I’ve taken to listening to MP3s in the car for the several hours each week I’m driving by myself rather than trying to find something worthwhile to listen to on the radio. Although I do occasionally listen to music files, I prefer spoken-word materials such as sermons or audio books since they give me something to follow along with and not just listen to. Lately I’ve hit on the current events panel discussion program Uncommon Knowledge, which has turned out to be a prolific, thought-provoking source of listening material. MP3-format recordings are available for only the last two seasons, which is unfortunate since many of the older episodes look pretty interesting too.
I’ve nearly finished listening to all 39 episodes of the 2003-2004 season. Here are a couple I’ve found particularly interesting:
- “Robert’s Rules of Order”: An interview with Constitutional originalist Judge Robert Bork
- “A Less Perfect Union”: Discussion of the European Union and the EU Constitution, which was then in the process of being ratified. Although the EU Constitution is now on hold after having been rejected by several EU member states, many of the related issues covered make the discussion lively and relevant, and the interviewees’ dry Brit humor makes it worth listening to.
Unfortunately the show was discontinued after the 2004-2005 season, so I’ll be out looking for new listening material again before long.
