“Area 45,” Beaming Aboard

 

In case you haven’t noticed, there’s a new addition to Ricochet’s already impressive choice of podcast listening.

Produced by the Hoover Institution, we call it “Area 45” – Hoover fellows and other notables in the greater Hoover galaxy (academics, media members, officeholders) examining various policy aspects of the 45th President of the United States.

I’m the lead interviewer on the podcast. With the possible exceptions of James Lileks and John Podhoretz, I might be the luckiest guy in the podcast biz as I get to listen and learn from some of the brightest minds in the nation.

How else to experience the honor of sitting down with Victor Davis Hanson and having him explain the movement that resulted in the ascent of Donald Trump?

Or, in a few weeks, the one and only Peter Robinson reflecting on the 30th anniversary of Ronald Reagan at the Brandenburg Gate and the current state of presidential speechmaking.

I’d like to thank my friends here at Ricochet for adding us to the lineup. I can’t imagine being in more distinguished company.

And in anticipation of your first question: no, it’s not an “Area 51” word-play. “Area 45”, it so happens, is medical jargon for part of the frontal cortex in the human brain.

So think of us as trying to get inside Donald Trump’s head.

Now there’s a conversation . . .

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There are 13 comments.

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  1. Jules PA Inactive
    Jules PA
    @JulesPA

    Love the podcast graphic.

    And the title seems a play on words, as getting into the area 45 of our 45th prez, sometimes feels like an Area 51 x-file.

    Looking forward to the p-cast.

    • #1
  2. Aaron Miller Inactive
    Aaron Miller
    @AaronMiller

    Bill Whalen: And in anticipation of your first question: no, it’s not an “Area 51” word-play. “Area 45”, it so happens, is medical jargon for part of the frontal cortex in the human brain.

    Right, the part put there by aliens.

    • #2
  3. Percival Thatcher
    Percival
    @Percival

    Once again, a podcast is hung up in the Superfeed on iTunes. “The network connection was reset.”

    Yeti!

    • #3
  4. Blue Yeti Admin
    Blue Yeti
    @BlueYeti

    Percival (View Comment):
    Once again, a podcast is hung up in the Superfeed on iTunes. “The network connection was reset.”

    Yeti!

    We’ll fix it.

    • #4
  5. Max Ledoux Coolidge
    Max Ledoux
    @Max

    @percival I’ve checked and there’s nothing wrong with the file or the feed. Are you using Windows 10? Some subscribers have been running into firewall issues using iTunes with Windows 10. iTunes uses the firewall settings from Internet Explorer, so you have to open IE and go to Internet Options to change the settings, I believe. You might also try the separate Windows Firewall settings. The reason some podcasts might get caught in the firewall and others not is that some of the shows are not hosted by us, only distributed by us. The Hoover podcasts are hosted by them. Windows 10 seems to be interpreting this as bad. Of course, if you don’t have Windows 10 the proceeding is all moot…

    • #5
  6. Polyphemus Inactive
    Polyphemus
    @Polyphemus

    Max Ledoux (View Comment):
    @percival I’ve checked and there’s nothing wrong with the file or the feed. Are you using Windows 10? Some subscribers have been running into firewall issues using iTunes with Windows 10. iTunes uses the firewall settings from Internet Explorer, so you have to open IE and go to Internet Options to change the settings, I believe. You might also try the separate Windows Firewall settings. The reason some podcasts might get caught in the firewall and others not is that some of the shows are not hosted by us, only distributed by us. The Hoover podcasts are hosted by them. Windows 10 seems to be interpreting this as bad. Of course, if you don’t have Windows 10 the proceeding is all moot…

    If you are using iTunes on Windows 10, just stop!  iTunes is universally reviled as long being one of the worst applications on Windows (of any vintage). There are myriad ways to get the Ricochet podcast. Find something better.

    • #6
  7. Percival Thatcher
    Percival
    @Percival

    Max Ledoux (View Comment):
    @percival I’ve checked and there’s nothing wrong with the file or the feed. Are you using Windows 10? Some subscribers have been running into firewall issues using iTunes with Windows 10. iTunes uses the firewall settings from Internet Explorer, so you have to open IE and go to Internet Options to change the settings, I believe. You might also try the separate Windows Firewall settings. The reason some podcasts might get caught in the firewall and others not is that some of the shows are not hosted by us, only distributed by us. The Hoover podcasts are hosted by them. Windows 10 seems to be interpreting this as bad. Of course, if you don’t have Windows 10 the proceeding is all moot…

    Ah. Okay. I avoid Internet Explorer (and Edge) most of the time, but I had it set to my default browser for some testing. That’s probably it.

