Podcasts For the Wicked

I've been meaning to write a blog entry on some of the podcasts I listen to for some time. This is as much for you guys as it is for me. ... and gals too, thanks to Dawkins and his whole awareness speech I cannot say 'guys' without feeling sexist anymore. Thank you Dawkins for the cognitive dissonance.

Everyone has time to be educated. You can't tell me you don't have time to, even once a week, watch a podcast that enlightens you in some way. If you're new to the podcast realm, like me, or you haven't tapped into the atheistic ones just yet, then this list will be helpful.

Anyways, I'll go through the one's that I have listened to or watched the most, and therefor obviously enjoy in some way.


TED
TED talks are great, amazing, inspirational, and intelligent. You feel like you're being a part of some massive world change order, that you are a part of the crowd of people who have the power to make the world a better place. The videos run anywhere from 10-30 minutes, averaging high teens, and therefor are good to watch while you eat, or have a moment between chores, school or work. I really like TED talks. The people that speak on it range from all over the world, all different cultures, and from the social and monetary elite to even people of lowly income or history but who have amazing stories to tell from their lives. I recommend TED talks to everyone and anyone, you will enjoy these.

The only people I know who don't care about TED talks are usually religious people who don't think they need to know much about the world, just the Bible. I think that says enough about the mindset religion gives people.

FORA.tv
I like fora, though I mainly watch their short Daily videos, usually less than 5 minutes long and usually excerpts from their longer 1 hour videos. Fora also has university videos and audios, but I have not watched many since some can be nearly 2 hours. Fora, to my understanding, collects different intellectual videos from all over the world, and makes them available to people like me who didn't make this certain round table discussion in Canada, or this presentation in Australia.

Fora is only good for people who really like to learn as the videos run long. If you ever dreamed of being paid to be a full-time student so you could take classes forever, then these videos are right up your alley.


For Good Reason/Point of Inquiry
I combine these two because they are so similar and I love them. DJ Groethe is interesting to listen to on these audio podcasts. I know of some people who don't like him, but I like the questions he asks to his guests. The podcasts generally run about half an hour and the guests are usually secular/skeptic people who have written a book, and are interviewed on the topics of those books. So far this year I've read a dozen 'atheist' books and some of them I 'found' due to these podcasts.

If you like to read, or enjoy quick topic discussions then this is one of the best podcasts you can find. The guests who come on rank from obscure skeptics and atheists, to all four of the horsemen. I usually listen to about five of these a week. Though I'll run out by the end of the year at this rate.

Apologia
A friendly roundtable discussion between atheists and theists ... or so they say. No, the discussions are topic orientated and make you think. However, it is run mainly from an atheist perspective, and honestly, generally the atheists make far better cases than the theists, but I am partial to that side to begin with. I don't plan on listening to every single podcast, but I have found some real gems of discussions and ideas in this podcast. They go through topics such as Stem Cell Research, Baha'i faith, Problems with Atheism, and plenty of others.

Runs about an hour, some are exactly an hour, and it is a discussion so plenty of fluff. However, for people who like to talk about issues and ideas this makes a great tool to find flaws or ideas for your arguments, and to see multiple sides of the issue.


Reasonable Doubts
One of my more recent podcasts I've started, and wasn't sure I liked it at first, but now it's honestly becoming my favorite. Based out of Grand Rapids Michigan (they always say something funny related to their area at the beginning) it is 3 guys who mainly talk about things between themselves. At first I got the impression they thought they were smarter than they really were, but as I've listened they all play off each other very well, and usually at least 1 of them will know a lot on a topic, plus they generally prepare well for the podcast episodes.

One of them, Professor Doctor Luke 'Gallin' [sic] is into psychology and has some interesting insights, which I enjoy as neuroscience is quickly becoming a bane to religion. Topics include the relation of Darwin to Hitler's eugenics, a discussion on unintelligible gods, creationism versus psychology, and then Doc. Luke giving a presentation on 2 studies into the profiles of the godless.

Anyone interested in atheism or skepticism should check this one out. Unlike Apologia where they try to get both sides, and unlike Point of Inquiry where they interview authors, this podcast tackles ideas and issues from an atheistic point of view, usually with good research, funny sayings, and good food for thought. I listen to a few of these a week.

That's the main podcasts I have that have atheist undertones, or skeptic ideas. TED and FORA are not atheistic, per se, but a lot of these 'smart' people are not believers, or accept the evolutionary theory in the least. I hope you guys and gals who read this find a new podcast to listen to and enjoy it ... thanks to me. Happy hunting!