I am a huge fan of This American Life. Their story-based journalism is so rich, so true, so deeply human that on any given Monday (when the new podcast drops) I will listen on the commute to or from work and will regularly be moved from raucous laughter (alone…in my car…really) to tears as they offer up these incredible slivers of light into what it means to be human. This week’s podcast is a recording of a live show they recently did at the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Opera House, and while I’d commend the whole show (audio and, this week, video!), it’s really just one of the opening lines from host and producer Ira...

I will admit that I am an avid, even devoted, fan of Serial, the new podcast produced by the folks of another of my favorite podcasts, This American Life. But while I’ve listened to it raptly for the last eleven weeks and eagerly await the conclusion to be dropped tomorrow, in the last week or so I’ve also become a bit ambivalent…about both the podcast itself and my devotion to it. A little background may help. Serial is a new podcast that this fall has told – really, is still telling as the conclusion is tomorrow – one story over twelve weeks. One true story, actually. It is the podcast/radio version of a Ken Burns documentary...

In just a few short weeks, I’ll begin my new position at The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia. And…I…am…completely…and…totally…thrilled! When folks ask me about the job, they almost always ask, first, about the start date and then, second, about the commute. When I tell them it’s an hour drive door-to-door (with good traffic!), they almost immediately ask what I’m going to do with the time and I just as quickly answer, “Thank goodness for podcasts!” And it’s true. I love listening to podcasts. While many have commented that we’re in a new golden age of television – and I totally agree – I also think...