wait wait don't tell me

Paul’s note: Podcasting is changing how we consume radio, and my good friend Mike has agreed to write about how he listens to one of his favorite programs. Mike is a busy father of two energetic boys, an enthusiastic runner, an accomplished gardener and a co- inventor of the world famous Seven Bean Soup. Mike writes:

There are a few good shows on NPR, but I never seemed to be listening at the right time until they started making shows available as podcasts. One of the most entertaining shows is the news quiz, Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me, which is broadcast in the Bay Area at 11AM Saturdays. My MP3 player now picks up the podcast of this show and many others via the iPodder application, making my MP3 player work like a TiVO.

Last week I was out for a run and heard a piece that made me laugh out loud. There is segment called Bluff The Listener, where show regulars make up 3 stories about the week’s news. The call-in listener has to guess which story is real, but of course all stories usually sound so absurd that that couldn’t possibly be real. I was listening to three crazy stories about the band Kiss resurfacing in various ways. One story concerned two feuding midget kiss tribute bands in Las Vegas. Enough said, you can hear the segment by clicking on “Bluff the Listener.” And yes, its true. (links here and here)

Another funny segment is Not My Job, a game where a celebrity is asked 3 questions about something they should know nothing about. For example, here is Utah resident and Jeopardy 70-time winner Ken Jennings being quizzed on one night stands, NASCAR, and the sexiest man alive.

Bonus links: I echo Mike's endorsement of iPodder and I use iTunes as well for podcasts. As previously mentioned, I subscribe to the Tongcast and various programs from KEXP and KCRW.