Two of EngÂland’s oldÂest uniÂverÂsiÂties, Oxford and CamÂbridge, have takÂen the leap into the digÂiÂtal age, recentÂly launchÂing their own podÂcast chanÂnels. Now, no matÂter where you live, you can expeÂriÂence the intelÂlecÂtuÂal world that has givÂen us William GladÂstone, Oscar Wilde, C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, Richard Dawkins, Stephen HawkÂing (Oxford alums) and also John MilÂton, Charles DarÂwin, Samuel TayÂlor Coleridge and Salman Rushdie (CamÂbridge alums).
When I first startÂed this blog, Oxford offered up only one podÂcast, which was realÂly a mini-course by StuÂart Lee called Old EngÂlish in ConÂtext (iTunes — RSS). Fast forÂward a couÂple of years and you find a much more robust genÂerÂal colÂlecÂtion (iTunes — RSS — Web Site). Here’s a quick samÂpling of the audio & video availÂable to you here:
- Joseph Stiglitz explainÂing the GlobÂal CredÂit Crunch (iTunes — Rss Feed)
- Talks about JRR Tolkein (iTunes — Rss Feed)
- TimÂoÂthy GarÂton Ash on IsaÂiah Berlin (iTunes)
- ReadÂings from John MilÂton’s Works (iTunes- Rss Feed)
- The World War I PoetÂry DigÂiÂtal Archive (iTunes — Rss Feed)
CamÂbridge’s colÂlecÂtion (iTunes — RSS — Web Site) perÂhaps doesÂn’t have the same breadth. But it has more focus, and more video podÂcasts. The colÂlecÂtion notably feaÂtures The Naked SciÂenÂtists (iTunes — RSS- Web Site), a well estabÂlished podÂcast by Dr. Chris Smith, which “takes an interÂacÂtive look at difÂferÂent aspects of sciÂence, medÂiÂcine and techÂnolÂoÂgy.” You’ll also find here anothÂer sciÂence podÂcast called “In a Blink of an Eye” (iTunes). RecordÂed in video, this proÂgram takes things that we see in everyÂday life, and then shows us what’s realÂly hapÂpenÂing on the atomÂic and molÂeÂcÂuÂlar levÂel. And, for the past sevÂerÂal weeks, it has remained one of the most downÂloaded podÂcasts on iTuneÂsU. It curÂrentÂly ranks fifth. OthÂer notable podÂcasts include God’s SecÂreÂtaries: The MakÂing of the King James Bible, The LanÂguage of Law: Why PoetÂry MatÂters, CamÂbridge CodeÂbreakÂers and British IntelÂliÂgence, and A Future Beyond Oil.
For more free uniÂverÂsiÂty conÂtent, check out our two colÂlecÂtions: UniÂverÂsiÂty PodÂcast ColÂlecÂtions and Free UniÂverÂsiÂty CoursÂes.
The name is “Tolkien”, not “Tolkein”.
SorÂry for the typo and thanks for flagÂging it!
Great Blog.
Is there an RSS feed for “In a Blink of an Eye”?
AmaÂzoÂnia you might find this page to be useÂful
http://sms.cam.ac.uk/media/1264