Podcasts

I download the pods from the websites (you can get them from RSS or Itunes, also) and split them with Mega MP3Splitter into 10,000 frame chunks (about 4:20 each). Then I burn them onto CD and listen in the car.

Geekspeak (www.boardgamegeek.com): The original two Geeks talking to the luminaries of the board game world. Derk and Aldie (well, Derk, really) talk too much, but they are so Geeky that I don't mind. Sometimes their guests are particularly fun to listen to. All time highlight: Reiner Knizia giving them hell at KublaCon. Their pods go on pretty long.

The Dice Tower (www.thedicetower.com): Two other guys - not really Geeks. Tom and Joe are Christian missionaries, but aside from occasional mention of the soldiers they meet, you don't hear it - they're just gamers. The interplay between the two, one a Eurogamer and one a wargamer, is fun to listen to. Shorter pods, but more focussed.

Board Games To Go (www.boardgamestogo.com): Second board game pod, after Geek Speak. Mark Johnson puts out the least Geeky and most professional pod. He covers everything from all sides. Mark sounds like one of the greatest people on Earth. I find his blogs harder to listen to, as they are just one person, and lose a sense of the dynamic because of that. Sometimes one of his kids joins him, and then he shines.

I don't know why I can listen to these things - even the best pods seem so awkward and unprofessional compared to listening to broadcast radio or books on tape. For one, they're free. And they cover subjects I'm intently interested in, I guess. Mostly, it is nice to know that other people are devoted to this (unfortunately, still) obscure interest.

Yehuda