Zune Insider

Zune’s Best of 2011 Podcasts List

1)  On the Verge (Video)
2)  Here’s The Thing – WNYC
3)  Mohr Stories – Smodcast.com
4)  The Jillian Michaels Show
5)  Freakonomics Radio
6)  StarTalk
7)  This American Life
8)  TEDTalks (Video)
9)  WNYC’s Radiolab
10)  this Week in TECH
11)  The Adam Carolla Podcast
12)  Peter B Collins Show
13)  TERRA: The Nature of Our World
14)  The Nerdist
15)  Onion News Network
16)  We’re Alive – A “Zombie” Story
17)  Girl on Guy with Aisha Tyler
18)  Buzz Report HD
19)  The Rest of Everest
20) WTF with Marc Maron
21)  99% Invisible

Visit the Best of 2011 Podcast page in Zune Marketplace on the PC

Hello all!  Those of you long-time members of the Zune Nation probably remember when we posted what we were listening to in the past, and we decided to start that up again – and add in what we’re watching, too!  So without further ado:

• Jessica: “I watched ‘Salt‘ with Angelina Jolie this week. It’s not a great movie (pretty predictable), but it’s super fun to see Angelina Jolie behave like an action hero!  Bringing back a classic… George Acosta’s ‘A State of Mind‘. Perfect background music… probably the reason I’m still in the office at 8 p.m. today!”

• Matt A: “I’m going to bring a few singles that I’m digging this week, some old, some new. First, thanks to my buddy Nick, I’ve been jamming “Digital Dirt” By Zion I and The Grouch off their 2006 album ‘Heroes in the City of Dope‘. This track has some poignant lyrics, pay attention! I’ve also had some time to spend with the Wiz Khalifa album ‘Rolling Papers‘, and I’ve found that aside from the more popular tracks on that album, I’m digging “Hopes & Dreams”, “Fly Solo”, and “On My Level”. Switching it up a little bit, I’ll finish up with a Gorillaz remix, “Doncamatic (The Joker Remix – Feat. Daley)”. This track isn’t actually on their latest album ‘The Fall‘, so impress your friends by with this awesome, little known track. Cheers!”

• Rob: “The Alex Jones Show Podcast – This series is an daily nationally syndicated 3 hour radio show about the latest breaking news from around the world. Host Alex Jones gives you a glimpse into the current info war on main stream media and online. He brings you an in-depth look at the news between the day’s headlines.   Professor Blastoff Podcast – In the late 1940’s, professor R.L. Blastoff, PhD. – a noted genius and recipient of multiple Nobel Prizes who had obtained advanced degrees in several subjects such as nuclear physics, mathematics, and molecular chemistry – completed work on a prototype for a time machine. Upon hearing that the professor planned to have his own weekly radio show discussing these ideas, Tig, Kyle and David became so fascinated with the topics that they decided to start a podcast of their own. The result can be heard weekly, broadcast from the professor’s lab, as “Professor Blastoff”.”

• Marques: “I’ve been all over the place with what I’ve been listening to but I’ll give the quick overview. I’ve re-discovered ESPN’s “Pardon the Interruption” podcast (love the banter on that show) and I continue to get my news fix from a combination of NHK World and BBC Global News. Musically, I found an artist called Outasight and I’m enjoying his album ‘Figure 8‘. And I would have to mention a great track by Rakim called “How to Emcee“. There’s plenty more through the course of the week, but those following me on Twitter quickly find out what they are.”

• Matt S: “I’ve been traveling quite a bit this week, so I dug deep into the archives and pulled up some old and some new.  Pink Martini’s ‘Hang On Little Tomato‘ has been on steady rotation (great lounge music), so has Eric Church and his album ‘Carolina‘.  Loving a couple of the tracks off of Adele’s latest album ‘21‘, especially “Rolling In The Deep”.  It came out a few weeks ago, but I can’t stop listening to Foo Fighters ‘Wasting Light‘,  I think “White Limo” is one of the best workout songs of all time. And naturally I had to download ‘Hot Sauce Committee Part Two‘ from the Beastie Boys this week.  Solid Beasties! My random playlist of the week includes a couple of classics from The Pixies including “Where Is My Mind?” and “Wave of Mutilation”, you can find both on their ‘Best Of‘ album.”

• Josh: “This has been an interesting week of music for me – a mixture of some new albums and some throwbacks. I’ve had Atmosphere’s new album ‘The Family Sign‘ play absolutely all week long. Just a great album start to finish. I’ve also been on a Bon Iver trip lately, giving both his old album ‘For Emma, Forever Ago‘ play time as well as his newer single ‘Blood Bank‘. There has been a little O.A.R. in the mix – specifically “That Was A Crazy Game of Poker (live)“. Then to throw you for a complete loop, I’ve had a whole bunch of chillwave playing, mainly artists Neon Indian and Washed Out.  As far as singles go, I’ve been playing:  Jamaica – “Cross the Fader“, Aesop Rock – “None Shall Pass“, Tyler the Creator – “Yonkers“, Young the Giant – “My Body“, Lykke Li – “Get Some” remix by Beck, and Mogwai – “You’re Lionel Richie“.”

