I, like many other people I know get our news largely from audio podcasts that update weekly. What began years ago out of a currious intrest in multitasking has grown into a weekly habit that sometimes becomes cumbersom but always enjoyable and more importantly more substantative and eficient then before.

If you are looking to make the switch from TV & Print (really more TV then print since I still consume alot of print) here are the best of 2007 broken down by category:

Art & Design

Bad at Sports: [weekly 60min]
A Chicago based but Internationally focused Contemporary Art & Culture program with large amounts of humor and more importantly substantative discussions. In the spirit of full disclosure I have ties to it and am not biased in that when it is less then stellar I have no problem saying but it does offer information and entertainment that I have not found anywhere else period.

More….. I wish I could say that there are more audio programs that I can listen to weekly to get news and opinion but saddly after many atempts I find they annoy more then entertain. Please leave a comment with your favorite and I will gladly check them out. Who knows they could make next years list?

Business

First I want to say I still get much of my business news via print on a daily basis (mostly from RSS feeds I have populated) there are many good audio programs but I have found that the genre moves to fast to be covered by a weekly program and the best daily programs refuse to post podcasts online.

NPR: Economy: [daily 5-10min]
The program is exerts from parts of the NPR daily broadcasts that relate to top economy story of the day. Quick, dirty and good.

All Things Considered:[daily 60min]
I don’t want to mislead but they continue to refuse to post a podcast for this show. Just the fact that the show is so good earns it a spot on this list and I eagerly await the point when they decide to wake up and serve it even with commercials included. I would gladly, gladly, gladly listen to them to get this daily as a file. They do stream it online at their website but after you do this for a while the added wall of being tied to a computer makes this more then a tad annoying.

Entertainment/Media News

this WEEK in MEDIA[weekly 75min]
The longest rant in the world of online audio, so long it makes a Warhol film look short but worth it. If you are in the Media production, media management or prosumer product world then this is well worth every minute to listen to.

KCRW’s The Business[weekly 30min]
A weekly audio program on the politics and decisions of Hollywood executives & creatives. Interviews, commentary and perspective on anything and everything you would want to know.

On The Media[weekly 60min]
A meta audio program. It is all the news about how the news is made and/or delivered. This may sound odd but it really can give a better perspective on how the weeks news debates are framed. truly one of the best.

General News

Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me![weekly 45min]
Crack in a audible format. I have been addicted to this program for almost a decade, it was “The Daily Show” before there was a Daily Show. It is a comedy weekly roundup quiz show on the weeks news

Fresh Air with Terry Gross[daily 45min]
A wonderful daily interview show that is oddly able to get very open and personal interviews from it’s visitors. The show runs the gamut from unbelievably good to snobbishly stuck up and laced with the wonderful hosts occasional 60’s feminist underpinnings.

Music

Coverville[almost daily 45min]
The best place to discover new or relatively unknown bands covering your favorite songs. I have have discovered multiple new bands this way and in todays market that is getting harder and harder to do. So anything that helps is more then welcome.

Politics

NBC: Meet the Press[weekly 60min]
“The” U.S. political audio program taken directly from the Sunday program that has aired for over 60 years. If you are interested in the activities within the beltway this is a must hear. The absolute best at what they do.

NPR: It’s All Politics[weekly 15min]
The Bad at Sports equivalent in the realm of politics. It is so great to hear (especially during a primary year) and is short enough to fit any lifestyle and leaves you wanting more.

The Unger Report[weekly 5min]
Funny, short, unique and worth the wait but not much more. Sometimes a bit simple and obvious but the production level hides that weakness well.

Pop Culture

Diggnation: [weekly 30min]
Diggnation is not for everyone but is a fun and brisk look at the weeks top tech/pop culture/human interest of my generation. It’s fluff but after alot of politics or business it is a welcome palette cleanser.

Sci/Technology

Hmmm…Krulwich on Science:[random 10min]
Interesting, sporadic and fun but at times obvious in it’s slant.

Windows Weekly:[weekly 60min]
A great weekly recap of Microsoft news and products. Sometimes apologetic for Microsoft’s failures but that is very very rare and the host Paul Thurrott keeps it pretty fair and honest.

this WEEK in TECH:[weekly 60min]This used to be the best weekly recap of tech news and inside business opinion until recently. The panel has picked up a revolving door feel and tangents with bickering every 5 mins. Still even with all those downsides it has a great host and occational guests that have razor sharp insight in the tech industry.

