Quality podcasts are an important source of information for me, and have contributed much to broadening my knowledge. They provide in-depth analysis and data that is often only found in professional conferences or publications, in a form that makes it intellectually and physically possible to follow. Somehow, in a world or tweets and 20-seconds television subjects, some radio channels have remained a media where in-depth analysis is possible and welcome.
Below is a selection of English and French podcasts that I currently follow. They cover the following subjects: International News; Economics, Law & Public Policy; Natural sciences, Mathematics & Engineering; Technologies & Media; Sociology & History; and other miscellaneous subjects.
Foreign affairs: From BBC Radio 4, in iTunes.
Foreign affairs: From BBC Radio 4, in iTunes.
Affaires internationales: De Radio France internationale, dans iTunes.
Actualités: De France culture, dans iTunes.
Policy: Right-of-centre analysis of public policy, primarily focused on economic policy but also concerned with wider social issues. Subjects are distinctively british, but most analysis is relevant to a larger public. From BBC Radio 4, in iTunes.
Droit: De France culture, dans iTunes.
Économie: De France culture, dans iTunes.
Policy: From BBC Radio 4, in iTunes.
Law: From BBC Radio 4, in iTunes.
Sciences générales: Les enregistrements de certains cours publiques ou colloques du Collège de France, sur tous les sujets (sciences naturelles, humaines, mathématiques, médecine, philosophie, littérature, etc.). Sujets traités de façon universitaire, avec des contributions généralement d'excellente qualité. Un cours est typiquement donné en une dizaine de sessions d'une heures, ce qui permet d'aborder un sujet très en détail. Du Collège de France, dans iTunes.
Statistics: An analysis and criticism of statistics as they are used in politics, in advertisement and in the news. It is usually entertaining, with good examples of unexpected statistical data, but mostly related to Britain. It also sometimes discusses actual statistical tools, but not quite enough to my liking. From BBC Radio 4, in iTunes.
Natural sciences: A presentation of some of the main articles in the upcoming Nature magazine. This is a very useful podcast to stay up-to-date with current research in natural sciences and biology in particular. For obvious reasons, the podcast mostly discusses “news & views” features, but sometimes also tries a discussion on a research article or letter. From Nature, in iTunes.
Média: De France culture, dans iTunes.
Technologies de l'information: De France culture, dans iTunes.
Histoire: De France culture, dans iTunes.
Sociologie: De France culture. dans iTunes.
Sociology: From BBC Radio 4, in iTunes.
Culture générale: Une variété de sujets scientifiques, politiques, historiques… abordés de façon variée. Quelques sujets typiquement helvétiques, mais la majorité d'intérêt international. De RSR Espace 2, dans iTunes.
General: Subjects highlighting very diverse aspects of American life, from politics and law to lifestyle and consumerism. Usual format is a series of fun or gripping stories describing interesting situations or experiences. From Public Radio International, in iTunes.