I think podcasts are cool. I like to listen to them (when I get inspired or get around to it). Podcasts are fun to create. But I don’t have any regular subscriptions in my iTunes — so far I haven’t found any that I absolutely must listen to regularly.
One of the things about iTunes is that all those files get downloaded in order for you to hear them — that can take a LOT of drive space without you even thinking about it. I really like having podcast RSS feeds in my reader instead — for me it’s much easier to scroll past the latest offerings, listen to ones of interest in a pop-up Google player, and when I’m done, they’re gone. If I love it, I can download & save that single mp3 file. Since I don’t have an iPod (I have an iRiver instead), the docking & downloading ease with iTunes doesn’t apply.
I like to sample world music styles, so I enjoy The World’s Global Hit podcast (I listen while I’m scanning the other items in Google Reader), and sometimes I also listen to the GeoQuiz podcast. I’ve used iTunes to find personal interest podcasts (language lessons or lectures). Usually I only download specific podcast episodes of shows I either missed from broadcast radio, want to save, or have found out about from a blog or news article.
Last year I got excited about podcasting and tried to create a series of student-created book review podcasts, a la Nancy Keane’s Booktalks Quick and Simple. I only managed to recruit one student, who did a great job on two or three programs. His first one is here.
I’ve got a cadre of enthusiastic readers using the library, but they are either too shy or too busy to add one more thing to their days, and I didn’t think that students would get too excited about listening to me do them all. So that project is on the back shelf for now. I really like the idea though, and may try again sometime.