Listening to Podcasts in German

We discovered Annik Rubens and her five-minute Schlaflos in Mà ¼nchen podcasts first, and then it was about an hour with a Swiss-German dee-jay at jradio.ch in Zurich. (Cool to hear Schwytzerdytsch, the musics cool, but in English.) The variety of topics and sheer numbers of podcasts in German is amazing for such a relatively new phenomenon! People all around the world—including Austria, Germany, and Switzerland—are producing their own mini-radio shows on topics from art culture to porn, from daily life to rock, or world news politics. There are podcasts in German dialects and even kidspods for young listeners (Hà ¶rkultur fà ¼r Kinder). Youll find pro versions and podcasts by just plain folks. PodcastenaufDeutsch What is podcasting? Heres a definition in German: Der Begriff Podcasting meint das automatische Herunterladen von Audio-Dateien aus dem Internet. Meistens handelt es sich dabei um private Radio-Shows, die sich einem bestimmten Thema widmen. - podster.de (See the English explanation in the next paragraph.) Audio on the web is nothing new. However, das Podcasten is a new way of approaching online audio (and video). It really seems to be a good thing for language-learners. The term podcast is a play on words that mixes broadcast and iPod to come up with podcast. A podcast is a lot like a radio broadcast, but with some crucial differences. First of all, a podcaster doesnt need a real radio station. Anyone with basic recording and computer skills can produce a podcast. Second, unlike radio, you can listen to a podcast at any time and in any place. You can click on a podcast and listen to it immediately (just like streaming audio), or you can save it to your computer (and/or iPod) for later. Some podcasts require a free subscription and/or special podcast software (i.e., iTunes, iPodder, Podcatcher, etc.), but most podcasts can be heard using a normal Web browser set up for MP3 audio. The advantage of subscribing is that youll get your chosen podcast on a regular basis, just like a newsletter.  A lot of the podcasting software and services are free. You dont have to pay for anything unless you want to. The free iTunes software from Apple (for Mac or Windows) has support for podcasts and is perhaps the easiest way to subscribe to podcasts in German or other languages. How to Find German Podcasts The best way is to use iTunes or some other podcast directory. Podcast.net lists over 20 podcasts in German. Thats where I found Annik and Schlaflos in Mà ¼nchen, but shes also listed in iTunes and other directories. (Some podcasts listed under Deutsch may actually be in English, because its up to the podcaster to select the category.) Of course, there are also German podcast directories, including das deutsche Podcasting Portal - German podcasts. The iPodder.org site has a page for podster.de, but you need to download the free Juicer client (Mac, Win, Linux) to use it. You can also use Google.de or other search engines to find podcasts in German. Some Selected Podcast Sites in German Most podcasters have a Web site related to their podcasts, often with a forum for feedback and comments. Most will let you stream their MP3 podcasts, but if you want to subscribe, try one of the podcast clients such as iPodder. Annik Rubens: Schlaflos in Mà ¼nchen 3-5 minute daily podcasts1st Intergalactic Podcast Ralfs tà ¤gliche handvoll Minà ¼tchen à ¼ber einfach allesAudibleBlog.de Topics: Large variety (business, Kinder, usw.) DIE ZEIT and audio highlights (3-12 min.) from audible.deGnak Podcast Verschiedenes von Nicole Simone in Là ¼beck