I have been asked a fair few times about the different podcasts I listen to. I not only have a lengthy commute to work, but also travel a fair bit for work, so it’s vital to me to have something to listen to. This series will discuss and review the different podcasts I listen to or have listened to. Last week I spoke about the why and how I listen to podcasts, now we look at the actual podcasts I listen to.
This week’s podcast is TWiT.
Your first podcast of the week is the last word in tech. Join Leo Laporte, Patrick Norton, Kevin Rose, John C. Dvorak, and other tech luminaries in a roundtable discussion of the latest trends in high tech. Released every Sunday at midnight Pacific.
TWiT or This Week in Tech is probably the first podcast I listened to. The first episode was released (broadcast) on April 17th 2005. Though I only started listening in June of that year. The podcast has evolved since then into a huge podcasting network and TWiT is still there and broadcast on a weekly basis. Released on a Sunday it is usually the first or second podcast I listen to on the way into work on a Monday morning. It’s quite a long podcast so it also covers my return home as well.
So what’s it all about then?
Well as you might guess from the title it’s the tech news from the last week.
However as with any good show, the reason it works and why I listen to virtually every week is the format, the panelists and the host.
The format is a panel format, tech pundits and journalists (mainly from the US, but sometimes the UK or other places) get together and discuss the news from the week. Tangential conversations are the norm for the show, so as well as news from Apple, Google, Facebook and others, the conversation also veers off into wine, food, television and comedy. Though the panel changes, as people come back again and again, it builds a familiarity that ensures that when listening it seems comfortable.
The host, Leo Laporte, is a US based tech pundit and journalist, whom has a track record in tech journalisim going back years. Though I have to admit the first I heard about him, was when I first started listening to podcasts and TWiT. He is very good at what he does in moving the conversations along and bringing the stories to life.
It is compelling listening and an enjoyable amusing listen too. Oh and in case you were wondering, yes I did base the e-Learning Stuff podcast on this format too.