Ten podcasts you should be listening to

Most recently, radio has entered a new renaissance for a reason that would have been difficult to imagine just a few years ago – the rise of podcasts. Not long ago, unless you had a world band radio or some other expensive device, the only radio you could hear was local radio or, in the still of the night, a broadcast that traveled a few hundred miles from a huge transmitter.

Now, through the wonder of the internet, one can listen to a radio program from anywhere in the world, at whatever time one wishes to listen.

If you have not discovered the incredible world of radio podcasts, I suggest you give it a try. For a starter, here are my ten favorite radio podcast programs that will make that grueling commute fly by and keep you listening in your driveway when you finally arrive home:

1. Radio Lab – This unique program delves into a new subject every week and uses radio in a unique way to bring that subject alive. The last show I listened to was about Raymond Dart whose claim, in the 1920s, that human beings first evolved in Africa was scoffed at by the scientific world since everyone knew that humans could never have evolved in Africa, a backward and “dark” continent. http://www.radiolab.org/
2. BBC Drama of The Week – The people who practically invented radio drama bring it to you with a mixture of new and classical plays presented, imaginatively, for a listening audience. It has everything from classical Greek drama to plays written specifically for this program. I assure you that you will be entertained and, sometimes, amazed by these plays. http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/ptw
3. This American Life – This American Life is a popular public radio program that you can listen to at various times on any local public radio station. The convenience of listening to it whenever you want means that you do not have to miss a program simply because you were not in your car at the right time. For those of you who don’t know the program, you are in for a thrill. http://www.thisamericanlife.org/
4. Selected Shorts – A program that brings to you short stories read by fine actors and actresses. Some shows are devoted to "themes" – like a recent one called, "Romantic Disasters." An added benefit of listening to the show is that you get acquainted with writers you may not know – many of the stories are by contemporary authors. http://www.selectedshorts.org/podcast/
5. Nature – Every program brings to you a variety of topics about the natural world. Adapted from articles in the prestigious international science journal, Nature. After listening to this program, you will see the world in a different way. http://www.nature.com/nature/podcast/
6. From Our Own Correspondent – The BBC brings you an in-depth program about a place or conflict or people as seen through the eyes of one of its senior correspondents. "Stories from reporters around the world, coloring in the gaps between the headlines." http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qjlq/episodes/player
7. ProPublica – This is some of the best investigative journalism done anywhere by anybody. A nonprofit that accepts no advertising, ProPublica casts a cold eye on the political, economic, and international scenes. http://www.propublica.org/podcast/
8. Free Library of Philadelphia – Maybe you don’t know that the FLP hosts some of the world’s great speakers – and if you do, maybe you don’t know that it podcasts those events so you can listen anytime you want. http://libwww.freelibrary.org/podcast/
9. Studio 360 – Entertaining, thoughtful – provocative. This Peabody-award winning show is about pop culture and the arts. I guarantee that you will love this show. The last few months they have asked listeners to create new collective nouns – you know, like "a pride of lions." Ken Burns of PBS fame submitted "a reel of documentary filmmakers" and a "scratch of DJs.” How about an "overturned tractor-trailer of podcasts?" http://www.studio360.org/audio/podcasts/
10. BBC World Service Documentaries – These are audio portraits of people and places will take you around the world as you are stuck in traffic on the Blue Route. http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/docarchive

Did I miss your favorite? Please share your favorite podcasts in the comments.