jeromemartin.ca

Asynchronous Radio: CBC Expands Its Podcast Program

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) has been a pioneer in providing podcasts of radio programs. Yesterday it expanded its offerings dramatically: one can now access podcasts of virtually all of CBC Radio's national broadcasts and some of its local items as well.
CBC, BBC, NPR and many other major public networks provide hundreds of podcasts, so many that those of us who love talk radio cannot listen to them all: but we can choose our favourites and listen to them at any time, as many times as we would like.
Public Radio is now largely asynchronous and accessible to anyone with a computer. I listen to podcasts from these networks on my iPod when I'm travelling and on my computer when I'm at home.
And while someone has paid to create these podcasts there is no direct cost to the user.
CBC podcasts are available on iTunes and on the CBC podcasting site.

Storytelling

Garr Reynolds writes a great blog, Presentation Zen, which I recommend highly. In his most recent posting, Ira Glass: Tips on Storytelling, Garr summarizes the points made by Ira Glass, famous for This American Life on NPR, on a recent video.
Don't miss this one. Ira Glass is one of the best broadcasters and storytellers I've heard.
Podcasts of This American Life are available on iTunes.

Radio Still Rules

I'm working at my computer while listening to the Ed Love jazz show on WDET in Detroit, thanks to my daughter's recommendation. I've used iTunes on my computer to access this station and many others in North America and abroad.
In spite of access to movies, television and the internet radio continues to serve us well.
I spent my childhood on a farm and in a village in southern Saskatchewan. We did not have electricity on the farm until I was thirteen – but we had a large cabinet radio which was powered by two large dry cell batteries.
Radio was our main connection to the world beyond our area. We listened to the news and to daily soap operas such as Pepper Young's Family and Ma Perkins; in the evening we'd listen to Lux Radio Theater, Boston Blackie and The Shadow. Canadian shows on the CBC were also high on our list. My mother and I never missed The Happy Gang, a program which featured some of Canada's best musicians and entertainers.
Later as a teenager I listened to The Goon Show (the name says it all) from the UK on short-wave, again on a large cabinet, battery-powered radio. I had met only a few British people by that time and had great difficulty understanding the dialects on that wild and wonderful show, but I found the humour fascinating and very different from anything in my everyday world.
Radio allows us to use our imagination when we listen to dramas or comedies. It also lets us engage in other activities while we're listening. Thus, we can listen while we drive or while we work at certain jobs. I listen to radio when I'm in the darkroom and when I'm doing tasks that don't require a lot of concentration.
Radio is even better now that I can use iTunes to find a wide variety of stations and play them on my computer. Podcasts are, in many ways, radio programs that can be created easily and cheaply. They too can be played on computers, iPods or stereo systems.
Radio can entertain, inform and excite, anywhere, anytime. Enjoy it: and try the Ed Love program if you're a jazz fan. And if you've never heard The Goon Show (with Peter Sellers and colleagues) it's not too late.