The 'Economist' Podcasts are very good guide to current affairs issues. They compare favourably to other news services by focusing on evidence and analysis.
The 'Get it done guy' podcasts can provide useful advice on instrumental rationality.
The 'freakonomics' and 'stuff you should know' podcsts both contain interesting ideas and information, but generally do so in a rather long winded and narrative or discussion heavy way,
Speaking of iTunes U podcasts, I would really appreciate it if people could list specific courses that are not significantly hampered by the lack of visuals. Some courses (like Ben Polak's Game Theory course at Yale, and I suspect most other courses involving math) are close to useless when one only has the sound but are much better when watched.
Yeah, that's a problem. Maybe something like the "Oxford Martin School: Public Lectures and Seminars" or the "Global Catastrophic Risk conference 2008" is better.
TTC lectures, Bloggingheads.tv (you can download the audio), In Our Time, Philosophy Bites, Guardian's Science Weekly, This American Life, Skeptics' Guide to the Universe, and Radiolab.
I've changed the wording slightly, but I'm totally fine with podcasts which, at least sometimes, are more valuable than my own random thoughts or more interesting than the clatter of my bicycle while I'm driving to the university. I think "History of Rome" meets these criteria.
O.K., if general historical edification for largely ignorant laymen like me counts, then there are two Berkeley undergrad courses on iTunes that I love by a professor named Margaret Anderson. The first is on the Second Reich and the second is a more general survey of modern European history. I learned a ridiculously large amount from both and personally found them to be more fluid and engaging than any college course I took.
I have a YouTube Chanel that some of you may be interested in: http://www.youtube.com/TheRationalFuture containing interviews with notable futurists and videos of the Australian Singularity Summits and Humanity+ Summits.
I listen to a weekly podcast called skeptoid. It's a very concise, information packed show focusing on pseudoscience and rationality. I've listened to episodes on the validity of IQ testing all the way to an entire episode on Zeno's paradoxes.
It may be light-hearted and entertaining, but it's still a very informative and educational podcast.
I know, books or blogs are often more informative than podcasts. But reading a book while going grocery shopping, bicycling or driving is kinda hard. And the last post on this topic didn't generate much discussion.
So, I ask again: Does anyone know of some interesting podcasts out there?
I'll go ahead and list some of my favorites:
- Econtalk by Russ Roberts.
- Conversations from the Pale Blue Dot by Lukeprog.
- Rationally Speaking by Julia Galef and Massimo Pigliucci.
- Singularity 1 on 1 by Nikola Danaylov.
- Big Ideas and TEDtalks are sometimes worthwhile.
Lectures on ItunesU are of course great, too.