I hope you have all had an excellent Christmas with plenty of self-indulgence and regular enquiries as to whether there is anything you can do to help. I am sure that that will have been the case.
Some of you may have been lucky enough to receive an iPod or other podcast playing device. The excitement of this will no doubt have been tempered by an anxiety as to where you will find some good science content, for free, to listen to on your new toy. This is where I can help! You should consider The Guardian’s weekly science podcast as an excellent source of science news round-up. It is a light-hearted but well produced half hour of the week’s science news. There are similar programmes from the BBC if you are worried that The Guardian will turn you into a raving socialist (it won’t).
Radiolab is a stunning series of science podcasts from the USA. The quality of the audio production is amazing with very cleverly edited interviews mixing the presenter’s voice with that of his interviewees. I have not listened to them all but can recommend the episode called “Stochasticity” as a great starting place to get a feel for the kind of material they produce.
Finally, my week would be incomplete without my dose of The Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe. This is also an American podcast, produced by the New England Skeptics Society. The lead presenter is Dr Steve Novella and he is joined by his brothers Jay and Bob and others for a witty and entertaining round-up of science news. They also delve into more controversial topics, particularly where non-scientific news stories have been reported as fact. It may take a few episodes to get into it but give it a try.
Whatever your hobby or interest, a search on iTunes will probably reveal a podcast dedicated to the topic (try Fighting Talk from the BBC if you like your sport). Enough for now, but happy hunting.
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