Network! And make my commute more entertaining.

So it's decided: fiber installation — including drilling holes into the building elevator shaft — will happen January 22nd.

On one hand: Yay! On the other: another month without fixed-line internet. Oh well; my brother suggests viewing it as a form of detox. And maybe he's right - if I can't be without all-I-can-eat high-speed internet, then perhaps it's good for me to be without for a while.


Meanwhile, let's talk about cars. Or more accurately, commuting in cars, and making that time if not fun then at least bearable. Your options for entertainment is frankly pretty limited when you're supposed to be driving. Can't read, can't sleep, can't practice the ukulele.

But you can listen to things. And what I listen to is podcasts. Bespoke radio programs, usually on very well defined subjects. So I thought I'd introduce my favourite podcasts here, then ask you for any good ones I should know about. I haven't, for instance, managed to find any Japanese-language podcasts that I find interesting; if you know of one, let me know.

English Podcasts

• In Our Time.
  
  This is a weekly BBC radio show, available as a podcast. In short, each week the host and a few invited guests discuss a subject, usually something with a historical connection. Subjects have ranged from the ancient Greek city of Thebes; Picasso's painting Guernica; Kants Categorical imperative; Purgatory; and bird migration.
  
  And if you think these subjects sound dry, even fussy, think again. This is the BBC we're talking about. Almost every episode I've heard has been absolutely fascinating; even - I'd say especially - the hard-core historical ones such as the Congress of Vienna that I knew nothing at all about (historical education in Sweden being what it is). If anything I'd say the science episodes are the weakest ones.
  
  This is one podcast you really owe it to yourself to follow.
  
  
  
• Embedded
  
  A podcast by a husband and wife team of developers, ostensibly about embedded computing — you know, industrial computers, control loops, internet of things and so on. In practice the subject matter is much more eclectic — and more interesting — than that.
  
  Each episode is a well-done interview with somebody connected to embedded computing or making in some way, but the hosts manage to find some very interesting people, and while the discussions are centered around computing in some form it can easily stray into music, books, working life and so on.
  
  If you're into computing you should follow this. Oh, and don't mix this up with another podcast called "Embedded" that's apparently more of a current news show.
  
  
  
• IRL: Online Life is Real Life
  
  A podcast from Mozilla about technology in general and the net in particular — but from a social perspective, not a technical one. Privacy issues, social media, online harassment, "fake news" and so forth. The first couple of episodes were a little rough, but it's matured into a really interesting, very well made podcast. It finished its first season this fall, and the next season should start in a few months.
  
  
  
• Steal The Stars
  
  This is not a recurring podcast. It is, instead, a self-contained science fiction drama in 14 episodes that ran over last summer. The story was fun, the acting was great, and the production is really high quality. This was the rare thing where I was impatiently waiting for the next episode to be released already so I could find out what happens.
  
  All the episodes have aired, so you can listen through them at your own pace. And you should; this was a high point of my commute last summer. And I hope TOR books will create more dramas like this.
  
  
  
• Ubuntu Podcast
  
  If you use Ubuntu Linux (or, really, any Linux variant), this is a fun, well-made weekly news and talk show about events in the Linux world. They cover both big events and small things (neat new utilities and whatnot) in a very entertaining manner. And unlike many ensemble podcasts, it never devolves into multiple people all talking at once (hard or impossible to understand when you're not a native speaker).
  

Swedish Podcasts

• Vetandets Värld
  
  A Swedish weekly radio show, it is similar to In Our Time in a way, but with shorter episodes (20 minutes rather than 40), and with the focus decidedly on science rather than art or history. This one, too, is a high-quality production with (usually) interesting subjects each week. Around this time of year they tend to focus a lot on the work of Nobel price winners, but the rest of the year it's a fairly eclectic mix of subjects.
  
  
  
• Språket
  
  Another Swedish radio program available as a podcast. The Swedish language in all its forms, with a linguist and with listener questions. It can be more than a bit uneven, but when it's good it can be really good.

There you have it: a list of podcasts well worth listening to. I do subscribe to a fair number of other podcasts but the rest are too uneven for me to recommend outright. I've also tried and rejected any number of others.

You can find all these from their homepage, or from an aggregator such as gPodder, iTUnes, Player.fm and, lately, Spotify. They'll have links to feeds that you can put in a podcast app or RSS reader. You'll then be able to list, download and queue episodes right in the app, and you'll get notified of new episodes automagically.

If you have any tips for other high-quality podcasts, please let me know.