For your listening pleasure

podcast reviews

Looking for some interesting podcasts to use as classroom resources or for your own entertainment? IEU Professional Officer Amy Cotton has a few suggestions.

Invisibilia

Production House: NPR
Hosts: Lulu Miller, Alix Spiegel
Strong Language? If so, warnings occur at the beginning of episode
Length: 1 hour plus bonus short excerpts
Released: Weekly
Genre: Documentary
Website: http://www.npr.org/programs/invisibilia/

Showcasing scientific research into the invisible forces that influence human behaviour, this podcast uses engaging narratives to explore and confront assumptions we make about how and why humans act the way we do.

Episode highlight: 23 Jan 2015 – How to Become Batman focuses on how low and high expectations affects the effectiveness of both learning experiences and performance during assessment, in an oblique, enjoyable manner.

No Such Thing as a Fish


Production House: QI
Hosts: Dan Schreiber, James Harkins, Andrew Hunter Murray, Anna Ptaszynski
Strong Language? occasional
Length: 30-45 mins
Released: Weekly
Genre: Comedy
Website: www.qi.com/podcast

The writers of BBC’s QI gather weekly to chat and joke about facts and strange things they’ve found out. Good to listen to when you need a friendly giggle.

Episode highlight: 7 March 2015 Episode 51: No Such Thing as Dodecahedral Shredded Wheat

Fresh Air

Production House: WHYY with NPR
Host: Terry Gross
Strong Language? If in an episode, warnings occur at beginning
Length: 50 mins
Released: Daily
Genre: Documentary
Website: http://www.npr.org/programs/fresh-air/

The topic and theme each day is potluck, varying from arts, science and politics to true crime. The interviews are in depth and interesting, not at all superficial as has become the trend in media.

Episode highlight: 31 Jan 2015 – Benedict Cumberbatch and the Teenage Brain