National Geographic may be one of the longest-publishing magazine in history — first printed in 1888 — but that isn’t keeping it from taking a front seat in the industry-wide drive to innovate for the digital age.
Three MF’in Cheers for The New Yorker Podcasts
As a longtime New Yorker subscriber (that’s right, in print), you’d wonder why I’d bother with the podcasts as well. I can lay any questions to rest here. Each Monday (a few days before the issue lands in my mailbox) there is a lively, informed discussion with New Yorker Web editor Blake Eskin takes place in Out Loud that truly enriches the reading experience — a couple weeks back it was an actual sit-down beer tasting, this week was a personal interview with Zadie Smith, who contributed to the fiction issue.
But the killer, was aurally experiencing Hendrik Hertzberg’s column on Rod Blagojevich in which the narrator practically — blasphemically — acts out the following passage, which is never done justice in bleeps or even unadulterated print:
Blagojevich—who had remarked of the Senate seat, “I’ve got this thing and it’s fucking golden, and, uh, uh, I’m just not giving it up for fuckin’ nothingâ€â€”was not happy when told that no offers were forthcoming from anyone around “this motherfucker,†as he referred to the President-elect: “Fuck him. For nothing? Fuck him.â€
No really, listen to it:
A third great podcast falls haphazardly — it was initially the Campaign Trail and is now titled The Transition. Along with my daily listens (Buzz Out Loud, Rachel Maddow, Slate, etc) these truly awesome podcasts bring serious entertainment and value to my commute. Subscribe in iTunes, Google Reader or your favorite podcatcher via the links at http://www.newyorker.com/services/rss/summary#podcasts.
It’s almost like I don’t miss those New York Times Op-Ed podcasts anymore. Am I the only one who still misses those?
Sometimes Just Picking Up the Mail Can Make Your Feel Dumb
I had to laugh. Aren’t these supposed to be thinking-peoples’ rags?