Podcasting is a way to deliver audio content to portable players. Despite the "Pod" in the name, you do not need an iPod to listen to the downloaded files.
An increasing number of governments and elected officials are finding podcasting a useful channel to inform their citizens. While not endorsing podcasts as the ultimate channel of government information (Do you want to hear the statistical abstract podcast?), FGI wishes to commend the governments and elected officials below for their innovation in communication. If you know of a government podcast not listed here, please send the URL where the podcast can be found to dnlcornwal AT alaska.net.
If a state or federal entity has an one-stop podcast listing, only that page will be listed. Otherwise we will list all podcasts for that entity separately.
Federal Podcasts
- USA.gov Federal Podcasts listing – Official listing of federal podcasts by subject.
- Elected Officials
- White House Podcasts
- House
- Senate
- Have any to share?
- Federal Agencies
- Agriculture
- Economic Research Service Podcast – Audio items on a number of agricultural economic topics.
- Consumer Product Safety Commission
- Weekly Recall Review – 3-5 minute audio recording summarizing recalls and other product safety news
- Agriculture
- Census Bureau
- Department of Defense
- Air Force:
- Army
- Army Racing Podcast – Join the US Army as they race the NASCAR circuit. RSS Feed
- Navy Podcasts – Service wide podcast portal. Features Navy/Marine Corps Radio News – A two-minute recap of current events for and about The U.S. Navy and the U.S. Marine Corps.
- Pentagon Channel Podcasts – Daily newscasts from America’s military.
- Energy
- Environmental Protection Agency – Podcast portal
- Government Accountability Office (GAO)
- GAO’s Watchdog Report – interviews with GAO officials on significant issues and new reports. The feed has links to all podcast episodes
- Health and Human Services
- Aids.gov Podcast – Broadcast since February 2007, mix of news and discussions about AIDS.
- Daily HealthBeat Tip – "Launched on July 11, 2005, this service provides health promotion and disease prevention tips 5 days a week in audio and text formats." Site encourages broadcasters to use tips with attribution. Probably good for podcasters.
- Healthcare 411 – “Healthcare 411 is a free online resource that educates and empowers consumers with evidence-based information. Produced by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), these weekly audio programs feature consumer-friendly health news and information.”
- Housing and Urban Development
- Interior
- CoreCast from US Geological Survey – Earth Science oriented podcasts from 5 to 20 minutes in length.
- NASA Podcasting Page – Links to several audio AND video podcasts of education and science programs at NASA.
- National Archives
- Presidential Libraries Uncovered Podcast – From the website, "Each month, we broadcast historical clips from the Libraries’ collection, ranging from serious policy discussions to conversations with family members. Listen to the voices of Presidents Hoover, Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, and Clinton. We’ll add a new podcast often." A feed is also available.
- National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Physics Laboratory. – These MP4 podcasts contain an audio recording of the seminars, plus copies of the slides used by the speakers, synchronized approximately with the audio track. Currently one must subscribe to this podcast through the Apple iTunes store using keyword NIST.
- National Library of Medicine – MedlinePlus: NLM’s Director’s Comments – Weekly highlights of What’s New in MedlinePlus.gov are narrated by the U.S. National Library of Medicine’s Director.
- NOAA (National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration) Podcasts
- National Weather Service
- Office of National Drug Control policy – Brief stories relating to drug abuse and control efforts.
- SAMHSA Radio Newsline Podcast – 60-90 second public affairs reports and substance abuse news segments.
- State Department
- International Information Programs – Speeches from Secretary of State and other officials.
- Rewards for Justice podcast feed – Daily roundup of rewards being offered for information regarding international terrorists. (XML)
- Smithsonian Institution Podcast Portal– Variety of audio and video podcasts on arts, science, history and more.
- Voice of America – Portal page offering a variety of news and culture programs. Offers a "Special English" news podcast which uses a limited vocabulary of 1,500 words. Broadcasters read at a slower pace than standard English.
