I love How Stuff Works Podcasts. They all have extremely high sound quality, are timely, and are always well researched. They are professional: these people are paid to give us free entertainment.
But there is more than one podcast, and they aren't interchangeable. After the hundreds of hours of listening to them, I've unfortunately grown opinions that I can't relate to anyone with.
Let me tell you what I think. I have listened to most of them, and I'll tell you if I haven't.
Stuff You Should Know
This is the flagship podcast, the most popular, and the most entertaining. Unlike the other podcasts from Howstuffworks, Chuck and Josh here talk about whatever they want. And that's okay. They make every single topic they attack the most interesting thing you've ever heard. I've never aborted a file halfway through because I wasn't interested in what they were talking about. Is it that they only attack fan favorites? No, its because their personalities shine so bright after every passing sentence that it becomes more like a conversation with an informative friend than a boring lesson. They are funny, they are witty, and they take their sweet time. The downside is that they can get so far off topic that you'll have to read the podcast title again to remember what their original idea was. The amazing part is that there is such a good time to be had that it doesn't really matter.
And stick around for the listener mail. Sometimes the listener mail can be longer than the actual topic that day, but that is where the funniest moments are. I still sometimes end my haikus with refrigerator.
Stuff You Missed In History Class
Once I decided that I couldn't get enough "Stuff You Should Know", I decided to check out what the other podcasts were like. "Stuff you missed in History Class" was my second experience with How Stuff Works podcasts. I had an immediate aversion. It was just so much more... girly. I didn't expect that. Not only were these ladies podcast announcers, but they had extremely high pitched voices. It was a little irritating. It also served a practical disservice. It was much harder to listening to the podcast in my car because the pitchiness didn't come through the roar of the freeway. That isn't something they can help. It just didn't help with this fact combined that, with their overt girliness bouncing off of each other in the podcasts, it created a cutefest or glamour-oogling with even the most unsuspecting historical event.
And dammit, I really ended up liking it. I raptly listened to EVERY episode. They took the dusty veneer off every oil painting and sepia microfilm and replaced it with buttons and bows.
Update 5-8-15: The current announcers are Tracy and Holly. I like 'em. It can be a little scripty but they haven't lost their rapport.
Stuff Mom Never Told You.
This podcast was the scale tipping endeavor. The endeavor that after listening to EVERY episode, I decided to bite the bullet and download the remaining 6 podcasts, 1500 files.
This Podcast is about gender relations and feminist issues. They once described it themselves as "stuff you should know with boobs". Surprisingly, it was much less girly than "stuff you missed in history class". These ladies had bite. Cristin Konger in particular had a lot of spunk and a few impressions up her sleeve.
This podcast really affected me. I turned into a feminist. I wore lipstick and I started drinking beer. From this podcast I learned how to own my femininity without feeling like I am going against the norm.
From another perspective, my boyfriend HATES it. Absolutely inexplicable.
Update: That old picture is a bit outdated. The newest addition is a distracting new filly, Caroline. I think the podcast may have taken a turn for the worst. Caroline often breaks into fits of laughter and gives points of view that are neither insightful nor well researched. Luckily Cristen is still there as the studious base of the podcast, but Caroline may just be a distraction.
Stuff They Don't Want You Know
This is a video podcast. I haven't seen all of them. Once you download 'em all you'll get a 5.5 minute file comprised of a minute of intro and ads. The ad is played at both the beginning and end of the podcast. If you like sitting down for a spell and getting your podcasts in a big chunk, you'll see the ads repeated end over end until it will drive you crazy. You'll quickly devise a way to move the curser to the 32 second mark at the beginning of the podcast and aborting it 15 seconds early. Perhaps you'll do this with your big toe.
My biggest grief with this podcast is the fact that it isn't that informative. With 3.5 minutes dedicated to a topic, it doesn't have time to give me any new information. It glosses over wide topics and hopes to divert you from this unfortunate fact by a parade of first page google images. O well. I've got nothing but time.
