This is an annotated bibliography of podcasts that I think are useful for students and teachers. Please feel free to add ones you find. I am not sure there is a standard bibliographical format for these, so if someone finds one, please post the link here.
"Book Reviewing Demystified." The Writing Show. Interview with James A. Cox. 43:08 14 Jul. 2005. http://thewritingshow.com
This is a rather long-winded analysis of how to write a book review. It's especially interesting because Cox talks briefly about the reader-reviews in Amazon (which might be bogus). He talks about the purpose and ethics of reviewing, how people become reviewers, what reviews contain. This would probably be better if it were one-third the length.
"Editing Your Work . . . Aloud." The Writing Show. Interview with Micah Dubinko. 32:59 21 May 2006. http://thewritingshow.com
Micah Dubinko explains how he records and podcasts his writing as part of his editing and revising process. This podcast is really appropriate for a new project I'm working on where I want students to record parts of their essays as part of their editing process.
"Jimmy Wales Talks Wikipedia." The Writing Show. Interview with Jimmy Wales. 28:12 1 Jan. 2006. http://thewritingshow.com
Jimmy Wales talks explains what the wikipedia means by "verifiable knowledge" and their goal of writing entries without bias. There's a good question and answer about critical thinking, and about how librarians can use this resource. I have thought about asking students to write a paragraph defending or criticizing the use of Wikipedia as a source, and I'd certainly recommend this interview as part of their research. I would also recommend this for people who are thinking about using our new GCC wiki, because he talks about how a wiki works.
"Writing Satire." The Writing Show. Interview with Christopher Largen. 38:41 21 Aug. 2005. http://thewritingshow.com
Christopher Largen (author of a satirical book about junk food) talks about junk food and public health, and then talks very concretely about satirical, descriptive writing and a little bit about the research process for his book and its presentation. (Great discussion of "mocuments.") But it would be a great introduction to thinking about junk food.
"Writing the Killer Blog." The Writing Show. Interview with Nick Wilson. 40:22 1 Jan. 2006. http://thewritingshow.com
Nick Wilson, an accomplished blogger, discusses different aspects of the genre. My class discussions (when they work well) are much like a blog, and I think I will require students to listen to this early in the semester. (Faculty who have a different purpose or goal for their discussions might not find this quite so useful.) Wilson discusses what makes a good blog entry (which is much like what makes good writing in general) and how blogging and commenting are related. I really like that part!
