style="">Podcasts, the MMO for
Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Podcasts
were around before the iPod but Apple incorporated
podcasts right into iTunes making podcast programming easy to find,
download
and enjoy. Podcasts are typically 15 minutes to 2 hour audio programs.
A
quick iTunes search for World
of Warcraft
podcasts yields pages and pages of results (well over 200 podcasts are
listed).
Just like any search result, all of the WoW podcasts aren’t
relevant and many
have href="http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=podfade">podfaded.
If you can sift through the chaff though, there are some excellent
podcasts
that will inform and entertain while you are stuck in traffic or
waiting for a
plane.

style="">Round ‘Em Up

Following
is a podcast roundup of the current crop of
podcasts on my iPod that center on style="">World
of Warcraft (plus a few bonus
podcasts). I have fairly simple criteria for
making it onto my iPod. The elements of a successful show may not be
comedy or
hard-hitting news but overall it needs to be fun to listen to and
provide
information in a way that’s easy on the ears (don’t
even start with the easy
listening!).

Some
podcasts have been around for a while, others are
fairly recent additions. There have been many podcasts go the way of
Tabula
Rasa so I’ve not included any in the round-up who
haven’t posted an update in 4
months. In any case following are some of the podcasts and how they fit
into the
overall WoW-podcast landscape. I’ve listed the casts in order
of how you should
listen to them – i.e. If you have a short/select amount of
time start at the
top and if you have more keep adding from the list.

 

style=""> href="theinstance.net">The Instance

style="width: 606px; height: 212px;" alt="The Instance"
src="/image/view/73803"> style="">

One of
the longest running and most consistent podcasts out
there. The two hosts (Scott and Randy) have been at this a while and
Scott is a
professional so the show sounds good. Randy provides some great insight
into
what is happening in WoW and acts as the WoWGuru while Scott plays the
“everyman.” The podcast also started the largest
guild in the world Alea Iacta
Est (AIE) which has created spin-off podcasts as well as a great
marketing tool
for the podcast. This is the granddaddy of them all, I can’t
do it justice in a
paragraph. This and Warcast are two of the only casts that are family
friendly.
Be careful, most podcasts with the “Explicit” tag
deserve it.

href="worldofwarcast.com"> style="">World of Warcast

class="MsoNormal"> style="width: 319px; height: 69px;" alt="World of Warcast"
src="/image/view/73808">

Starman started the podcast right as podcasting broke out of
obscurity and has settled on a co-host Renata that really brings a font
of
information to the table. While being one of the longest running
podcasts, it
is also one of the most flakey. This is not a podcast for breaking
news, it’s a
great show to learn more about tricks and tips from Renata and pick up
some
raiding tips from Starman.

href="wow.com">The
WoW Insider Show

style="width: 325px; height: 143px;" alt="WoW Insider Show"
src="/image/view/73807"> style="">

This
show has gone through a few iterations but has finally
hit its stride. Adding Turpster as a pseudo permanent co-host, Mike
(lead host)
brings an interesting cast of additional hosts each week to add flavor
and
their specialty to the mix. This show is also one of the more
consistent publications
and is a routine favorite of mine.

href="bindonequip.com"> style="">Bind On Equip

Aussies
always have a good time and this group of Aussies is
fun to listen to while they discuss WoW, life and work (not necessarily
in that
order). They can get derailed for good chunks of time so if you are
looking for
an RSS feed of constant news, keep looking. I would love to meet this
group at
a pub for a few dozen pints.

style=""> href="allthingsazeroth.com">All Things Azeroth

style="width: 450px; height: 84px;" alt="All Things Azeroth"
src="/image/view/73794/preview">

A good
blend of social commentary and what’s happening in
WoW. This team of Medros and Graece provide recent news updates and how
it will
affect their gaming, hence our gaming. It’s a very casual
crew that may not
provide real hard core info but gives people a glimpse into the
hosts’ lives on
the Horde.

style=""> 

style=""> href="panseydivision.net">Proudmoore Pansies

These
two guys are the yin and yang of competitive and
compassionate. Nate Arizona and Galatix cover the range of happenings
of their
guild on the Proudmoore server. Some weeks the Alliance guild runs end
game
raids and the guys are abuzz about phat lewt, while other weeks guild
drama
brings a more reality show feel to the table. Some shows are definitely
more
action packed than others, but always worth checking in on this
sometimes quite
explicit show.

href="wcradio.com"> style="">WoW Radio: Casually
Hardcore

style="width: 200px; height: 151px;" alt="Casually Hardcore"
src="/image/view/73796"> style="">

The
team of Gnomewise, Grail, Gwenora and Iolite bring a
full contingent of people to the podcast. One of the better group
settings, the
hosts play well off of each other and provide banter that seems
natural. As the
name implies, the group discusses their trials and tribulations of
hardcore
players without a lot of the raiding variety. style=""> 

style=""> href="wcradio.com">WoW Radio: Blue Plz!