Security Now!:[weekly 60min]
In the beginning it was a college level primer course almost on Computer Security. It has evolved over time to be a hot topic of the month deep level inspection on one aspect of computer security, network administration or programing that is without equal. Some episodes are worth skipping but always well made.

Yes this is just over 15 hours……..sigh.

This is not to say you should listen to every single program here because I don’t even myself. I do make about 12 hours a week but it isn’t easy. They are worth your time though each and every one if you want to keep on the razors edge of news and events. Please share your favorite sites in the comments area.

If you ever visit Tokyo no mater what else you want to see or visit you have to spend one morning checking out the fish market on the coast. Get up at 5:30, catch the first train and see the largest (think 3-4 American football fields), cleanest (the smell is actually pleasing) and busiest market you have ever seen. It makes Shinjuku train station look slow and boring.

I was told that they move more seafood in that market then anywhere else in the world and it is a claim that is easily believable. Tuna the size of bathtubs, Octopus the color of blood. Entire tables covered with worms moving so much that you lose your sense of depth looking at it. Sea Urchins the size of Volleyballs. Regardless of your age or gag sensitivity this is something you can’t miss. If I had to see only one thing in all of Tokyo it would be this. Continue reading »

Part 1-Fabric of Society

The societal fabric that seems to be prevalent in Tokyo these days from the point of view of an outsider is one of duality, of separate domain. Tokyo seems to run on a separation of male and female activities more then any city in America and many in Europe. The daytime locations in Tokyo and the surrounding districts is largely a female focused endeavor. With countless shops and brand named fashion outlets much of Tokyo seems to make it’s consumer sales from women with even some entire districts seemingly devoted to massive stretches of big ticket fashion clothing, accessories, cosmetics & heath care as is the case with Harajuku and parts of Shibuya.

The nighttime is as opposite as it can get by and large. Many shops close early in comparison (20:00-21:00) and the ones that stay open or even open only at night are focused largely on the Japanese male.

With the massive grouping of love hotels (glitzy and outlandish hotels that charge by the hour) and a smattering of soaplands, pink salons & fashion salons mixed in. Not to mention the many bars, nightclubs & for the sake of British gaijin and their American/Australian friends high cost pubs with football and rugby from Europe playing nonstop (except with Japaneses commentators instead of English). There is no lack of distractions once the sun goes down.

Aside from the majority of retail that is focused on one sex or the other the rest of Tokyo is focused locally and serviced by small privately owned stores. A style which gives it the dense overcrowded completely new store around every corner fun that you come to expect after only a few hours of walking but makes it highly susceptible to a focused brand name with a store in each district you would come to appreciate after searching for an hour or more to find someone that sells decongestant. Something which can been seen in action right now with the 2 hour line craze for the one and only Krispy Kreme donuts in all of Tokyo at the Train terrace in Shinjuku (something many people thought would be a flop but is very much not so). The duality of Tokyo may be deep rooted and may not change in the next decade or it may be seeing the end of the 800-1000 sq ft store in light of Brand name mass appeal gender neutral competition. Either way whatever the outcome Tokyo will most assuredly do it with a flair that is unique to the enjoyable controlled chaos that is the modern day Tokyo.

There’s a sad sort of clanging from the clock in the hall
And the bells in the steeple too.
And up in the nursery an ubsurd little bird
Is popping out to say cook-coo cook-coo, cook-coo
Regretfully they tell us cook-coo
But firmly they compell us cook-coo
To say goodbye cook-coo…
To you…

So long farewell, auf weidersehen good-bye

Update: it has been confirmed that Edward Lifson has left Hello Beautiful as can be read here

Nothing is absolutely sure right now but WBEZ has redesigned it’s website and in the process there is no mention of Edward Lifson. Try to find his name anywhere and you come up with nothing. As you can see in these two photos of the website before and after it has gone from “Edward Lifson brings you in monotone polyphonic sound! Edward Lifson’s Hello Beautiful!” to “Hello Beautiful………….chirp…….chirp”. The Edward Lifson blog is not referenced and according to Alison Cuddy on this weeks show Edward Lifson is “out furthering his education on the arts”.

    

If it was a vacation they would have said vacation this isn’t Pro Wrestling where you have to have a fake injury to keep the “plot” moving while you bask in the Jamaican sun for a few weeks. Is he out like Kane walking the earth learning about art from the people that cross his path (and solving crimes on the side?) or is it more likely that with the new look comes some changes for WBEZ only time will tell. Until it does and we can in fact say goodbye to Hello Beautiful, it’s 1980 tone music opening and it’s monotone euphoria of this weeks “Hello Fellow!” we will count the seconds till it is over just as we do when we actually listen to the show.