There has been an absolute boom in the availability of science podcasts, resulting in specimens entitled The Manly Geek Show and The Geekcast. It seems if you can get your hands on a microphone and editing software you can have a podcast. But, while many have tried, public broadcasting would be the most likely to get a grant renewal. NPR, ABC, and BBC offer stellar podcasts, but numerous newspapers and journals, museums and institutions, as well as independent providers are putting out podcasts worth your time. You can bet that both Nature and Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry have a podcast and since science podcasts can get ridiculously specialized you may want to skip the Merck Manual of Patient Symptoms podcast, featuring “Neck Mass” and “Breast Lumps” episodes.

But whether you have 60 seconds or two hours of pipetting I’m sure I’ve found the podcast for you:

1. Radio Lab (WNYC)

This is by far the most imaginative, entertaining, and thought provoking science podcast on the web. It follows the variation-on-a-theme format popularized by This American Life; each episode is a compilation of stories addressing a broad topic, such as morality or memory, from different angles. Hosts Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich put their many years of public radio experience to good use, weaving interviews, live audiences, sound effects, and quirky editing to illuminate topics while making you laugh. The show is seasonal, but episodes are available at any time. The fifth season is now available, but try the War of the Worlds episode. I promise, this will become the first podcast on your playlist. (5 episodes a year, 1 hr)

2. Talk of the Nation: Science Friday (NPR)

Host Ira Flatow helms another NPR success. This show is elevated by its relevance; whether it’s an election or a film, if it is current and science related you’ll likely hear about it on Friday. The show keeps up to date, allowing listeners to not only call in, but to send messages through Second Life, and most recently, through Twitter (a system so hip and new it is beyond some of the shows’ guests, as you can guess Twitter means something else to Jane Goodall). The show consistently features leaders in the field and other high caliber guests. Don’t miss the Ig Nobel Prize awards ceremony, a satirical celebration of improbable research into problems such as why shower curtains billow inwards, held yearly in October but aired on NPR the Friday after Thanksgiving. (Weekly, 110 mins)

3. The Naked Scientists (BBC)

Don’t fear the name, The Naked Scientists are “lifting the lab coat on the world’s best science.” If you are going to be listening for an hour, this podcast offers a better alternative to something as dry as the BBC’s Quirks and Quarks. Besides covering science news and interviewing guests, the hosts perform an experiment and answer questions sent in by listeners (including an occasional all question episode). The show is hosted by scientists and doctors of Cambridge University, giving you the added bonuses of a British accent and charming British banter. Are they naked? You’ll just have to listen. (Weekly, 1 hr)

4. The Science Show (ABC)
Australia’s Broadcasting Corporation airs The Science Show with host Robyn Williams (he’s funny too, but no, not that one). Williams’ erudition and genial manner lend themselves to three shows, but started in 1975, this remains the flagship. Many prominent scientists (including our own Paul Nurse, just this month) come on for an intelligent conversations with the host. Williams doesn’t let the guests stray and the interview lose sight of the idea behind the discovery. The show also includes field reporting and dispatches. While the show may feature Australia-minded stories of little interest to American audiences, the detailed summary on iTunes allows for easy navigation. (Weekly, 1 hr)

5. Hmmm…Krulwich on Science (NPR)

If you’ve got less than ten minutes, let Robert Krulwich give you something to think about. (Weekly, 1 hr)

6. Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe (New England Skeptical
Society)

Because it’s hosted by no less than six people, this show sounds like a group of Rockefeller students at the Faculty club. Each episode summarizes recent science news and usually features an in-depth interview which seeks to expose paranormal belief and bad science like child witch hunts in Africa or the Autism/vaccination connection. The show is fairly technical and satisfyingly critical. However, it makes no effort to stay neutral on controversial topics, sometimes feeling like you’ve wandered into a pro-science firing range. Includes a feature called Science or Fiction, where you and the hosts label three news stories as real or fake. The show also comes in a five minute version called Skeptics’ Guide 5×5. (Weekly, 80 min)

7. 60 Second Science (Scientific
American)

The best thing about this podcast is of course its’ length. Only 60 seconds of your time need be invested, and in return, you have an interesting science story to talk about on your next subway trip downtown. (Weekdays, 1 min).