    • #7
  8. Max Ledoux Coolidge
    Max Ledoux
    @Max

    Percival (View Comment):

    Max Ledoux (View Comment):
    @percival I’ve checked and there’s nothing wrong with the file or the feed. Are you using Windows 10? Some subscribers have been running into firewall issues using iTunes with Windows 10. iTunes uses the firewall settings from Internet Explorer, so you have to open IE and go to Internet Options to change the settings, I believe. You might also try the separate Windows Firewall settings. The reason some podcasts might get caught in the firewall and others not is that some of the shows are not hosted by us, only distributed by us. The Hoover podcasts are hosted by them. Windows 10 seems to be interpreting this as bad. Of course, if you don’t have Windows 10 the proceeding is all moot…

    Ah. Okay. I avoid Internet Explorer (and Edge) most of the time, but I had it set to my default browser for some testing. That’s probably it.

    According to what I’ve read it doesn’t matter whether it’s set as your default browser — iTunes uses IE’s settings regardless.

    • #8
  9. Max Ledoux Coolidge
    Max Ledoux
    @Max

    Polyphemus (View Comment):

    Max Ledoux (View Comment):
    @percival I’ve checked and there’s nothing wrong with the file or the feed. Are you using Windows 10? Some subscribers have been running into firewall issues using iTunes with Windows 10. iTunes uses the firewall settings from Internet Explorer, so you have to open IE and go to Internet Options to change the settings, I believe. You might also try the separate Windows Firewall settings. The reason some podcasts might get caught in the firewall and others not is that some of the shows are not hosted by us, only distributed by us. The Hoover podcasts are hosted by them. Windows 10 seems to be interpreting this as bad. Of course, if you don’t have Windows 10 the proceeding is all moot…

    If you are using iTunes on Windows 10, just stop! iTunes is universally reviled as long being one of the worst applications on Windows (of any vintage). There are myriad ways to get the Ricochet podcast. Find something better.

    Do you recommend any alternative application for Windows? I had heard of Media Monkey (mediamonkey.com) but EJHill told me it was not good either.

    • #9
  10. Steve C. Member
    Steve C.
    @user_531302

    More evidence we seriously need to consider a hostile takeover of the Panoply Network.

    • #10
  11. Percival Thatcher
    Percival
    @Percival

    Max Ledoux (View Comment):
    According to what I’ve read it doesn’t matter whether it’s set as your default browser — iTunes uses IE’s settings regardless.

    IE’s control has been usurped by my firewall. I’ll take the rest to the Bug Reports group (like I should have originally).

    • #11
  12. Kim K. Inactive
    Kim K.
    @KimK

    I listened to this today and found it very interesting. A great addition to the podcast lineup.

    For what it’s worth, I never have a problem with the Superfeed in Stitcher. I’m in no way tech savvy, but eons ago the flagship podcast always had James Lileks saying something like “you can use Stitcher – that’s what we do.” That was back in the dark ages when you had to be a member to listen to podcasts. He’s busy now, of course, shilling for paying advertisers.

    • #12
  13. Polyphemus Inactive
    Polyphemus
    @Polyphemus

    Max Ledoux (View Comment):

    Polyphemus (View Comment):

    If you are using iTunes on Windows 10, just stop! iTunes is universally reviled as long being one of the worst applications on Windows (of any vintage). There are myriad ways to get the Ricochet podcast. Find something better.

    Do you recommend any alternative application for Windows? I had heard of Media Monkey (mediamonkey.com) but EJHill told me it was not good either.

    It depends on whether you are just wanting to manage podcasts (and how) or manage all audio including music. If just listening to podcasts on a one-off basis (like listening to a Ricochet cast while working at your computer) then simply listening in the browser is the most straightforward.  You can also just log in to Stitcher’s website and manage your podcasts there. I believe it syncs with your Stitcher app on your phone (Android or iOS).  If you are wanting to have an app that gathers and updates and otherwise controls Podcasts for listening on your PC while you travel (and don’t necessarily have constant internet access) there are a few in the Windows store that are pretty good:  Grover Podcasts, Onecast, Podcasts (beta).

    If you are looking for something more like iTunes to manage all audio including Music and Podcasts to listen offline, then there are a lot of different options and, again, depends on whether you are trying to replace the iTunes interaction between your device (phone) and computer or other aspects. For music, the streaming services like Spotify have really taken over the market from the older managing-downloaded-or-ripped-from-my-CD-collection model that the iPod popularized. MediaMonkey was one of those. Windows Media Player actually works fine for that too. So, the answer varies depending on what you are looking for.

    • #13
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