Serial Lifts the Podcasts Movement
Today is the final episode of this season's Serial podcast. Along with 5 million other listeners, I'm crazy stoked about discovering how Sarah Koenig manages to wrap up this intriguing story about Adnan.
But unlike watching the final episode of Sons of Anarchy or Breaking Bad, I have very few people in my immediate circle of connections to discuss it with. Sure I can discuss in online in forums and on Twitter and even listen to a podcast about it, but being a podcast junkie, I often can't understand why everyone else isn't listening to podcasts.
Andy Bowers explains his perspective on why in his reflections on 10 years of podcasting:
Podcast technology sucks. It was abysmal 10 years ago, and has evolved to barely adequate today. In those early years, you had to download podcasts to your computer and then sync them through a cable onto your iPod or other MP3 player. It was slow, tedious, and often didn’t work...
The debut of the iPhone in 2007 promised to improve things, but it still took years of app development and faster data networks to get us where we are today: Anyone with a smartphone and the willingness to try can probably, with some help, play a podcast. But if you’ve ever attempted to connect a podcast app to your car’s sound system via Bluetooth, I suspect you’ll agree with me that we aren’t there yet. Podcasting continues to fail my basic technological test—it’s still a lot harder than turning on a radio.
Podcasts are smart, funny, enlightening radio on demand. They are like a DVR for constant learning. So if your interested in joining the podcast movement here's a few tools to get you started:
- How to listen to a podcast tutorial from 85+ year old Mary Ahearn (and Ira Glass)
- The 25 Best Podcast Episodes Ever
- Podcasts recommendations from KCUR Staff
And my current recommendation for new podcast listeners is Working by David Plotz. In the tradition of Studs Terkel, Plotz interviews people of various professions about what they do all day. The conversation with Stephen Colbert is especially entertaining.
I'm off to listen to Serial!
2015 Run Schedule
The following schedule would give me seven marathons toward The New Hampshire Compulsion and three towards 50 in 50.
02.15 Run Toto Run Psycho Wyco 20 miles
03.07 Red Rock Canyon Marathon 26.2 miles
04.11 Rock The Parkway Half 13.1 miles
05.09 Rock on, Lake Perry 50k
06.07 Deadwood Marathon 26.2 miles
07.11 Psycho Summer 50k
09.13 North Face Endurance Wisconsin 50 miles? (or 50k or 26.2 miles)
10.18 Dogwood Canyon 50k
11.15 Pilgrim Pacer Run 26.2 miles
The Flying Monkey
I ran the The Harpeth Hills Flying Monkey Marathon in Tennessee last week as my eleventh marathon. After researching races near my friends home in Nashville, I learned about the Flying Monkey and was instantly drawn in by the race director's demented sense of humor. "Running is stupid." It's limited to 300 participants, and last year, I missed the cut off, so I volunteered at the race in 2013.
This year I made the weighted lottery and ran. It was warm for November (low 60s), but rainy and windy. However, the real pain came from the constant rolling hills. The sign at the top of the first big ascent read, "300ft climbed, 3,300 more to go." I took an enjoyable pace approach to this race. After crossing the finish line in 4:32, I had the following exchange with the race director.
ME: You were right. Running is stupid.
TRENT: Was there ever any doubt?
ME: No.
TRENT: Did you suffer out there?
ME: Yes, I did.
TRENT: Good.
Check out my run tracker to follow my progress on my 50 marathons in 50 states and the New Hampshire Compulsion.