Quick Links for the Week Ahead

Well, the Masked Downloader is back from an all-too-brief vacation with another completely random and patternless post filled with free and legal MP3 goodness. So let's get started!

--Any geek worth his or her salt is either (a) already in San Diego with 120,000 other lost souls and enjoying the Comicon or (b) sitting at home wishing they were there. Well, count me among the latter. Here's a tiny little podcast to whet your geek thirst: Hasbro is posting daily podcast updates on all things Transfomers-related at Comicon!

--The WhiskyCast combines two of the most powerful forces in the universe -- strong alcohol and podcasting -- into one potent concoction. Mark Gillespie chats about all things whisky-related (and he recently celebrated his 100th episode!).

--Get your pre-historic ancient geek on with the all-Druid, all-the-time Druid Podcast.

--As a follow-up to the list of food-related podcasts we ran in a previous issue of our e-mail newsletter (see the right-hand side for info on how to subscribe -- it's easy and free!), here's an interesting 'cast entitled Deconstructing Dinner, described as "Discussing the impacts our food choices have on ourselves, our communities and our planet." Worth checking out!

--"As in golf, so too in life." Someone famous said that -- oh wait a minute, it was me. Well, it's true nonetheless. For the hopeless duffer in your family, try out the Golf Psychology podcast right now!

--The Masked Downloader is instinctively attracted to anything with the word "lazy" in the title, because I know I'll be able to relate. So check out The Lazy Environmentalist, a weekly show that focuses on easy ways the everyday person can make their lives a little greener.

RE-POST: Harry Potter Podcasts

With the last Harry Potter novel a mere day or so from being released, here's a re-post of a roundup of Harry Potter podcasts we did last month:

We're assuming that obsessive Harry Potter fans already know about such things, but just in case you don't, here's a few Potter podcasts to get you revved up for the seventh and final book, The Deathly Hallows, due out July 21. Did we mention we like jumping on bandwagons? Yeah, we did.

MuggleCast The heavyweight champion Potter podcast.

PotterCast Another popular choice.

Harry Potter 2006 Podcast Tour (Kid-oriented podcasts from Scholastic Books)

Harry Potter Podcast Graveyard (Heh, well, just kidding. Sort of. Here's a listing of well over 100 HPP's from Podcast Alley, many of which seem to have died out in 2006 or earlier, but archives are still available for many if you're interested.)

Wednesday Quick Links: DVD Podcasts

Truth be told, The Masked Downloader is something of a DVD freak (in addition to being a free-and-legal MP3 freak first and foremost, of course!). In fact, I just bought myself a tiny portable DVD player so I can watch movies in bed -- no more pesky books with all those crazy "ideas" and long words! In celebration of the almighty DVD format, here's a roundup of some fun DVD review and news podcasts:

The DVD Weekly Podcast is, well, just what it sounds like! Reviews and talk from Don and Jarrod way up there in the Pacific Northwest.

Filmspotting (great title, by the way) is a podcast covering DVDs as well as new theatre releases.

Here's a cool podcast focusing on Australian DVDs.

RE-POST: Forensics & "Real" CSI Podcasts

Someone asked about this the other day -- we originally posted it back in June, but it's sort of buried in the archives, so we figured we'd re-up it: links to a few MP3 lectures and talks on the dark art of forensic pathology -- the real-life CSI.

First up is a fascinating talk from forensic pathologist guru and media superstar Cyril Wecht. This is an excellent 83-minute talk he gave at the University of Alaska in Anchorage in May 2007 covering his long career as a pathologist, touching on everything from OJ Simpson to the JFK assassination. It's a big file (around 76 MB) but the sound quality is excellent. LINK

Up next we travel south to Mansfield University in Pennsylvania for Episode 3 of "Forensics: From The Lab To the Street," a 2006 series by Dr. Scott Davis, who heads up the school's forensics program. In this episode, Davis talks about lab work and critiques the various CSI shows, pointing out what's real and what isn't. He's an interesting, engaging guy, and it's a fun listen. Here is a direct link to the MP3 file -- you'll need to right-click to download (if you left-click you'll launch an audio stream). Here is a link to Mansfield's podcasting page -- scroll down a little to the archives and you'll find other episodes in the series, along with a boatload of podcasts on other subjects, all available for free download.

