Sci has noticed that a lot of scientists tend to listen to a lot of music or podcasts. Much as I’m sure we all KNOW that science is all glamor and cocaine and hookers and wild nights of crazy exciting science…yeah, let’s not lie. A lot of science is tedious, and a truly astonishing amount of it involves slicing various items into extraordinarily thin sections. Sci would have much more fun if we were allowed to blend things instead.
Like this!
But sadly, Sci spends way more time slicing than blending.
And during the slicing, she listens to a lot of podcasts. And so every year I like to throw the ones I’m listening to out into the aether, and take recommendations for new ones, in the hope of turning up something new and interesting.
So here are Sci’s recommendations:
1) In Our Time with Melvyn Bragg: Always one of my favorite podcasts! Melvyn Bragg has the best job EVER. Get some smart people in a room, set them on a topic, and let them go (I’m sure it’s a lot more complicated than that). Always something new and interesting you never knew before. And I wish I could send Melvyn Bragg fan mail, except I know it would read something like “Dear Mr. Bragg, OMG YOU ARE SO AWESOME. YOU HAVE THE BEST JOB IN THE WORLD. HOW DO I BECOME YOUR APPRENTICE?!?!?! PLEASE PLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASE…<3, Sci". Yeah, that would be embarrassing.
2) The History of Rome: I love this one, though Mr. S thinks it’s dry. It starts way back in the mists of time, and goes through the decline and fall. It’s really well researched and really well done, and Mike’s sly little sense of humor surprises a laugh out of Sci more often than not.
3) Napoleon 101: This one is INTENSE. If you go from beginning to end, you will cover ever bit of Napoleon’s life, covered by two amazing experts (well, one guy claims he’s not an expert. I think he lies). If you’re interested, it’s very long, but VERY interesting.
4) Religions of the Ancient Mediterranean: This one Sci got as a companion to #10 down there, and it’s been ok. It’s basically a recording of this guy’s class on the subject, and while that’s fine, it’s very obviously intended for undergrads. Good bits, though.
5) Scientific American Podcast: Science Talk: I love Steve Mirsky!
6) Nature Podcast: The podcast from…you guessed it…Nature. Generally good stuff, though I find they fixate on physics and astronomy more than Sci would like. Very educational though.
7) Neuropod: The neuroscience podcast from Nature!
8) Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History: This is one of Mr. S’s favorites. Dan Carlin talks about great moments in history, speculating about them. Sometimes he goes more than a little off the rails, but his series on the Osfront is FANTASTIC. It’s those fantastic ones that keep you coming back. Even when he tries to imply that every member of the human population from beginning to 1900 had PTSD.
9) Coffee Break French: Sci used to speak French, and sometimes she tries to brush up. This podcast is adorable and full of great Scottish accents. Also, it’s focused on the French you would need to get around.
10) The Bible: Yes. You can get the bible on podcast. Which Sci did so she could get it “read” this year. The reader is ok, the material is obviously exactly what you think it is. I would lodge a complaint that the ends of the sections are sometimes cut off, and also that the music clips that are used are exactly the same. Through the whole Bible. I was hoping it would at least change up in the New Testament.
And that’s been basically it for this year. Does anyone have other podcasts they could recommend? Sci’s always looking for new stuff!
