Living in London

Set your VCRs. Schedule your Tivos. Heather is about to make her television debut. If you live in the UK you will want to tune to a new show on the BBC 2 on Thursday nights called The Culture Show. On Thursday, November 25th at 7:00 PM GMT Heather will be featured as an enthusiast for the latest technological craze to sweep the internet.

Podcasting has recently exploded as a new form of audio content and a new channel for distribution. Basically, the idea is that people record audio shows on their computers and upload them as MP3 files to their blogs. Some simple software automatically downloads the shows and loads them onto my iPod. Of course it works with most any MP3 player but the iPod has become a household word (like Kleenex or Xerox) and the name "podcasting" has taken root. My current favourite podcasts are Coverville and the Whole Wheat Radio Daily Rant. There are hundreds more and new podcasts are being added every day.

The producers of The Culture Show wanted to capture some enthusiasts who listened to podcasts and I was an eager volunteer. On Tuesday Colin Lennox from the BBC stopped by our flat with a digital video camera for about an hour and a half and recorded me pontificating about podcasting. Upon reviewing the films they liked the footage and called back to ask if they could get some additional shots with me listening to my podcasts in real life situations. I met a different recording crew this afternoon at a café in Oxford Circus. Five of us (and one big camera) boarded the fist uncrowded bus to come along while the camera man shot video of me standing at the back of the bus enjoying my iPod. Finally, we picked a stop where I would get off and they filmed me walking off into the crowd.

Thanks to Brian Ibbott at Coverville for connecting me with the BBC people. The taping sessions were a blast.