After a long break while I was away in South America, I’m back to my routine again, which means a couple of long walks each week and time to listen to podcasts.
Revolutionspodcast.com We’re still going with the Mexican Revolution, which I did at uni. back in the mid1970s. I must confess that I’d forgotten most of what I learnt then, but in Episode 9.16 The Legend of Pancho Villa , good old Pancho Villa in his big hat comes back onto the scene – him I DO remember. And then he teams up with Emiliano Zapata (who I also remember), then the US invades Veracruz, then they swap their loyalites; and then allies fall out and start fighting each other etc. etc. I’ve decided that I need to listen to this podcast with a little more dedication, as I keep forgetting what has happened in the last episode, and now I’m up to Episode 9.20 The Guns of Veracruz, where Pancho Villa starts making mistakes.
Caliphate. I don’t know- all these podcasts where the researcher/podcaster talks about the process of tracking down, interviewing, verifying…it’s all been done before. Although, I do acknowledge that this podcast series was released some time ago, so I’m coming to it late. But I don’t know…I’m wanting something a bit different. Still, these episodes are good to remind us of the grand plans behind the caliphate, and the cold-bloodedness of their attempt to get there. I’m up to Chapter Six: The Paper Trail.
The Pamphlet One of the liberating things about podcasting is that it is relatively cheap to do, and you can listen in to people whom you would otherwise never have heard. As any of you who’ve followed me for a while might know, I am a Unitarian Universalist and attend a small fellowship here in Melbourne. The Pamphlet is presented by two American UUs and is very low-tech and very American-UU-centric. You won’t find any of the production values in ‘Caliphate’ here! But in a two-parter (extended to 3 parts now, I see), they try to track down when the ‘Flaming Chalice’, a symbol used on most UU websites (including ours here in Melbourne), actually became a real, physical object that you could find in a UU service. Their first foray (The Chalice Capers 1) led them to a dead-end when it seemed that the chalice was just a spoof, and the second exploration (The Chalice Capers 2) also raised more questions than it answered.
99% Invisible is a podcast by Roman Mars about design and architecture. In Episode 340 The Secret Lives of Colour, they talk with Kassia St Claire who has written a book of that name. I’ve been deluging my husband with “Did you know…..” facts ever since.
Duolingo Podcasts. Ah! Was this one easier than the others, or have I improved in my Spanish listening comprehension?! Aventuras con mi padre is about a young girl whose father takes the family on ‘adventures’ to places in Venezuela (before it all went wrong).
The Resident Judge of Port Phillip 