Science Podcasts
The online copy of the Guardian nowadays offers more than just a newspaper service; including blogs, talk (online discussions) and podcasts, all of which cover a range of topics including ‘science’.
The science podcasts are updated every Monday and come in handy half hour segments that aim to cover the topical science stories featured in the media that week. Their typical format is to feature two different stories with plenty of information and discussion usually including a guest speaker. In between the longer items there is a quick round up of the other newsworthy science stories of the week. If there is time they also have a final section where listeners’ letters are read out and the presenters are able to respond.
The subjects that the science podcast has delved into this past month have been wide ranging…from the ethical considerations and implications of a DNA database to the use of a space station for golf practice. The style is quite informal and there is a good mix of presenters and experts giving information and their opinions, which makes for lively listening. Often the editor of the arts podcast is one of the co-presenters as apparently she adds the “voice of reason”. I’m not sure about the message this sends out…can’t the scientists speaking do this? And I bet there isn’t the science editor included in the arts podcast!
Overall though I think the Guardian science podcast offers an excellent way of keeping up to date with weekly science stories and is incredibly easy to access. Although if you are tempted to have a listen be prepared to be deafened as they obviously have difficulty editing the music and voice clips to be at the same audio level!
4 comments:
I thought it was a bit odd when they brought in the art's editor. I think the "voice of reason" thing is a joke, but I did think it sends out a message of the arts and science as being seporate from each other.
The guardian media podcast is also worth subscribing to, if you are interested in the media (which I assume most students on this course would be)
Ella, interesting post. I'm glad that you commented on a prctical issue (the sound levels) as well as on the content: the medium can often have a huge effect on how we experience the message. For me - I hate listening to things that need headphones as I spend so much time transcribing audio data - that kind of thing could be annoying enough to make me give up on it.
How enjoyable do you - or anyone else?- think it is overall? Would you choose to listen to it on the tube rather than music?
I think I still prefer my music but the option of listening to a discussion means that I can mix it up a bit, which is good and it makes the bus ride go quicker! I do think though that listening to music only requires a short attention span typically about 3 minutes and then a new song comes on. But the science podcast is a bit more commitment as you can't 'skip a track' if you're not interested in a particular story or if you only have a limited time to listen.
That's a good point about skipping a track - I'm sure it'll come into to podcasting software at some point.
I listen to spoken word radio a lot anyway, so the podcasts vs "shuffle songs" option isn't so much of an issue. Most of the "podcasts" I listen to are professionaly made programmes from BBC radio made into podcast format. It's easier to listen to Digital Planet on the bus than 3 in the morning.
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