TAL without the annoying bits. And possibly in Spanish.

October 1, 2006 8:11 PM

Storytelling, deep news stories, themed narratives: Podcasts in this vein wanted. Think "This American Life" but not always as funny or quirky, or the longer news stories on NPR that use the lens of a smaller story-within-a-story. Artsy takes on news also welcome. In addition, which Latino podcasts (in the same general format) have caught your ear?

I'd be *really* happy if they didn't have annoying lead-ins, had relatively good sound quality and didn't blab on and on (and on) at the beginning and end of the show.

I found "Morning Stories" on WGBH and this sounds pretty good so far. I searched the archives and found a few older posts but am wondering what is new specifically in this 'artsier', storytelling form of news.

Ideally it would take current events and put them into a deeper, more human perspective, or it would take a general interest story and make it interesting, not always as funny/witty/shoegazing as TAL. Think along the veins of documentary films but in audio podcasting form.

Also, are there any great podcasts (in Spanish) that focus on Latino stories/issues/perspectives/communities/news?

posted by fionab to media & arts (7 comments total)

PublicRadioFan.com has the Public radio podcast directory, which may be a starting point in your search. You could also use the beta Google Base service, which a lot of podcasters are using to index and distribute their searchable content, to conduct targeted Web-wide searches for podcast-type files that match your criteria.
posted by paulsc at 2:50 AM on October 2, 2006

I'd really like an answer to this question too. There's room for more long form radio about current stuff which isn't just politics or "funny things which happen to kids" which TAL often falls prey to. But I can't find it!
posted by dydecker at 6:32 AM on October 2, 2006

Studio 360 (from WNYC) is excellent and sounds a lot like what you want, but unfortunatly the podcast is an abbreviated version. Same goes for To The Best of Our Knowledge (PRI).

I record both of 'em off the radio onto my computer, so if you're equipped to do that, I highly suggest it.
posted by jacobian at 6:36 AM on October 2, 2006

There was a similar question a few months ago but one of the answers I gave was the Third Coast Audio Festival website which has tons of great documentaries as well as a lot of great links. TAL gets much of its material from independently produced shows, some of which can be found there.
posted by JJ86 at 6:56 AM on October 2, 2006

I recommend Benjamin Walker's Theory of Everything with reservations 8212; it doesn't quite sound suited to your particular constraints, as it's fantastically quirky, but it certainly deserves a mention among narrative radio shows/podcasts with great depth.
posted by sudama at 7:24 AM on October 2, 2006

Thanks everyone. It seems weird that this didn't elicit more responses and yet it's favorited by 8 other people. I'll definitely check out the offerings here, but this is an ongoing interest, so feel free to post/email if you come across anything else.
posted by fionab at 11:04 AM on October 2, 2006 [1 favorite has favorites]

Latino USA podcasts, but it's in English. It's a good radio show that covers political and general issues from a Latino perspective.
posted by donajo at 1:41 PM on November 1, 2006