The Friday Freebie is where I share an online, open-access resource that I think readers might find interesting and useful. Each week, I will introduce a free resource that I think will be useful to teh angry Leftists – books, podcasts, web sites, etc. The aim is to compile a toolkit for understanding and advancing progressive ideals.
Regular readers will know of the unrequited love I have for Rachel Maddow. In my opinion (and, based on her MSNBC show’s ratings performance, the opinion of many others), Maddow provides the most articulate and intelligent coverage of American political issues that you will find on TV or radio. Her radio show is broadcast on the Air America network; since her TV show commenced on MSNBC, the radio show now has only one hour of original content per day (with the second hour being a broadcast of the previous day’s TV show).
Both shows are available as podcasts for free download. You can subscribe to the radio show through the web site of radio station Green 960. On the MSNBC podcasts page, you can subscribe to the TV show as a video file (around 100MB per episode) or, if you just want to listen on an MP3 player, as an audio file. One additional hint – if you would prefer a WMV video file to the M4V format (e.g., I use a Cowon iAudio D2, which plays WMVs) then you can copy the podcast feed’s URL, paste it into the subscribe box of your podcast software (although iTunes won’t handle WMVs), and change the ‘M4V’ in the address to ‘WMV’.
The shows normally air in the evenings from Monday to Friday in the United States. This means that Australians can expect to have new content appear for download each day from Tuesday through to Saturday (normally mid-afternoon). I highly recommend at least downloading an episode and checking it out – but if you enjoy Rachel’s approach and range of guests and topics as much as me, hopefully you’ll access the podcasts.
Do you have a tip for future freebies? Contact me with any suggestions or requests.
