My own, although it’s offline and being retooled at the moment.

Varies, but they are almost all nonfiction

I like almost all kinds of music, from classical to new stuff out now.  The exceptions would be any rap, hip/hop, and country.

PennRadio (only when he was interviewing someone interesting).  I don’t have a huge amount of time to sit and listen to podcasts, even while running, so the SGU has been it for me.

Anything said by a creationist who was literally interpreting the bible

Years ago, I was a lowly college graduate who moved to the DC area and became a roommate to someone in medical school.  That roommate introduced me to Steve (yes, THAT Steve, who was also in med school at the time), as well as Steve’s lovely (soon to be) wife.  Heck, Steve, his future wife, and my roommate even took me to my first Renaissance faire!  Once they Steve and “Roomie” graduated Medical School, I found my own apartment, but was still friends with the ex-roommate.  Later, he showed me the old NESS newsletter, and eventually, I would often check in on the NESS website to read its articles (I found the stuff on chiropractors and ghostbusting the most informative).  That whole class of Georgetown medical grads were good people (and I spent many a late night & weekend helping them move – Ack!!!!).

Anyway, the only real downside from that early friendship with the group was the knowledge that I was never really thought as having even a lick of intelligence.  I guess I was considered young & immature, or just a buffoon.  But it was patently apparent.  I never said anything about it because I figured they were soon to be doctors (and were smart), so therefore I just must be an idiot.  I was a kid who’d gotten through high school sleeping in the back of my car’s hatchback, showering at friends homes, and worked through college – suffice it to say I was less than worldly!

Fast forward to some years later.  I graduated law school, got a slot in the Attorney General’s Honors Program, and joined the DOJ.  Along the way, I had a perfect little daughter, but my marriage was less so, as I was the minority vote in a 4-person corporation (a devoutly fundamentalist religious wife, and her equally religious parents).  The marriage ended, and I was immediately ostracized by that old roommate (he was supposedly a lifelong friend).  It’s amazing how many friends will abandon you in rough times, and will “choose sides.”  Times were indeed very rough – I remained as I had been in HS & college – lots of self-hatred, and generally unhappy (my old roommate declared me “depressed” and wanted me medicated(!)). 

However, after the separation, I became much happier, and found that my daughter was utterly flourishing once the house was less tense (to my delight she is demonstrating a wonderful knack for math even to this day).  I continued to train & teach martial arts, got hugely into running, and even found that my work became incredibly rewarding and fulfilling.  Spending less time being unhappy gave me more time for larger issues – like “Is woo-woo true?”  “What’s the nature of this life?”  “What’s the deal with Sylvia Browne’s nails?”   ;-)    So I started to think more on these questions . . . .

One day, after going back to the NESS site to look for articles to read (when I should have been working instead!).  I saw a little link that said, “Podcast.”  I clicked it, and actually hit on episode #1(!).  WTF?  I downloaded and was blown away, both because of the content, and because there was ol’ Steve, still at it on the path to science.  ;-)   I then waited for more (and waited, and waited).  While the audio interview in #3 was quite poor, I was hooked in a huge way, and was so pleased for Steve.  It’s stunning to see how far they’ve come in all these years.  I don’t care what anyone thinks of me personally – I remain a fan and will continue to listen and enjoy.  Har -- I’ll just be sure not to show myself at any TAM or NESS functions!  ;-)   :-P

I can’t emphasize enough how pleased I am to see the SGU’s success – I feel lucky to have stumbled along to have heard the first episode when it was released.  It’s terribly pleasing, and I’m very proud of them for what they’ve accomplished.  I have had my childhood skepticism solidified by this podcast, and have been outright enlightened by it overall.  I can honestly say that this show has made me a much better skeptic on numerous levels.

Crud, I almost forgot – I’m an agnostic, a believer in scientific skeptcism, and generally a political libertarian, with a dash of socially liberal views, and economically conservative ones.  Most of my positions on issues and controversies are mirrored by the positions taken in various South Park episodes.  ;-)