Mac News: Trends: Bring Radio to Your iPod

Like satellite radio, podcasting is going to free us all from the bonds and torture of commercial radio. It may play a self-congratulatory 'six hits in a row without a commercial break' but then stops anyhow for a commercial break. And that's before we consider the Radio Thailand news, which a recent Harvard study showed was the most likely cause of driver drowsiness in the country.

Unlike satellite radio, podcasts challenge both the creator and the listener. No iPod owner needs a blogger to record 25 minutes of music for him every day, but she might want to listen to 25 minutes of thought, philosophy, alternative news, jokes, a roundup of the soap operas.