[Swprograms] Podding Along - Issue 333

[John Figliozzi <jfiglio1@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Most radio listening takes place in the car or while doing other things that allow freedom for the ear, but not the eyes and hands.  Podcasts permit a shift of listening time from a set appointment to virtually any convenient occasion.  I do it while “power walking” (most) every morning in what sometimes seems like a vain attempt to diminish the results of sitting behind a desk for 35 years.  The act of putting one foot in front of the other can be pretty monotonous and by “podding along” while plodding along the mind also gets something useful to do.  So it is with the time spent gardening, washing dishes, preparing meals and many other day to day activities.

Podcasting has grown to the point that it can justly be considered a medium all its own.  Therefore, the attempt here has to be to highlight only a small portion of it, just one corner where excellence reigns.

Some of the best radio comes from the public networks of the UK, Australia, Ireland, Canada, New Zealand and the U.S.  Apart from the originating program’s web site, most programs are made available through any number of other amalgamation sources such as iTunes and TuneIn. 

Admittedly, these are thoroughly subjective recommendations, but my interests and tolerance for incompatible views are pretty wide-ranging. Here’s another in a continuing series of small samplings, offered in a 90 minute scope (more or less):

__ __


“Tolstoy: War and Peace”
THE FORUM - BBC World Service
'War and Peace' by the Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy charts the story of Russia during the Napoleonic wars of the early 19th century, covering the pandemonium and brutality of the battlefield, as well as the equally intense dramas and loves of several families. It is a monumental novel, tracking the fortunes of dozens of brilliantly drawn individuals, with a cast of more than six hundred characters, both historical and fictional. So why is 'War and Peace' still such a compelling masterpiece, and why did Tolstoy later disown it?  Joining Bridget Kendall are Dr Galina Alexeeva, head of Research at Yasnaya Polyana, Tolstoy’s former country estate in Russia; Andrei Zorin, Professor of Russian at Oxford University and author of a new biography of Tolstoy, and Professor Donna Orwin, author of 'Simply Tolstoy', who’s from the University of Toronto in Canada. (44”)
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3cszjvn

“The Bomb”
THE DOCUMENTARY - BBC World Service
In a moment of terrible inspiration, a little-known Hungarian scientist called Leo Szilard uncovers the destructive possibilities of an atomic bomb. Fearing the Nazis would figure out how to produce the bomb first, Szilard turns to his friend Albert Einstein to help convince the US President to invest in a uranium research programme. That programme becomes the Manhattan Project, and as America tries to end World War Two, Szilard fears his vision is about to become reality. Recruiting other scientists from across the Manhattan Project he launches a campaign to save the world from the horror of a nuclear bomb. A campaign that will fail on 6 August 1945, when the United States drops an atomic bomb on Hiroshima.  For Emily Strasser this is a personal story. Her grandfather worked on the Manhattan Project. All her life she has been grappling with what her grandfather was a part of, and how she is meant to feel about it today. (53”)


__ __


A monthly (well, mostly monthly) compendium of these newsletters, plus on occasion additional pertinent material, is now published in The CIDX Messenger, the monthly e-newsletter of the Canadian International DX Club (CIDX).  For further information, go to www.cidx.ca

John Figliozzi
Editor, "The Worldwide Listening Guide”
NEW! 184 page 9th EDITION available NOW from Universal Radio [universal-radio.com], Amazon [amazon.com], Ham Radio Outlet [hamradio.com]
_______________________________________________
Swprograms mailing list
Swprograms@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/swprograms

To unsubscribe:  Send an E-mail to  swprograms-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=unsubscribe, or visit the URL shown above.