After all the complaints we received about last week’s editorial, I’d like to say at the outset that this editorial represents the views of Critic, Radio One, everybody at OUSA, the university staff, and the entire student population of Dunedin. By reading this, you must agree with everything I say, and do as I command.
I (we all) think podcasts are the best. I was lucky enough to interview Melody Thomas from RNZ this week about her podcast series Bang! where she talks about sex (fucking), sexuality and relationships with real people. It’s wonderful: you should (I command you to) check it out. One bit of our talk that really stood out to me was her thoughts on podcasting.
Melody said she has fallen in love with podcasts and is fascinated by the medium. “All we hear is how people want quick satisfaction these days, and they’ll only listen to something that’s a couple of minutes long, and yet here’s these podcasts that are an hour or even longer and it doesn’t seem to be an issue. I am drawn to the way that it can be quite leisurely and in-depth, and people are really flocking to it.” She recommends My Dad Wrote a Porno.
Podcasts have snuck in as a surprising reinvention of radio. Podcasts are often very cheap or free to make and most of them are free to listen to. You can get as engrossed in them as you would in any TV show. You can do any boring thing that doesn’t involve your ears, and a podcast will make it fun.
Critic’s special correspondent Swilliam Shakesbeer says he likes podcasts because, “It’s like reading, but you’ve got your hands free so you can hold a beer”. His favourite podcast is The Worst Idea of All Time, where the hosts watch Sex and the City 2 every week for 52 weeks, because he has trouble remembering what happens in movies too. The same hosts have teamed up with podcasting giants the McElroy brothers to make Till Death Do Us Blart, where they swear to watch Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 every year until they die.
If you want to be smart, get into This American Life. If you’re twisted, My Favourite Murder. If you like medical history, I recommend Sawbones. I think I’ve covered every sort of person now.
I hope you enjoyed reading what is now your opinion on podcasts. Whoever got into government, (we went to print before the election results) Critic (the student population) believe we are solely responsible for the result.
Lucy Hunter
Critic Editor