What podcasts would my 60-something Dad like?

September 26, 2010 11:19 AM

What podcasts would my 60-something Dad like?

Dad likes oldies (think 1959-1963), Barbershop Quartet, A Capella stuff, glee club stuff, intelligent and sarcastic commentary (think Lewis Black, maybe Jon Stewart, and early 2000s Kieth Olberman), and he might enjoy some NPR stuff (like Car Talk, Wait Wait, American Routes, that kind of thing). Any suggestions would be appreciated!

posted by mola to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (8 answers total)

Well, Car Talk & WWDTM have podcasts available, but I'm assuming he already listens to those on NPR since you mentioned them above. Here's two other good sources for intelligent & sarcastic commentary:

The Bugle
The BBC News Quiz (much more focused on UK news than US news, but still a good time)
posted by Johnny Assay at 11:35 AM on September 26, 2010

I absolutely love RadioLab and think it would appeal to your dad. Great science topics with a mildly snarky rapport.
posted by lannanh at 11:51 AM on September 26, 2010

If he's in his 60's now, he might have listened to Firesign Theater comedy recordings back when he was in his 20's.
posted by belau at 12:31 PM on September 26, 2010

My 70-something mom likes This American Life.
posted by The corpse in the library at 12:58 PM on September 26, 2010 [1 favorite]

Using the interests and/or preferences that you listed:

American A cappella: "The best barbershop and a cappella music along with candid interviews with people who have shaped this great American art form!"

I did a search on "old time radio" in itunes and got many, many podcasts, although it ranges from 40s to 50s. This webpage offers a really comprehensive list and by category (comedy, scifi, etc). You can use it to browse, then go to itunes and type in the title and go from there.

X minus one is scifi from the 50s, but you don't mention if he is after a particular topic in the 50s and 60s. Itunes offers hundreds of X minus one podcasts, by the way.
posted by Wolfster at 1:20 PM on September 26, 2010

...intelligent and sarcastic commentary... makes me think of Common Sense with Dan Carlin, and Harry Shearer's Le Show.
posted by Snerd at 5:54 PM on September 26, 2010

if you search for Old Time Radio on itunes, you can find thousands of radio plays from the 30s-50s, all public domain now, available for podcast. Westerns, detective stories, romance, comedy, -- jack benny and fred allen and amos n andy and all the classics.

If he's into anything current, you might consider This American Life, Hearing Voices, PRI's Selected Shorts, any of the New Yorker podcasts. he might enjoy Wiretap (CBC) if he likes snarky humor.

Age of Persuasion is a great show from CBC chronicling the history of the advertising industry, and it's very well written.

A personal favourite. NYT's The Ethicist podcast is short but sweet, and if he likes Al Franken type stuff, he might like Joe Frank Radio.
posted by custard heart at 10:30 PM on September 26, 2010

...intelligent and sarcastic commentary... If he's interested in movies, the BBC's Kermode and Mayo film podcast is excellent. Reviews, interviews, witter, banter and cynical rants about crap modern films.
posted by Sifter at 7:13 AM on September 27, 2010