The Age Of Persuasion

I need another Podcast I'll enjoy listening to like — well, let's just say my beloved, well-travelled iPod Nano is at that point where I'm frequently having to find creative ways to accommodate everything. And so, it is with a small degree of resignation that I have just today discovered The Age of Persuasion from CBC Radio, a fascinating weekly series about the many ways that advertising and marketing reach into our lives.

(You can listen on the program's web site. It isn't officially distributed as a Podcast yet, for various legal reasons, but it is available just the same, through a few different sources.)

It's an engaging half-hour, immaculately polished, though in a way that occasionally sounds a bit too similar to the material that's being explored (which isn't much of a surprise, really, as the people who have devised the series come from a background in radio advertising), but one that I found completely engrossing. It won't be of interest to everyone, I'm sure — but I am of the belief that it's better to be an educated consumer of media, and this is a fine place to begin.

(And did I mention the catchy theme tune? I can't seem to get it out of my head.)