Listen Up: BirdNote, Classic Tales, Jaws of Life, Rachel Watches Star Trek

Hannah recently began listening to podcasts and was asking for recommendations. Oh, I have so many!

My own Forgotten Classics podcast is on hiatus now but I tried to always have a new podcast suggestion to give in each episode. (Check the sidebar there for a wide range of suggestions.) Sharing new podcasts is the one thing I miss at the moment. So I'm going to drop a few here occasionally, ranging from old favorites to new discoveries.

You can find all of these at iTunes but most have more info at their websites so that's where the links go.

BirdNote is one of those shows that is a bite-sized nugget of information, about 2 minutes long. It airs every day, featuring fascinating information complete with bird calls and a great photo of that day's subject.

Recent entries included how an Emperor Penguin launches out of the water to get back to shore, the tiniest hummingbird (not much bigger than a bee), how the Jaeger pursues gulls to steal their fish mid-air, and a week-long series about migration (since it is that time of year).

It's a brief investment of time but always entertaining and I never miss it.

I'm not sure how long the Classic Tales Podcast has been running but I've been listening ever since I discovered podcasts (and that was many, many years ago, y'all). No one can beat B.J. Harrison's narrative style and I can't beat his podcast description so here you go:

Every week, join award-winning narrator B.J. Harrison as he narrates the greatest stories the world has ever known. From the jungles of South America to the Mississippi Delta, from Victorian England to the sands of the Arabian desert, join us on a fantastic journey through the words of the world's greatest authors. Critically-acclaimed and highly recommended for anyone who loves a good story with plenty of substance.

It's weekly and ranges in length from half an hour to an hour long. Another one I never miss each week.

Jaws of Life is fairly new but I've been enjoying it since the first episode. Two Catholic guys discuss different aspects of modern life in the light of the faith. It's weekly and about half an hour long.

Tim and Rob apply the jaws of life to release truth from the mangled mess of modernity. In each episode we bring light and levity to our encounter with the modern world, helping to bring the contagious joy of a holy life to a world so desperately in need of our witness.

Topics so far have included: Snuffing Out Hope: The Science of Grumbling, Bored at Mass, Fighting for Entertainment, Falling in Love with Vatican II, Recreation in a Culture of Comfort, and Funny Business: The Seriousness of Faith. I've listened to all of them except the one about fighting, which was distinctly more of a guy topic. I look forward to it every week.

Rachel Watches Star Trek is a new favorite of mine.

Chris loves Star Trek. Rachel has never watched it. Until now.

This is a podcast where Rachel and Chris talk about each episode of the original Star Trek Series, from the original pilot, getting her outsider’s perspective on one of the most influential Sci-fi shows of all time.

Rachel and Chris Lackey are pure fun to listen to whether you care about Star Trek or not. They cover an episode at a time and Rachel's comments are often hilarious, coming, as they do, from a perspective that is decades after the show aired.  They also often branch out into interesting conversation I wouldn't have expected, such as musing about leadership qualities after watching The Enemy Within.

Episodes are about half an hour long and come out once a month at best. So it isn't hard to catch up, even if you don't binge-listen the way I did.