From FM Radio to Podcast: Car Talk

I have been a fan of Tom & Ray Magliozzi's NPR: Car Talk for more than 15 years. Ever since my first job after library school at Berkeley, I have been fascinated by this pair of brothers' humor and knowledge about cars. Strangely speaking, I have been unconsciously thrown into a revolution of broadcasting technology: from FM radio to streaming archive, then to iTunes and Podcast.

I remember that Wednesday's eleven to noon used to be sacred to me. I always tried to schedule this hour free from questions and visitors at Creators Equity Foundation Library, which specialized in architecture and environmental design. I would feel so badly if I missed that particular Wednesday's broadcast but always managed to make it up on Saturday morning's radio re-broadcast.

Later I was overjoyed that I could go to NPR's archive to listen to Car Talk via the Internet, instead of being limited to FM radio's scheduled broadcasts. However limitations still existed. For one thing you had to use a computer with an Internet connection.

Now, since the availability of iTunes podcasts, downloaded to my thumb-drive and also published in my Bloglines, I can listen to Tom & Ray virtually anywhere and anytime. Technology does provide us with freedom and pleasure if used properly.