Total
Biscuit is the man behind the machine that is
WoWRadio. Love him or not, he does have that cool English accent and
pulls no
punches. His attitude has run off some good people (in my opinion) but
the show
must go on. The show is still finding its legs but TB is a good listen
and
brings a point of view that others may not have reported.

href="outlandishpodcast.com"> style="">Outlandish

style="width: 450px; height: 71px;" alt="Outlandish"
src="/image/view/73801/preview"> style="">

The
redneck raiders, Matt, Justin and Jeremy discuss news,
guild drama, and all kinds of tangents. These long podcasts can wander
for periods
of time, but I can imagine myself hanging at the corner bar enjoying
Pabst Blue
Ribbon with these guys. Another explicit show that has earned its title.

href="ctrlaltwow.podbean.com"> style="">Ctrl-Alt-WoW

class="MsoNormal"> style="width: 250px; height: 250px;" alt="Ctrl-Alt-WoW"
src="/image/view/73797">

One of The Instance spin-offs, this one has kept at it and
continues to provide good content – case in point; their
on-site reporter at
Blizzcon got a tour of Blizzard headquarters. The hosts are a random
mix of New
York, England and middle-America, but it works. Not a show for breaking
news,
but check it out and determine for yourself.

style=""> href="howiwow.org">How I WoW style="">  (It’s
WoW-related, kind of)

style="width: 427px; height: 83px;" alt="How I WoW"
src="/image/view/73799"> style="">

Patrick
Beja has earned quite a name for himself in the
podcasting community. Starting with his own show in France, he
contributes
regularly to The Instance and WoW Insider among others. How I WoW is an
off-shoot podcast with his real life pastor co-host and they chat with
people
about their lives, gaming and of course WoW. Some of the interviews
have been
good and some are great. I don’t catch this one right off the
press but I
typically come back and catch up. style="font-weight: bold;">Breaking news…Patrick
has been hired by Blizzard (in France)
so How I WoW will no longer be in production. The episodes are
fairly timeless though so review the guests and download a few to enjoy.

style="">Farewell and Parting

style="width: 201px; height: 200px;" alt="Epic Dolls"
src="/image/view/73798">
           
        style="width: 326px; height: 97px;" alt="Ready Check"
src="/image/view/73802"> style="">

There
are a couple of WoW podcasts that I will really miss. style="">  style="">Epic
Dolls just recently faded, but
was a very good show. I enjoyed it mostly
because it was hosted by two women who knew their *stuff* yet
didn’t pull off
that “more L33t than you” vibe. On the other side
of the coin is The
Ready Check that just went dark.
The Ready Check was the most unapologetically elitist group
I’ve had the
pleasure of hearing. They cleared every part of the game, worked on
hard modes
and brought on top guilds for interviews. They were crass, rude and fun
as
hell.

style="">MMO but Non-WoW Specific
Podcasts (worthy of mention)

style="width: 387px; height: 103px;" alt="VirginWorlds"
src="/image/view/73805">

In
addition to WoW podcasts, there are some others that
should be on you radar. VirginWorlds
is probably the original MMO newscast with Brent as the host. Most
other
podcasters (if not everyone on this list) either got their ideas to
podcast
from Brent or have enjoyed some success due in part to
Brent’s efforts on
VirginWorlds. It’s unfortunate that Brent himself has
podfaded from view, but
he continues to promote podcasts through his PodCast Collective.

style="width: 184px; height: 180px;" alt="No Prisoners No Mercy"
src="/image/view/73800">

Speaking
of the Collective, No
Prisoners, No Mercy is a great
listen if you want to hear two
quasi MMO-nuns go after developers and players alike with their
“Mad as Hell
and We’re Not Going To Take It” segment. Heck
they’ve had interviews with Scott
Hartsman and Paul Barnett for crying out loud!

Another
collective contributor is the Van
Hemlock podcast. Van Hemlock and
his co-host Sean discuss the
latest happenings in the MMO marketsphere. With their own spin on
everything,
this podcast is another one I enjoy quite a bit. Both hosts are
long-time EVE
players so expect to hear some information on that subject. I
don’t play EVE
and I still enjoy those segments.

style="">So Many Shows, So
Little Time

Be
happy if you don’t have enough time to listen to all of
the above, it would mean 15 or so hours a week in the car. Lucky me, I
can
usually get through a lot of them during any given week. Critical point
about
podcasts – we all have bad days. Podcasters are no different
so give a show two
to three episodes to catch your ear before you unsubscribe.
Don’t base your
whole decision on a few minutes of one show. Try out a couple of the
ones
listed above and then find your own groove. Report back and let me know
which
ones catch your attention; I’m always on the lookout for new
ones.