Stuff To Blow your Mind
Formally, "Stuff From The Science Lab". I haven't listened to every episode yet, but so far I like it. This podcast has very much the same feel as "Stuff You Should Know". They bring up a seemingly unrelated topic that might be relevent to our daily lives then turn it into something interesting. It restricts itself to scientific topics. The dynamic between the two writers is pretty good. Alison sounds like a girly girl and an awesome mom while Robert often chips in with some interesting observations and is always straightforward with some odd sounding facts. The science fiction references and reading recommendations are also good. I had lots of ideas for short stories I should write. This podcast ranks as number four in the favorites list.
The little something that makes this podcast stand out is the amount of reflection they have on their topics. Everyone else just puts the facts out there. Chuck and Josh add a little extra because they make it funny. When you listen to Alison and Robert, it is like having an intelligent conversation. They let you know what they are thinking, and they advance the ideas past the discussions in scientific papers.
Another notable point of this podcast is that it has always been Alison and Robert. They've never passed the gavel and they really know how to work with eachother. Sometimes they get into the realm of the slightly-sexy, but it is always a comfortable conversation with Alison and Robert. They are also, notably, the only male-female pairing.
Brain Stuff
This podcast title is totally misleading. I was under the impression that we were supposed to learn interesting things about the brain. The brain is a very interesting subject that could very well had deserved its own podcast. I downloaded it with the delightful anticipation of listening to it with a cognitive scientist. I should have listened to it first. The title references the announcer's last name, and not the subject matter. The show is organized into 5 minute answers to interesting questions. It is as if we are tuning in to hear about what our friend Marshall Brain thinks is cool. Unfortunately, we had no reason from the get-go to make Marshall Brain our friend. I also admit that I didn't listen to every episode. I made it to the 6th or 7th one. After a few of them, they started asking for people to write in with questions. I laughed out loud... they stopped having stuff to talk about rather early on.
The biggest problem this podcast has is that it doesn't have a clear subject. It is just Marshall Brain. He wanted a podcast to talk about whatever he wanted, and he got one. If you are a fan of the relatively unknown Marshall Brain, this podcast is for you, but I would have to be pretty desperate to turn to it.
Tech Stuff
I can tell these guys identify themselves as geeks. Unfortunately, that is a rather sophisticated title nowadays. Geeks are geeks because they have a specific interest. Having something that will appeal to geeks means that you are always isolating your market. Some of the podcasts are interesting, but even if you are into some of them, I bet you are never completely interested in more than 10% of them.
Car Stuff
As far as I can tell, this podcast has more of a rural country feel. One of the announcers has a northern accent, Canadian, even Minnesotan in texture. The banter is pretty good, and the music sets off the podcast perfectly. I downloaded all of the episodes expecting it to help me with the car trouble I've been having lately, but so far its just been a general podcast for car enthusiasts.
The podcast is in the question answer format. One person is an expert at cars, and the other is just the excitable host.
Even though I am not really in that demographic, I am going to have to keep listening.
Stuff From the B-Side
I admit that after listening to the first two podcasts, I went to iTunes and unsubscribed, deleting all of the episodes in the process. It sounded just too elitest. Later, in my casual listening time, I deciding to give it another chance with the episodes on my iphone. It was... not as bad. I have only listened to three episodes total, so I don't think I can give it a fair review. I'll let you know when I get a better opinion.
Stuff for the Stylish Home
It has quite a fitting theme song. It allowed me to get caught up in the glamour of interior decorating. I wasn't so infatuated by the end. I don't think it's their fault, the topic just may be a little dry. The decoupage podcast talked about mod podge and that was it. The children's room podcast talked about ... I can't even remember. Podcasting is just a bad medium unfortunately.
But there is more than one podcast, and they aren't interchangeable. After the hundreds of hours of listening to them, I've unfortunately grown opinions that I can't relate to anyone with.
Let me tell you what I think. I have listened to most of them, and I'll tell you if I haven't.
This is the flagship podcast, the most popular, and the most entertaining. Unlike the other podcasts from Howstuffworks, Chuck and Josh here talk about whatever they want. And that's okay. They make every single topic they attack the most interesting thing you've ever heard. I've never aborted a file halfway through because I wasn't interested in what they were talking about. Is it that they only attack fan favorites? No, its because their personalities shine so bright after every passing sentence that it becomes more like a conversation with an informative friend than a boring lesson. They are funny, they are witty, and they take their sweet time. The downside is that they can get so far off topic that you'll have to read the podcast title again to remember what their original idea was. The amazing part is that there is such a good time to be had that it doesn't really matter. And stick around for the listener mail. Sometimes the listener mail can be longer than the actual topic that day, but that is where the funniest moments are. I still sometimes end my haikus with refrigerator.
