sees the movie, the other guy doesn’t, and then they talk about it. (:40)

The Seanachai – He writes original stories or vignettes for every podcast and does an amazing radio production of them. (:10)

The show with zefrank – Unfortunately he’s not doing any more videos, but his archive is some of the most creative, clever, and entertain video podcasts out there. (:05)

The Skeptics’ Guide 5×5 – “Five Minutes with Five Skeptics, is a weekly science podcast discussing news in the world of science and pseudoscience.” (:05)

Skeptoid: Critical Analysis of Pop Phenomena – He goes through a different topic each week that he believes you should be skeptical of. (:10)

Slate Explainer Podcast – They answer common questions people have about current events. (:05)

Stuff You Missed in History Class – Interesting historical tidbits (:20)

TEDTalks – Brilliant people giving presentations about whatever brilliant thing they are up to. (:15)

That’s What She Said – The Office – Two guys dissect the latest Office episode. (1:30)

Thinking About Movies – A very intellectual discussion about the nature of film.  I disagree with him a lot of the time and he’s really arrogant, but it really gets you thinking. (:25)

This American Life – One of the best podcasts on here.  It tells different true stories along a theme every week, with interviews and reporting, and is always so much fun to listen to. (1:00)

This Week in Photography – Prominent photography professionals discuss different aspects and techniques in photography. (1:00)

The VFX Show – A few very prominent visual effects artists discuss the visual effects in current movies. (:45)

Writing Excuses – Some published Science Fiction authors cover various topics about the writing process to help new writers. (:15)

The Yes We Would Podcast – This is the podcast that I do with my friend Megan Wood.  You should check it out! (:30)

You Look Nice Today – Three guys just shooting the breeze.  Kind of like The Maniacal Rage Podcast.  Definitely funny.  (:30)