• Vicki: “I’m a huge Depeche Mode fan, so the 2 new remixes of “Personal Jesus” have been getting a lot of play – there’s the Stargate Mix and the Alex Metric Remix Edit – both are great!  I saw Prince in concert a few weeks ago and he was incredible, so I’m still listening to some of his greatest hits off ‘The Very Best of Prince‘ and ‘Ultimate‘.  Sheila E was Prince’s special guest that night and she nearly stole the show from him – not an easy task!!  So I’ve been listening to her older stuff, too – specifically “The Glamorous Life” and “A Love Bizarre“. New in my rotation this week are the Sounds with their latest album, ‘Something to Die For‘ and while I wouldn’t got quite that far, I’m really liking it.  And last but definitely not least, I’m still obsessed with Foster the People’s EP – I love all three songs, but “Pumped Up Kicks” never fails to get me whistling – and I can’t whistle!  Really can’t wait until the full album is out later this month!”

We hope you check out some of the things we’ve recommended here.  Now you tell us – what’re you listening to and watching right now?

The Weekly Download Episode 41 dated March 29th, 2011 is now live and is hosted by Jessica Zahn (jetherealz).

Show notes:
The Weekly Download podcast features audio samples from the hottest podcasts in the Zune Podcast Marketplace and is hosted by Jessica Zahn.  Let us know about a hot new podcast that you may have found and send us an email about it to: askzune at microsoft.com, we might feature it and give you a shout-out.  FEATURED PODCASTS SHOW NOTES:  Mostly Photo Podcast – 50 min – New Audio and Video Series from TWiT – Updated weekly on Thursdays  (:39 – 3:08); GeekWire Podcast – 35 min Audio Show – Every Fri (3:09 – 5:23);  The Alex Jones Show Podcast – 180 min Audio Show – Updated Daily Mon-Fri (5:24 – 7:20);  KenRadio-World Tech Roundup – 30 min Audio Show – Few times a week on random days (7:21 – 9:12); After Dark Podcast – 45 min – Audio Show – Daily (9:13 – 11:03);  Music: Earth by Ceps;  Episode 41 – March 29nd, 2011, 8 MB MP3, Total minutes (11:49)

The mp3 file is 8.5 MB and runs for a 12 minutes. Subscribe to the podcast in the FREE Zune Marketplace 4.7 Media Player software here.  Download the audio file directly here - stream it

(more…)

The Weekly Download Episode 40 dated March 22nd, 2011 is now live and is hosted by Jessica Zahn (jetherealz).

Show notes:
The Weekly Download podcast features audio samples from the hottest podcasts in the Zune Podcast Marketplace and is hosted by Jessica Zahn.  Let us know about a hot new podcast that you may have found and send us an email about it to: askzune at microsoft.com, we might feature it and give you a shout-out.  FEATURED PODCASTS SHOW NOTES: Eardrop Podcast – 5 min – Daily Audio Episodes  (:39 – 1:59); The Jillian Michaels Show Podcast – 40 min Audio Show – Every Friday (2:00 – 4:49);  Xbox Live’s Major Nelson Podcast – 60 -120  min – Weekly or Bi-Weekly on Random Days (4:50 – 6:52);  ESPN: PTI (Pardon the Interruption) – 22 min Audio Show – Daily M-F (6:53 – 8:45); CBSSports.com Baseball Podcast – 40-50 min – Weekly or Twice Weekly on Random Days (8:46 – 10:28);  Music: Earth by Ceps.

The mp3 file is 8 MB and runs for a 11 minutes. Subscribe to the podcast in the FREE Zune Marketplace 4.7 Media Player software here.  Download the audio file directly here - stream it

(more…)

The Weekly Download Episode 39 dated March 15th, 2011 is now live and is hosted by Jessica Zahn (jetherealz).

Show notes:
The Weekly Download podcast features audio samples from the hottest podcasts in the Zune Podcast Marketplace and is hosted by Jessica Zahn.  Let us know about a hot new podcast that you may have found and send us an email about it to: askzune at microsoft.com, we might feature it and give you a shout-out.  FEATURED PODCASTS SHOW NOTES: The Tobolowsky Files Podcast – 45 min – New Episodes published Monthly or bi-weekly – Random Days  (:38 – 3:30); The Ricky Gervais Podcast – 60 min Audio Show – Random Episodes (3:31 – 5:47);  The Gentlemen’s Club with Caleb Bacon Podcast –  80 min – Weekly on Sunday’s (5:48 – 7:34);  Sarah and Vinnie Secret Show – 40 min Audio Show – Twice Weekly – Weds & Friday’s (7:35 – 9:19); Who Charted? Podcast – 70 min – Weekly on Weds (9:20 – 11:31);  Music: Earth by Ceps.

The mp3 file is 8 MB and runs for a 12 minutes. Subscribe to the podcast in the FREE Zune Marketplace 4.7 Media Player software here.  Download the audio file directly here - stream it

(more…)