Stuff You Missed In History Class
And dammit, I really ended up liking it. I raptly listened to EVERY episode. They took the dusty veneer off every oil painting and sepia microfilm and replaced it with buttons and bows.
Update 5-8-15: The current announcers are Tracy and Holly. I like 'em. It can be a little scripty but they haven't lost their rapport.
Stuff Mom Never Told You.
 |
| Cristen and Molly |
This Podcast is about gender relations and feminist issues. They once described it themselves as "stuff you should know with boobs". Surprisingly, it was much less girly than "stuff you missed in history class". These ladies had bite. Cristin Konger in particular had a lot of spunk and a few impressions up her sleeve.
This podcast really affected me. I turned into a feminist. I wore lipstick and I started drinking beer. From this podcast I learned how to own my femininity without feeling like I am going against the norm.
From another perspective, my boyfriend HATES it. Absolutely inexplicable.
 | |
| Caroline and Cristen |
Stuff They Don't Want You Know
My biggest grief with this podcast is the fact that it isn't that informative. With 3.5 minutes dedicated to a topic, it doesn't have time to give me any new information. It glosses over wide topics and hopes to divert you from this unfortunate fact by a parade of first page google images. O well. I've got nothing but time.
Stuff To Blow your Mind
The little something that makes this podcast stand out is the amount of reflection they have on their topics. Everyone else just puts the facts out there. Chuck and Josh add a little extra because they make it funny. When you listen to Alison and Robert, it is like having an intelligent conversation. They let you know what they are thinking, and they advance the ideas past the discussions in scientific papers.
Another notable point of this podcast is that it has always been Alison and Robert. They've never passed the gavel and they really know how to work with eachother. Sometimes they get into the realm of the slightly-sexy, but it is always a comfortable conversation with Alison and Robert. They are also, notably, the only male-female pairing.
Brain Stuff
This podcast title is totally misleading. I was under the impression that we were supposed to learn interesting things about the brain. The brain is a very interesting subject that could very well had deserved its own podcast. I downloaded it with the delightful anticipation of listening to it with a cognitive scientist. I should have listened to it first. The title references the announcer's last name, and not the subject matter. The show is organized into 5 minute answers to interesting questions. It is as if we are tuning in to hear about what our friend Marshall Brain thinks is cool. Unfortunately, we had no reason from the get-go to make Marshall Brain our friend. I also admit that I didn't listen to every episode. I made it to the 6th or 7th one. After a few of them, they started asking for people to write in with questions. I laughed out loud... they stopped having stuff to talk about rather early on. The biggest problem this podcast has is that it doesn't have a clear subject. It is just Marshall Brain. He wanted a podcast to talk about whatever he wanted, and he got one. If you are a fan of the relatively unknown Marshall Brain, this podcast is for you, but I would have to be pretty desperate to turn to it.
Tech Stuff
I can tell these guys identify themselves as geeks. Unfortunately, that is a rather sophisticated title nowadays. Geeks are geeks because they have a specific interest. Having something that will appeal to geeks means that you are always isolating your market. Some of the podcasts are interesting, but even if you are into some of them, I bet you are never completely interested in more than 10% of them.
Car Stuff
The podcast is in the question answer format. One person is an expert at cars, and the other is just the excitable host.
Even though I am not really in that demographic, I am going to have to keep listening.
Stuff From the B-Side
I admit that after listening to the first two podcasts, I went to iTunes and unsubscribed, deleting all of the episodes in the process. It sounded just too elitest. Later, in my casual listening time, I deciding to give it another chance with the episodes on my iphone. It was... not as bad. I have only listened to three episodes total, so I don't think I can give it a fair review. I'll let you know when I get a better opinion.Stuff for the Stylish Home
It has quite a fitting theme song. It allowed me to get caught up in the glamour of interior decorating. I wasn't so infatuated by the end. I don't think it's their fault, the topic just may be a little dry. The decoupage podcast talked about mod podge and that was it. The children's room podcast talked about ... I can't even remember. Podcasting is just a bad medium unfortunately.