Podcasts Again!

I have blogged about podcasts several times before, but since I am always on the lookout for new ones (like, obsessively on the lookout - it's really not a good thing), I have to assume that other people like finding those hidden (and not so hidden) gems too. To that end, here are the podcasts (of the 251 to which I subscribe) that I have on automatic download/add to playlist on my phone.

My #1 favorite right now is True Crime Historian. If I were to podcast, this is what I would do. Yes, my PhD is in political science, but if you know me at all, you know that my heart is in history (my other BA). Digging in newspaper archives is my dream (I mean, my dissertation covered the years 1901-1959! To do that for a PoliSci dissertation at a school like Rice? That took some moxie and a great adviser.). I would be Richard O Jones's research assistant if he would have me (especially if it meant an extra podcast per week!). There are too many reasons to list why I love this podcast so much and I am already sounding like a giddy schoolgirl. His voice is so perfect for what he does - narrate the past. His selection of stories is diverse and captivating. He writes chapbooks. If you don't know what those are, you don't read the right kind of books. The fact that he calls them chapbooks just makes me love him more. I almost bought some on Kindle, but it is not a real chapbook if you don't have the physical copy, so I'll hold out for a real one. I'm done now. If you don't fall in love with his website at first glance, there might just be something wrong with you. There is a whole lot of True Crime podcast chaff out there. Richard O Jones is all wheat.

Another podcast I never miss is Stories - A History of Appalachia...One Story at a Time. The name of this podcast says everything. In less than ten minutes, twice a week, two nice sounding guys tell stories of that part of the country known as Appalachia. It reminds me of listening to public radio when I was a kid and couldn't fall asleep. It's so good. Completely professional (meaning no banal, self-indulgent banter between the hosts that no one cares about) and utterly delightful.

Documentary on One is an Irish podcast that is absolutely stellar. I can't even think of how to describe it except to say that it is documentaries. The back catalog is over 1,600 episodes. The lastest episode on the Irish Hangman is *riveting*.

Irish History Podcast is not so much Irish History as it is Irish stories or episodes in Irish history that most of us would have no way of knowing. The narrator's accent is to die for. The stories are fascinating.

History in Five Minutes Podcast is another great short history podcast. A wide variety of topics, short and sweet.

If you only subscribe to one, though, make it True Crime Historian.