I remember downloading many episodes of Dawn and Drew, who helped keep me awake and laughing during a long drive from Toronto to Knoxville. They even inspired my wife and I to create our own show (also podfaded).

Today I still tune into a few of the old shows that I use to, that are still around. I also tend to listen to a few mainstream podcasts, those that are made by actual broadcasters.

Here’s a list of my ten current favorites (in no specific order):

1. Canadian PodCast Buffet – helps me keep up with the antics of my podcasting pals back home.
2. Dicks N’ Janes – the Scarborough Dude has always touched me, his stories and commentary are both hilarious and sincere.
3. The Hollywood Podcast – I’ve been listening to Tim Coyne’s tales of acting and looking for work in L.A. since he began his journey (we even teamed up for a short lived podcast of our own).
4. CBC Spark – Nora Young is a Canadian journalist with a flair for sharing great technology tales from Canada and abroad (hat tip to Dan on the producing too!).
5. Search Engine – Original a CBC show, it has recently moved over to TVO. Jesse Brown explains the show well, it’s an internet affairs show. It’s about politics and culture through the lens of the internet.
6. Media Hacks – An uncensored round table hosted by my personal friends and peers who discuss social media in a no holds barred style.
7. Managing The Gray – Nobody has the energy and charisma that my buddy C.C. Chapman has. This show could be about fly fishing and I’d still be ready to hook a worm by the end of it (do fly fishermen use worms?), lucky for me the show is about New Media Marketing.
8. The Bugle – Is a weekly “audio newspaper for a visual world” hosted by Brits, Andy Zaltzman and John Oliver (from The Daily Show). It’s hysterical.
9. The Film Talk – If you’re a film geek like me, there’s no other place to turn to for real commentary and reviews on new and classic films.
10. Real Time With Bill Maher – It’s the audio ripped straight from the HBO show. Some folks love Bill Maher, some hate him. I love him.
11. Bonus: CBC The Current – Best described from their site: Anna Maria Tremont talks …about the issues. We poke and prod them and look at them from new angles, shedding light on what needs to be exposed and taking delight in the surprising twists and turns our stories take. Nothing’s off limits—politics, business, culture, justice, science, religion—if it’s pertinent to Canadians, it’s on the Current agenda.

I realize that I have left a bunch of my favorite podcasts off this list, I keep thinking of more to add. Please don’t take it the wrong way if you’re a podcaster I missed. Now I have an excuse to do a follow up list of more shows that I recommend soon.

Are you new to podcasts? Let me know if you have any questions.

For you podcast listeners, what are some of your current favorites?