John Vanderslice's Top Five Favorite Podcasts.

By WW MUSIC STAFF

BBC Radio’s A History of the World in 100 Objects

Fascinating Radio 4 documentary that begins with the Mummy of Hornedjitef and ends with a portable solar-panel lamp and charger.

Radiolab

I'm sure most of you are familiar with this one, which just won a well-deserved Peabody Award. It's very well-produced WNYC podcast, marked by cynical verbal jousting between the two hosts, longtime NPR science correspondent Robert Krulwich and Jad Abumrad.

New Yorker Fiction Podcast

A monthly reading and analysis with The New Yorker's fiction editor, Deborah Treisman. Start with the brilliant Cynthia Ozick reading Steven Millhauser's In the Reign of Harad IV. My estimation of the story changed greatly after hearing Ozick's insights.

KQED's Forum

Michael Krasny hosts this eclectic daily live call-in show. He's had everyone from David Foster Wallace to The Daily Show's John Oliver. They have nine years of archives on KQED.org.

Harry Shearer's Le Show

Shearer, otherwise known as a high percentage of voices on The Simpsons and for playing the bass player in This Is Spinal Tap, has been recording Le Show for 28 years. It's a remarkably entertaining hour of music, skits and satirical songs. He's gotten more political over the years, with excellent coverage of Katrina and the government failures in preventing the destruction in New Orleans.

SEE IT: John Vanderslice plays Doug Fir on Monday, April 18, with Ivan & Alyosha. 9 pm. $12 advance, $14 day of show. 21+. See listings for details.

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