As of March 1, KCRW will join the growing legion of podcasters. Podcasting, for those who haven't succumbed to the magic of the iPod, operates on much the same principle as an RSS feed. Self-contained bits of audio are searched out online and downloaded, and can then be loaded and listened to on an iPod, anytime, anywhere. Per iPodder.org, podcasting works this way:
Think how a desktop aggregator works. You subscribe to a set of feeds, and then can easily view the new stuff from all of the feeds together, or each feed separately.
Podcasting works the same way, with one exception. Instead of reading the new content on a computer screen, you listen to the new content on an iPod or iPod-like device.
Think of your iPod as having a set of subscriptions that are checked regularly for updates. Today there are a limited number of programs available this way. The format used is RSS 2.0 with enclosures.
Though the technology has adopted the moniker of Apple's popular digital music player, the feeds can be downloaded to any digital music player for listening at-will. And now, courtesy of KCRW, the following programs will become available as podcasts:
Photo from Apple.com
NPR Programs
• "Left, Right & Center"
• "The Politics of Culture"
• "Bookworm"
• "The Treatment"
• "Good Food"
• "To the Point"
• "Which Way, LA?"
• "DnA: Design & Architecture"
• "The Business"
• "Final Curtain"
Local Commentaries
• "The Road Less Traveled" with Dan Neil
• "The Urban Man" with Marc Porter Zasada
• "Art Talk" with Edward Goldman
• "Martini Shot" with Rob Long
• "Theatre Talk" with James C. Taylor
• "Film Reviews" with Joe Morgenstern
• "The Score" with Diana Nyad
• "On the Beat" with Celia Hirschman
• "Overbooked" with David Kipen
• "Back Channels" with Joe Hagan
• "A Second Opinion" with Dr. Michael Wilkes
• "Music Exchange" with Steve Lamacq
Information about KCRW's podcasting (and the place to bookmark for future podcasts) here.
