Link: alt.NPR: Press Start

What happens when you take a game media commentator and a comedian and throw them into a podcast together with NPR.org systems manager as host? You get alt.NPR's new bi-weekly podcast, Press Start.

Press Start is hosted by NPR's Robert Holt, who currenly serves in the capacity of reviewing video games for All Things Considered and as the system manager for the NPR.org website. Holt is joined by Kyle Orland, who runs the website VGM Watch, dedicated to "making snarky commentary" on video game journalism; and Ralph Cooper, who works for Satellite One and fancies himself a comedian.

This podcast is a welcome relief from the deluge of gaming-related podcasts currently available. I myself listen to podcasts from IGN games, 4 Color Rebellion, the Wiire (despite it's name). And I've discovered that each podcast is always the same thing: four or five guys, chatting it up for over an hour about the latest news, each giving mercilessly detailed exposition on their opinions of how the news might make or break the entire gaming industry. They all apparently love the sound of their voice, and think their opinions matter most, and want to make sure you hear it. In detail.

Press Start is a breath of fresh air. It's three guys chatting it up for just fifteen minutes about a single topic related to video games. It's concise, it's informative, it's not self-indulgent, and it's highly entertaining. I heartily suggest you add it to your subscriptions.