For those who prefer video (and don't mind downloading huge files), Stetson University's National Clearinghouse for Science, Technology and the Law offers four free downloads of lectures from forensics superstars Drs. Michael Baden and Henry Lee, along with a couple of others. LINK

The Naked Scientists' latest audio podcast focuses on the science of forensics -- the how's and why's. LINK

Dr Helen Smith, a forensic psychologist (and, incidentally, the wife of blogging superstar Glenn Reynolds, aka Instapundit) has her own blog and podcast. In this episode from January 2007, she interviews forensic anthropologist Bill Bass, who created the famous "Body Farm." LINK

Weekly Newsletter: Have you signed up?

Yesterday subscribers received the latest edition of the Masked Downloader's free electronic newsletter, The Weekly MP3 Freeloader, chock-full of links to even more free and legal MP3 goodness. It's created in PDF format so anyone can open and read it, regardless of your computer type. If you haven't subscribed yet, just send an e-mail to info@mp3e-book.com and write "Subscribe" in the subject line, and we'll sign you up! It's that simple!

Weekend List: Old Time Radio

One of the Masked Downloader's favorite things about the Internet is that it has single-handedly brought about a revival of old-time radio. Thousands and thousands of shows from the 1930s through the 1950s have been encoded in MP3 and distributed for everyone to enjoy. Radio was TV, the Internet and Playstation all wrapped into one -- it's hard for us modern folks to realize just how dominant a medium it was in the 1930s and 1940s, especially. Shows like "The Great Gildersleeve" and Jack Benny's program were the Seinfelds and Friends of their day -- even more so, really.

In any event, if you don't know a lot about OTR, or just want some good stuff to load onto your iPod before heading out the door, check out these sites, which offer a variety of OTR shows for free download (most OTR shows are believed to be in the public domain and are distributed freely):

Archive.org has a huuuuge selection of more than 1,000 old time radio broadcasts available for free download: sports, news, comedy, drama, mystery, etc. A vast treasure trove and highly recommended.

Boxcars711 is one of the best OTR podcasts out there, updated on a very regular basis and offering a huge variety of shows. A nice "sampler site" for those new to the genre, so you can figure out what you like.

The Radio Nostalgia Network also offers several OTR-themed podcasts, along with music-oriented shows.

Botar's Old Time Radio is a great 'cast to check out if you're interested in adventure-oriented shows like The Shadow and The Green Hornet, although you'll find a smattering of other genres too.

The British Old Time Radio Podcast lives up to its name, providing vintage replays of British shows from the early days of radio.

The Classic Radio and Movies Network is a hoot and a half. Not only does it offer up a great selection of vintage OTR, you can also download B-movies and serials from the early days of cinema. Prepare to spend some time browsing here.

ComicWeb Old Time Radio Programs is supposed to focus on OTR shows based on comic book characters, but there's a wide variety of shows here, really more of a general selection; worth checking out.

Dead For The Weekend

With a sunny July weekend just around the corner, and grooving off of yesterday's link to the Relix podcast, your friendly neighborhood Masked Downloader decided to round up some Grateful Dead podcasts. Alas, I shall be working all weekend, which makes this post ever so bittersweet...nothing says lazy Saturday like listening to a 24-minute version of Dark Star. Sigh. Pity the poor Masked Downloader. And check out these great 'casts!

The Dead Show, from KOPN 89.5 in Columbia, Missouri, is a fantastic weekly podcast (and a looong one, too -- this week's clocks in at around 1:45:00) highlighting memorable performances from the band's entire career. You can access the shows HERE or HERE.

Sunshine Daydream seems to be on a short hiatus -- there hasn't been a new show posted since late May -- but there are still plenty of podcasts in the archive worth downloading. Features music from the Dead and related bands (Jerry Garcia solo, Dylan, etc.).

The Music Never Stopped actually, uh, stopped about 18 months ago, but the archives of this one-hour Grateful Dead podcast are still available. Unfortunately, the only options are to stream via the Internet or download to your mobile phone (it won't let you direct download the MP3 file). Annoying, but I decided to stick it on here anyway, due to the huge volume of music that is apparently still available. I don't have a music-equipped mobile phone so I don't know if the download actually works.

And, of course, how can we forge the huuuuge resource of free Grateful Dead shows at Archive.org??