District of Columbia Podcasts
- Mayor’s Weekly Press Conferences
- Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency – Brief video programs for the public on crime, criminal offenders and the criminal justice system. Some episodes in Spanish.
State Podcasts
- Arkansas
- California
- Governor’s Weekly Address – Intro page provides detailed instructions on using podcast software.
- Assemblyman (State House) Kevin McCarthy
- Assemblyman (State House) Russ Bogh
- Local Governments
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- State of Delaware Podcast Feeds – Includes podcasts on history and saving energy.
- Florida
- Georgia
- Indiana
- Illinois – Podcast portal – Currently includes Gov, Lt. Gov and Historic Preservation Agency podcasts.
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Podcast Portal – Includes feeds for Governor and General Assembly.
- Massachusetts
- Governor’s Podcasts – Podcast Feed (XML)
- Mass Moments – History minute podcasts supported by the Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities.
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Governor Pawlenty’s Podcasts
- State House Standing Committee Podcasts
- Minnesota House Members – Majority of house members podcast. See Rep Bruce Anderson for example.
- Mississippi
- MS Arts Commission’s MS Arts Hour – "The show features interviews with Mississippi artists, musicians, craftspeople, and others involved in arts and culture from around the state."
- Missouri
- Governor Podcasts – Subscribe via iTunes
- Nebraska
- Nebraska Library Commission Talking Book and Braille Service Interchange podcast
- Podcasting Across Nebraska – Not a podcast itself but a state program aimed at encouraging local government podcasts.
- Local
- Lincoln Board of Education podcasts
- South Sioux City Cardinal Cast . Can also subscribe via iTunes
- Nevada
- Local Governments
- New York
- Local Governments
- New York Police Department Daily News – Five to ten minute segments on traffic closures, interviews of NYPD personnel, and other news about the NYPD.
- Long Island Power Authority
- Local Governments
- North Carolina
- Local Governments
- Ohio
- OH DNR Ohio Outdoor Notebook Radio Spots – Minute podcasts designed to be used in radio shows.
- Oklahoma
- Outdoor Oklahoma – This is a video podcast of a weekly TV show produced by the Department of Wildlife Conservation. It appears to be archived on iTunes.
- Oregon
- South Carolina
- South Carolina Educational Television Commission ETV Podcasts – Mix of NPR feeds with locally produced, SC focused programs.
- Tennessee
- Governor Bredesen’s Podcast
- Tennessee Higher Education Commission
- Local Governments
- Memphis City Schools Podcasts – includes podcasts on world languages, arts and a "out of print" podcast.
- Texas
- Utah
- Virginia
- Washington
- Wisconsin
- Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau (LRB) Podcasts – Mostly summaries of LRB publications on various public policy issues or elements of the Wisconsin constitution. All of the podcasts are 5-7 minutes. The Legislative Reference Bureau is the first WI agency to produce podcasts.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Just ran across this govt podcast:
http://www.rewardsforjustice.net/rss/rfj_podcast.xml
should you wish to add it to the list.
You should also add the podcast from the United States Congress under elected officials of the federal government.
http://www.gop.gov/podcast/commonsense.xml
Thanks for the podcast suggestions. The two above have been added to the list. Please keep them coming.
Here’s another podcast to add to the list:
Government Reform Democrats:
http://www.democrats.reform.house.gov/audio.asp
Mainly podcasts from Rep. Waxman.
Hi Jennie,
Thanks for the tip! We’ve added it to the podcast directory.
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“And besides all that, what we need is a decentralized, distributed system of depositing electronic files to local libraries willing to host them.” — Daniel Cornwall, tipping his hat to Cato the Elder for the original quote.
and another podcast from the National Institutes of Health
http://nihpodcast.blogspot.com/
Thanks for pointing this podcast out to us, but on close examination it does not appear to be an official service of NIH. This directory is intended to document official agency efforts at podcasting.
If you can provide us with a link to this podcast from an official NIH page, we’ll be happy to put it on our directory.
