Hey nerds. This is an overview of the best video podcasts available on the internet. Below the fold there are direct links to a ton of good ones, a few you've probably never used before.
In writing this, I'm assuming you already have a pretty good handle on what RSS feeds are, and what podcasts are.
So, why should you want video podcasts?
- They're free.
- You aren't forced to use those god-awful web players on the major news sites that don't know the meaning of the word "buffer."
- No commercials or pauses (like Tivo).
Not enough to get you to go below the fold? OK. Here's three things you probably didn't know:
- You can not get free, legal podcasts of The Daily Show or The Colbert Report. They don't exist. Sorry. You can pay for them via iTunes, but you're smarter than that.
- There used to be an Ed Schultz podcast on MSNBC, I saw it with my own eyes. But MSNBC took it down so Ed could put it behind a pay wall.
- Every YouTube channel is already also a podcast. Yes, really. As in, podcast. As in, a true-blue xml feed that updates with new videos in your RSS reader, that you can play on your ipod or iphone or computer, podcast.
Here they are...
MSNBC:
Full list of MSNBC podcasts
Countdown with Keith Olberman (m4v)
Hardball with Chris Matthews (m4v)
Meet The Press (m4v)
The Rachel Maddow Show (m4v)
CNN:
Full list of CNN podcasts
CNN Politics Daily (m4v)
Fareed Zakaria GPS (m4v)
Larry King Live (m4v)
Reliable Sources w/ Howie Kurtz (m4v)
Besides Fareed Zakaria, there's almost nothing on CNN that I care for..
CBS News:
Full list of CBS News podcasts
60 Minutes
PBS:
Full list of PBS podcasts
Bill Moyers Journal (m4v)
Newshour with Jim Lehrer (m4v)
FOX:
just kidding
Alternative:
Democracy Now podcast (mp4)
Real Time with Bill Maher (mp3 & m4v)
YouTube:
Yes, YouTube. It's not just for keyboard cats. You can get ANY youtube channel as your own personal podcast feed.
There are two ways to do this.
YouTube podcasts method #1: The first way makes use of the YouTube API, but only updates with links back to youtube where you can watch the video. There is a better way, but if you want to do it like this, here's how:
http://gdata.youtube.com/...
In that link above replace "NAMEOFCHANNEL" with the name of the youtube channel (username) you want to subscribe to. That's the rss feed for the youtube channel.
YouTube podcasts method #2: But you're a power user (well, you are now). You want a direct link to the video itself. So use RSS Handler. Enter the URL to a youtube channel, it gives you a feed with direct links to video files.
Oh wait, I've already done that for you:
Al Jazeera English
Associated Press (you should use Reuters instead)
Current TV
Firedoglake
Media Matters
Reuters
The New York Times
The Real News
The Whitehouse
The Young Turks
Think Progress
TPMtv
Now, I have a confession. This was actually all a ploy in order to get you to recommend video podcasts to me!!! You didn't see that one coming, huh? I was going to make this an open thread comment, but I expanded it into a post.
So if you found this helpful, pay up in the comments! Bonus points for alternative news like Democracy Now, or particularly good YouTube channels.