Geek podcast roundup

Just a list of some geeky podcasts I’ve stumbled upon in my travels. Listening to these in the car is a great way to fill a commute…

Penny Arcade Podcast (rss): All geeks know about Penny Arcade; the podcast provides an entertaining view of the Mike and Jerry’s creative process. The two brainstorm, discuss current events, and joke around while they iterate toward their next comic. This one is a lot of fun and always feels like a special treat when it pops up on my feed reader.

Software Engineering Radio: The Podcast for Professional Developers. This is a solidly produced podcast that centers around interviews with engineers and researchers in the IT field. The topics are generally interesting, though listening to Germans talking to other Germans in English about abstract programming concepts can cause one’s eyes to glaze over; I recall one episode about the Java Spring framework that was just abysmal. Still, the podcast really shines when the guest is a native English speaker and especially when Markus Völter is doing the interviewing.

The WordPress Podcast: The #1 podcast for WordPress-related news, tips and information. One wonders if they are the only WordPress podcast, but that is besides the point. In this relaxed podcast, Charles Stricklin and “color commentator” Jonathan Bailey discuss all things WordPress in their chummy Louisianian drawls. As a user of WordPress who has submitted a few patches, I enjoy listening to the discussion, interviews, and insights into the blogging community.

P3 (php|architect’s PHP Podcast): A bi-weekly radio-style program full of news, punditry and plenty of rambling. The personable Paul Reinheimer and knowledgeable Sean Coates talk about PHP and related issues in their so-called “ramblecast”. Being a heavy PHP user, I like being kept up-to-date on what is happening with the language. Tips about web development creep into the podcast, and the rambling often runs far afield of P3’s focus. The conversational nature and lack of cohesiveness here can result in some tedious listening, but P3 does have its moments.

Dungeons & Dragons Podcast (rss): Go inside the world of Dungeons & Dragons for insights, interviews, and much more. My primary reason for listening to this was to hear the Penny Arcade guys and Scott Kurtz of PvP playing the new 4th Edition. Apparently Wizards of Coast sent out a high-quality DM or two to run a little campaign with these guys and recorded the result. I don’t even play D&D, but the aforementioned podcasts are really entertaining. In addition to the Penny Arcade podcasts, you’ll also find stuff about D&D news/events. These are somewhat interesting, though the real meat is listening to Mike, Jerry, and Scott crack jokes as they dungeon crawl.