I've speant literally hundreds of hours listening to Ira Glass' voice on the radio. How weird for him to answer back when I speak!
Listen now:
Ira Glass on the Internet (.mp3)
In this interview, Ira and I compare truthy, B.S. theories of how the Internet reflects public radio and vice versa. What's not B.S. is that while the mainstream media implodes, NPR is doing better than ever.
I think this has much to do with shows like This American Life connecting with younger listeners stylistically while providing rigorous analysis in its journalism. While every other big news show is racing to replicate the "edgy" Internet with constant jittery cuts to new items and a general dumbing-down of content, TAL takes the time to think about stuff, talk to people, and present items through a format that will never be obsolete: story.
A wonderful first show of Search Engine 2.0
One thing to keep in mind about TAL podcasts - while they are free, they do come at a cost. Ira Glass often pitches podcast listeners to contribute to Chicago Public Radio to help offset the huge internet bandwidth costs associated with downloading all those archived and current shows. (I am part of the few who do.)
That said, thanks to TVO for help keeping one of my favorite podcasts alive. I hope your costs are reasonable in doing so. I would hate loosing Jesse again.
Have a great party tonight and get working tomorrow on another great show.
posted by Ed Terry on 15 September 2009 at 11:45 AM
Glad I stumbled upon this on Twitter - I'm looking forward to tuning in to your show next Tuesday.
posted by dschreiber on 15 September 2009 at 1:15 PM
My favourite/favorite part was how flabbergasted Ira was that Jesse, living in Canada, would have have any interest at all in an American public radio show.
As an American living in Toronto since '03 I have to say that I was surprised by how many Canadians I've met who listen to & watch American Public radio & TV, and as I type this my son is watching a PBS broadcast from Buffalo. I would have to say that the voices of public broadcasting are probably the most sane and personal of all the media that crosses the border.
What a great way to explore that borderless public space that the internet has opened by looking at public broadcasting as a type of precursor. The success of NPR's podcast with no big marketing campaign seems to at least suggest some affinity there.
I'm another person who found this via Twitter. If this is only your first show I am incredibly excited about what more is to come. Great work!
posted by macbraughton on 15 September 2009 at 2:20 PM
I am a long-time Search Engine listener from the States - so it works both ways!
posted by Ed Terry on 15 September 2009 at 6:48 PM
Ira Glass was the perfect guest for the first of the new podcasts! Well done! I listened to this one as I drove from Saint John to Halifax today along with a few queued up "This American Lives" - I disagree with Ira in that I prefer having archives to go back and listen to... there's some I've listened to many, many times.
I would be curious to see how many people from outside the US send them a bit of money for their trouble. I mention this as the one's I've listened to lately have made the plea for bandwidth costs... which I think complements nicely the discussion of whether or not this stuff should be free and to what extent.
At any rate - nicelyu done. It was a great interview of an icon. I would have pulled a Chris Farley and just sat there saying "Remember when you did TAL on TV? That was awesome..."
posted by atomic1973 on 15 September 2009 at 10:47 PM
Thanks, atomic1973, but Farley as the slobbering fan/talk show host is exactly who I felt like! Ira was nice about it though...
And glad you found me, dschreiber and macbraughton!
& Thx Ed!
posted by Jesse Brown
on 16 September 2009 at 2:22 PM
I suspect the reason podcast ads are worth 3x radio ads has to do with the demographics and spending habits of ppl who use iPods vs. those who listen to the radio. Size doesn't matter. Quality is what you want.
posted by fil on 16 September 2009 at 11:19 PM
Shortly after I started podcasting I got an email from This American Life saying they wanted contributors.
I said "love to but I'm Canadian" so that was the end of it.
I'd never heard of them then but wonder if I could have made something of the opportunity if I'd been smarter.
posted by Charles Hodgson on 18 September 2009 at 1:49 PM
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Video Podcasts
#1: Does the Internet Make You Dumber?
#2: Free Hoder
The official blog of Search Engine – the podcast that predicts the present. Host Jesse Brown and guests explore the Internet's impact on politics and culture.
The Agenda with Steve Paikin Allan Gregg in Conversation Big Ideas
Think Again
Internet Radio
I run the Canadian music site/blog NxEW.ca and we've promoted a number of music podcasts (especially those produced by the CBC). The reality is that public radio better reflects the musical tastes of our writers and readers than commercial television or radio does.
I've also set up a section of the site called "I Heart Radio" that walks people through finding and playing public radio from across Canada on their computers (as well as providing links to media players and software that will act sort of like Tivo for Radio). There are currently over 120 stations listed (CBC, Campus and community stations) in Canada - sort of like extended cable for radio but all Canadian and almost all commercial free and as long as you've paid your ISP bill and have a computer it's all completely free. I think, from what I've gathered about our readers and internet culture in general it's a really appealing combination for people.
I Heart Radio
posted by Justin Beach on 15 September 2009 at 11:25 AM