In recent months I have stumbled upon the world of
podcasting. I have been astonished at just how much faith-based
audio material is out there. Not only that, but you can subscribe to
free podcasts, and listen to them whenever you want.
Podcasts were originally designed for
Ipods, but if you have a PDA with a headphone jack and a slot for an
additional storage card, you may have just about everything you need to
listen to broadcasts that can be downloaded from your desktop computer.
The Sky's the Limit
I listen to podcasts on my Dell Axim, often while I am walking in the early morning.
The first podcasts I downloaded were news feeds from
NPR. I couldn't believe how many feeds were available! I
settled on the NPR Story of the Day, NPR technology news, and one of my
favorite features,
This I Believe. I added some entertainment feeds, like a science
fiction broadcast, and quirky segments from Comicweb's early
Superman series.
In the world of faith, one of my very
favorite shows is
Speaking of Faith, with Krista Tippett. This amazing one hour show
offers conversation about religion, meaning, ethics, and ideas with
people from all walks of life. Fascinating! Until I started with
podcasts, I was only able to pick up snippets, here and
there. Now I can listen to any part of the show at my leisure.
Catholic podcasts
Searching for podcasts using an Internet search engine brings up
countless possibilities. I typed "podcast" and got
149,000,000 results!
A quick glance at the titles reveals that there are podcasts about
everything from the horrible to the sublime. I tried "Catholic podcasts"
and narrowed it down to
4,230,000. Needless to say, not all podcasts are
created equal, and not all are equally Catholic! You will need some
discernment to sort them out. Here are some podcasts
that I have checked out and enjoy:
-
http://fransciscanradio.org -
The Franciscans' American Catholic Radio program includes wonderful
features like Saint of the Day, Living Faith, Ask a Franciscan, Catholic
Treasure, and more. They have special programs during Lent as well.
-
http://podcast.catholicexchange.com/index.asp -
Rock Solid with Mark
Shea - Often humorous and entertaining, Mark Shea is always engaging
and clever. His reflections on contemporary Catholicism both inform you
and make you think.
-
http://bustedhalo.com - Geared
primarily towards young adults, this podcast offers stories, questions
and answers about the Catholic faith.
-
http://www.bigcontact.com/cmexpress/rssaudio - Catholic Music
Express - This one hour broadcast includes short inspirational
items, plus contemporary music from Catholic musicians.
I found an extensive listing
of Catholic podcasts at:
http://catholicpodcasts.info/ It's a good place to start.
Test Drive online
Even if you don't have (or don't know how to use) a podcast player,
you can listen to many broadcasts from your desktop, simply by visiting
the websites. Amidst all of the
other "stuff" out there, it is encouraging to see that Catholics are
using the media to evangelize.
While podcasts are a natural phenomenon for
youth and young adults, older folks like me (and you?) can enjoy them
too. Check them out!
If you would like to try your hand at subscribing to podcasts, I would
be happy to share how I used my PDA to get started.
Chris Weber
Director
Catholic Education Ministries of Central Maryland
301-447-3707
Copyright © 2006 by the Catholic Education
Ministries Center of Central Maryland, Emmitsburg, MD 21727. All rights reserved.