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“And besides all that, what we need is a decentralized, distributed system of depositing electronic files to local libraries willing to host them.” — Daniel Cornwall, tipping his hat to Cato the Elder for the original quote.
The Pennsylvania Senate Republican Podcast addresses legislation before the Senate and issues of importance to Pennsylvanians. It is available at http://www.pasenategop.com or through an RSS feed reader using http://www.pasenategop.com/podcast.xml. Additional audio and video clips are available using this feed: http://www.pasenategop.com/multimedia.xml. Both are available on iTunes.
News from the Pennsylvania Senate Republican Caucus is available via RSS feed as well. The URL for the feed is http://www.pasenategop.com/news.xml.
I’m not sure if you know about the Smithsonian’s Spotlight on Science podcast. It is a federal agency so I think it qualifies, no?
http://www.si.edu/research/spotlight/
http://www.usa.gov/Topics/Reference_Shelf/Libraries/Podcasts.shtml
http://www.podcastingnews.com/forum/link_23.htm
http://www.podcasting-station.com/showrss.php?category=Government%20Podcasts
Hi Courtney! Thanks for bringing this podcast to our attention. I’ve added it to our directory, and will probably add it to my personal podcast listening!
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“And besides all that, what we need is a decentralized, distributed system of depositing electronic files to local libraries willing to host them.” — Daniel Cornwall, tipping his hat to Cato the Elder for the original quote.
Could you please add this podcast to your list of Government Podcasts? Thank you.
Title: MedlinePlus: NLM’s Director’s Comments
Website: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/directorscomments.html
Feed: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/podcast/nlmpcast.rss
Description: Weekly highlights of What’s New in MedlinePlus.gov are narrated by the U.S. National Library of Medicine’s Director. MedlinePlus.gov is created by the Library and provides consumer health and medical information from the National Institutes of Health and other reliable sources. Weekly highlights from MedlinePlus.gov are reported by the Director of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM). NLM is the world’s largest medical library and is part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health.
The Department of Cultural Resources in the State of North Carolina offers Podcasts which can be accessed at: http://www.ncdcr.gov/podcast.asp
The bi-weekly ncculture.com podcasts offer interesting interviews, music, features about performing arts, literature, and history across North Carolina, up to date events information, plus traveler guides to historic sites and museums.
Thank You for another very interesting article. It’s really good written and I fully agree with You on main issue, btw. I must say that I really enjoyed reading all of Your posts. It’s interesting to read ideas, and observations from someone else’s point of view… it makes you think more. So please try to keep up the great work all the time. Greetings
From the National Archives.
Website: http://www.archives.gov/presidential-libraries/research/podcasts.html
Feed: http://128.83.78.2/nl/plpodcast.xml
Nice list of goverment podcast. i don´t know that there are some many out there especially things like “norad podcast” 🙂 i will bet that the russian goverment will hear all of them 🙂
Is anyone mentioned http://usa.gov/Topics/Reference_Shelf/Libraries/Podcasts.shtml ?
impressive list, never knew that there are so many goverment podcasts out there. interesting!
Hello MegaS,
The USA.gov podcast directory is the very first entry under federal podcasts. We like usa.gov, but keep our own directory since we also collect state podcasts.
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"And besides all that, what we need is a decentralized, distributed system of depositing electronic files to local libraries willing to host them." — Daniel Cornwall, tipping his hat to Cato the Elder for the original quote.
I’m not sure if you know about the Smithsonian’s Spotlight on Science podcast. It is a federal agency so I think it qualifies, no?
Indiana Department of Education Podcasts
Thank you, it’s nice to read exactly about what i have been searching for – perfect.
Check them out. They don’t get any better.
This is a really nice list of podcasts. I hope to see the ‘Dutch Government Podcast list’-version soon!
I work as a volunteer for an open and free internet knowledge database in the Netherlands, (called Leerwiki.nl).
After reading this article we deceided to make a Podcasting list for the Dutch Government.
The list will be public (and free of course) soon.
Ragards Ann Mary