MY PODCAST LIST

One of the ways I practice on my steno machine is by writing dictation from the podcasts I subscribe to via iTunes. I know many other court reporting students like to practice in front of their TVs by writing to shows like "Law & Order" (to get those legal and police investigative terminology in their dictionary) or "House" (to get those medical terminology in their dictionary) or to their local news channel (to get those current events terminology in their dictionary). But I don't like sitting in front of the TV unless I'm totally relaxing and watching anything and everything on HGTV! (I keep dreaming about my dream house! Hehehe!) Before I go on, just so we're on the same page, let me give you Apple's definition of a podcast:

What’s a podcast?

A podcast is a free video or audio series — like a TV or radio show — that you download from iTunes and play on your computer, iPod, iPhone, or Apple TV. Visit the iTunes Store to search for podcasts that pique your interest. Once you find one, give it a quick listen, then click a single button to subscribe.

OK, so we're on the same page now? Good! :) Again, what works for me is listening intently through my ear buds to these fascinating podcasts on iTunes. I love it too that I can listen to these podcasts via my laptop or my iTouch. Can you say CONVENIENT??? :)

HERE'S MY iTUNES PODCAST LIST THAT I HABITUALLY PRACTICE ON MY STENO MACHINE WITH:

Bill O'Reilly's Talking Points

Concise monologues, averaging 2-3 minutes, of Bill O'Reilly talking about the biggest headline news in the United States. I like how straight to the point he is, and this podcast is a great, quick source for current events info. Also, I'm an avid Fox News watcher! :) The Biography Podcast - Stories of Life Great summaries in layman's language of great figures in history. Each podcast averages about 20 minutes. Beef up your dictionary with these well-known names, countries, historical events, etc. I especially enjoyed the story of Cleopatra. The Dave Ramsey Show Snippets of his TV show (aired on Fox Channel) talking to listeners about their financial concerns. I love his book "The Total Money Makeover" (see my post "Three Things"). You can get more speaker identification with this podcast going from the Listener (Question Symbol) to Dave (Answer Symbol). I love it when a listener is debt free, and they call in the show just to scream, "I'm freeeee!" Very encouraging! :) Great Speeches in History Self-explanatory. The great thing about this podcast is that it's not an actor reading the historical speech (unless it's Colin Powell reading Abraham Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address"), but you listen to the actual audio of the famous speech. Listening in like this makes you feel as if you're right there, taken back in time at these historical moments of our nation. The Simple Dollar Podcast I absolutely love this podcast! Trent Hamm, who hosts this podcast and its corresponding blog, http://www.thesimpledollar.com/, doesn't have the best voice in the world (sorry, Trent!), but he seems very genuine, talks to you like a long-time friend, and just wants to share great ideas about how to use, save, or spend your money and life more wisely. I totally recommend his stuff -- podcast and blog both! :) Stuff You Should Know This is a very entertaining podcast where two guys talk to the audience like buddies about "stuff you should know." The podcast sessions run an average of 20 solid minutes, and these guys are just plain old fun! Some hilarious, offbeat, but "stuff we should know" topics of theirs: How OCD Works, How Flirting Works, How Redheads Work, Will Robots Get Married? ...and the list goes on! 8Quotes - Motivational Quote Podcast This is one of my favorite! This podcast gives you eight motivational quotes on inspirational topics such as Doing the Work You Love, Making Changes That Stick, or When Opportunity Knocks. He also has a blog up, http://www.8quotes.com/blog/, which is basically the transcript of the podcast itself. This is a great opportunity to write on your steno machine while listening to his podcast and then go to his blog to compare your steno notes to his transcript. Unfortunately, his blog hasn't been updated since April 2009, but we can still listen to all his archives! In Touch with Dr. Charles Stanley - Radio Program I learn so much every time I listen to Dr. Stanley's podcasts! He delivers his messages with such clarity, humility, compassion, Biblical accuracy, and then encourages us to do something practical with what we've just heard. I love his books, too (see my post "Time Management"). If you really like practicing by writing to your TV instead of a podcast, Dr. Stanley has videos on his website where you can watch, listen, and practice to his sermons. Click here for his videos, which are at the top left of his website. Just Vocabulary This 4-minute podcast is a great way to put words in your dictionary! Jan Folmer goes over two words at a time in each podcast where he basically dictates from a dictionary, but in a fun, engaging way. Also, Jan seems to have a slight English accent (I can't understand him sometimes!), so this will be great practice on trying to decipher people's words in context. So those are my NINE PODCASTS I like to listen to and practice with the most on iTunes. What about you? What would you put as the TENTH PODCAST on this list? Would love to know your thoughts! :) Lastly, if you haven't set up an iTunes account on your computer yet, do it already! It's COMPLETELY FREE! :) And all these podcasts are COMPLETELY FREE! :) Click here to download iTunes to your computer. Click on the top right blue button that says "Download iTunes." Happy listening and happy practicing! :)