Online Bonus Picks:
Mike Greenberg's golf show pick
Alan Colmes' human interest pick
Patton Oswalt's favorite fast-firing funnies
Top podcast picks
Favorites from experts in their category.
By Dennis McCafferty
Whatever the topic, podcasts empower the masses. There are more than 24,000 podcasters listed by podcastdirectory.com, and 20 new ones are added every day. Given that it's a large pond out there, USA WEEKEND Magazine recently got together with three high-profile pros and asked them which podcasts they like to listen to on the Web:
SPORTS
Mike Greenberg, of ESPN's "Mike & Mike in the Morning"
His pick: "NFL Roundtable" on MySportsRadio.com
"The three "Roundtable" guys get that the NFL is more than a game. I love when they get into an 'old school' vs. a 'get with the times' debate. I feel like I'm front row at a title fight, with a ref keeping guys in corners when needed!"
Inside "NFL Roundtable"
Basics: "NFL Roundtable" broadcasts four times a week for 30 minutes (during the NFL season) and is the brainchild of Sam Coutin, who calls himself the "Podfather" of sports. Coutin, 36, of San Francisco, is founder of the Sports Podcast Network and runs MySportsRadio.com full time. Guests vary, but everyone does the show from home, and, thanks to modern broadcast technology, it all sounds like, well, a bunch of guys talking (or is it fuming?) in the same room.
Brushes with Fame:
Terrell Owens hasn't exactly dropped by on "Roundtable," even though his antics provide much of the discussion fodder. Guest panel members have included Ben Maller of Fox Sports and Anish Shroff, who placed highly on ESPN reality show "Dream Job."
What listeners love:
"The 'big up/slow down' segment," Coutin says. "It's a hip-hop generation version of 'agree or disagree.' Then, we have 'flag on the play' to call out boneheads."
Online Bonus from Mike Greenberg
His other pick: "Golf Talk Radio" from Chuck Evans ( chuckevansgolf.com/golf_talk_radio.php): "This is a great short podcast full of helpful hints. Living in the Northeast, the perfect weather golf day doesn't come that often, so the cold weather tips were great. Chuck also had simple ideas to protect your clubs, as well a quick refresher course on the basics for creating a consistent swing when conditions vary. It took less time to listen to Chuck than it did to pack my golf bag. I'll take every tip to help my game. You should do the same."
Inside "Golf Talk Radio"
The basics: Shows will take anywhere from a few minutes to more than an hour and are transitioning from once a month to weekly in frequency. A rarity for podcasters, the Phoenix-based Evans actually is a pro when it comes to his topic. He is the executive director of instruction at the Medicus Golf Institute.
A mobile show: There's no set location for the broadcast, given Evans' schedule. "We do them from anywhere!" he says. "Sometimes on the road, in hotel rooms, at home and at work."
Best guest to date: "Bobby Clampett from CBS Sports," Evans says. "When we want to have a guest, we simply call them up and invite them. So far, everyone has been very gracious about being on the show."
NEWS
Alan Colmes, of the Fox News Channel
His pick: "Board Reflections on New York Radio," from Allan Sniffen (www.musicradio77.com/boardreflections.html). "He has a great take on what's happening in New York radio. His passion shines through. And I love his jingle."
Inside the podcast
Basics: "Board Reflections" runs a half-hour at least once a week. Sniffen, 49, of Bedford Hills, N.Y., a former radio DJ who's now a dentist, started commenting on New York's broadcasts back before podcasting emerged, using Real Audio formatting on the Web.
Brushes with Fame:
Sniffen got on nationally notorious shock jocks Opie and Anthony's radar by criticizing their radio program. "We've had fun going back and forth," Sniffen says.
What listeners love:
The throwback jingle, of course, which you simply have to listen to online to fully appreciate. "It's an old, geeky radio kind of thing," says Sniffen, with pride.
Online Bonus from Alan Colmes
His other pick: The "You Are the Guest" podcast from Bill Grady (youaretheguest.com): "I've always thought that anybody can be made to sound interesting, and, thus, be a good guest. This podcast proves my point -- everybody has a story worth telling."
Inside "You Are the Guest"
Basics: "You Are the Guest" is a weekly show that runs 30 to 40 minutes. But it only runs every other week if Grady, 45, a Fort Dodge, Iowa-based management/sales/advertising/marketing consultant, gets too busy with his day job.
Original intent: Grady first wanted to do a classic-rock review show. "But I ran it past a media attorney who then informed me that I couldn't really play 'classic rock' because of the copyright laws," he says.
How do you get on the schedule?: "Just go to the website and send a note about why you'd be interesting. You don't have to be rich or famous to be on, and you can be part of podcasting without having your own show. The closest to a celebrity I've had was a show that featured Scott Stuckey, grandson of the founder of Stuckey's restaurants and son of a former congressman from Georgia."
COMEDY
Patton Oswalt, best known as Spence on CBS' "King of Queens," also is featured on Comedy Central's "Comedians of Comedy"
His pick: Jesse Thorn's "The Sound of Young America" (maximumfun.org)
"Thorn and his superlative show have already been profiled in "Time." He knows how to interview comedians and gives them endless opportunities to be funny. That's a skill."
Inside "The Sound of Young America"
Basics: It's a weekly, hour-long show with two or three interviews and often a sketch, created by Thorn, 25, an unemployed receptionist who lives in Los Angeles. Like most podcasts, it's a no-frills production. Thorn produces the show from his living room, with a couple of microphones, a mixer and a telephone-enabled broadcast machine on his desk connected to a computer, for interview call-ins.
Brushes with Fame:
Terry Jones of Monty Python was a guest. "I grew up obsessed with Python's work," Thorn says. "I was so nervous before calling him up that I was shaking."
What listeners love:
The New Sincerity segment. "It's a rejection of irony," Thorn says.
Online Bonus from Patton Oswalt
His other pick: "Never Not Funny" (podcast.jimmypardo.com): "Jimmy Pardo is one of my favorite comedians right now -- he's a weird mutation of Bud Abbott, Walter Winchell and Bill Hicks," Oswalt says. "His joke output matches the firing rate of an Uzi."
Inside Pardo's "Never Not Funny"
Basics: It's a weekly show that runs 40 minutes to an hour or more, as hosted in his dining room by Los Angeles-based comic Pardo, 40, and fellow performers Matt Belknap and Mike Schmidt.
Fan feedback: Praise comes from complete strangers, from virtually anywhere. "The biggest thrill is getting e-mails from people all over the world and hearing how we've made them laugh out loud in public places -- like libraries," Pardo says.
Production values: Umm, not much of any. Pardo figures he spends $35 per show, and that's for buying lunch for the gang after they're finished. "We're thinking of adding fog lamps, though," he says. He's kidding. We think.
