Here’s a feature I want in the next version of iTunes: a pop-up window that appears every time I subscribe to a podcast which asks, “Are you insane?”

That would be easier to program than what I really want: an information window that adds up all the podcasts you subscribe to and totals the number of hours per week entering the in-basket.

Since that feature doesn’t exist yet, and since I always seem to be running way behind the incoming podcast total, I sat down and figured out how much I’ve subscribed to. Which makes this the first blog post which I’ve ever written an explicit database to generate.

My total: 65 hours, 20 minutes. Per week. Ye Gods, no wonder I have seven gigs of backlog. (Totaling at the moment: six days and 10 minutes. I.e., 144 hours and 20 minutes.)

I actually do have a system to keep this manageable, and I’ll detail it in a future post. For now, though, since I am frequently asked about my media diet, here’s the current podcast mix.

And The Winner Is…, 1 hour per week

Weekly selection of award-winning radio from the CBC. 

Apple Keynotes, 0 hours per week

Video from Apple keynotes from MacWorld, WWDC, and special events. Rarely has new content, but a big whopping download when it does.

The Best of Definitely Not The Opera, .5 hours per week

Weekly CBC show “taking pop culture seriously.” I think of this show as being a Canadian version of “This American Life.” Quirky and usually interesting.

The Best of Ideas, 1 hour per week

Excellent show from the CBC with in-depth coverage of news events and historical topics. I’m only learning right now that the podcast is just one hour from a daily hour broadcast — if the CBC ever puts the full feed up, I’d subscribe immediately and to hell with how much I’m overloaded.

Car Talk, 1 hour per week

C’mon, it’s Car Talk. What, you don’t know about Car Talk? Okay, let’s put it this way: I’ve never learned how to drive, and I’ve listened to this show for 20 years.

Crossing Continents, 0.5 hours per week

International news from the BBC. Just started listening to this one, so I don’t have a feel for it yet.

Democracy Now, 5 hours per week

Daily news show from Pacifica Radio. This should be required listening for anyone who believes that the news media is liberally biased. This is left-wing radio, covering a wide variety of stories that I literally never hear elsewhere… at least, not until they get picked up months after Amy Goodman has broken them. 

The Diane Rehm Show, 10 hours per week

Two hours daily of news analysis, book reviews, and intelligent discussion. Probably the best of breed of the NPR talk radio genre, but the topics are frequently skippable. Friday is always a news review of the week; if you miss it over that weekend, it doesn’t have much lasting value.

Discovery, .5 hours per week

Weekly science news show from the BBC. 

Dispatches, 1 hour per week

Foreign affairs journalism from the CBC.

Documentaries, 2 hours per week

Selections from the BBC World Service archive. Most shows are good, some are outstanding; usually covers topics that don’t get much focus in US media.

The Ethicist, 0.1 hour per week

Randy Cohen narrates his weekly column in the New York Times. If you already read it, it’s the same content here. But his voice is amusingly snarky.

File on 4, .5 hours per week

BBC investigative journalism.

FLOSS Weekly, 1.25 hours per week

In-depth interviews each week with creators of open-source software. Skippable some weeks when I’m not interested in the topic, but I’ve learned about many cool projects via this show.

Forum: A World of Ideas, .75 hours per week

Weekly debate with academics about some “big idea” topic. Just started listening to this, but I think it’s going to become a fave.

Fresh Air, 5 hours per week

Interview show from Philly’s WHYY. Probably the best interviews on the radio, covering news and the arts. A near-fave: I don’t like every show, but some are spectacular.

Global News, 7 hours per week

Twice-daily half-hour summary of news from BBC World Service. Really, what more needs be said? The gold standard of radio news.

In Our Time, 1 hour per week

Weekly discussion of some very obscure academic topic. Instantly became one of my favorite shows. Earlier today I was listening to “Gödel’s Incompleteness Theorem” during dinner.

Intelligence Squared, 0.25 hours per week

Monthly “Oxford style” debates on a wide range of topics. Oxford style debates means that the participants actually ask each other questions and have to know what they’re talking about. Always worthwhile.

Kasper Hauser Comedy Podcast, 0 hours per week

Fantastic comedy from the guys who brought you the SkyMaul catalog. Unfortunately hasn’t been updated in a year.

Krulwich on Science, .2 hours per week

Short, funny reviews of science topics. More of a comedy show than a science show.

Le Show, 1 hour per week

Weekly satire from Harry Shearer. Occasionally brilliant, usually very good.

MacBreak Tech, 0 hours per week

Great show getting into technical details about the Mac. Seemingly either on hiatus or a very sporadic release schedule.

MacBreak Weekly, 1.25 hours per week

Weekly Mac news show masquerading as a bullshit session between very funny people. This show is a fave whenever Andy Ihnatko is on, otherwise it’s merely very good.

MacNotables, 1 hour per week

Discussion of various Mac topics by various Mac experts. Honestly, part of the reason why I listen is that I’ve met most of these people and I feel like I’m listening to friends chat about interesting issues. I expect any regular readers of MacWorld or TidBITS will be interested in this.

MacVoices, 1.5 hours per week

Interviews with various people in the Mac community: software programmers, book authors, etc. Sometimes skippable, but a good source for Mac news overviews.

Marketplace, 2.5 hours per week

Daily half-hour business news show on NPR. Great commentary, but I wish it were an enhanced podcast so I could skip stories I’m not interested in.

The Material World, .5 hours per week

Weekly science show from the BBC.

The News Quiz, .5 hours per week

BBC version of “Wait, Wait”.

NewsPod, 2.5 hours per week

Half-hour daily news summary from the BBC. Some overlap with the BBC World Service daily reports, but so far not enough to justify unsubscribing.

NPR Shuffle, 2.5 hours per week

Half-hour sampler of stories from Morning Edition, All Things Considered, Day to Day, and other shows.

The Onion News Network, 0.25 hours per week

Onion parody of CNN-style news videos. I have to watch each episode twice: once for the video, and again to read the headline crawl.

The Onion Radio News, .1 hour per week

Daily “news” broadcast from the Onion.

Open Source Sex, .1 hour per week

Interesting discussions led by sex educator and writer Violet Blue. Definitely NSFW. Extremely sporadic release schedule of late.

Quirks and Quarks, 1 hour per week

Weekly science coverage from the CBC. This show is one of my favorites.

Radio 4 Choice, .5 hours per week

Weekly documentary from the BBC. Just added.

Real Time with Bill Maher, 1.25 hours per week

Audio of the HBO show, plus a few minutes extra. Just started a hiatus until February.

Savage Love, 0.75 hours per week

Weekly podcast from Dan Savage, author of the Savage Love sex column in your local free weekly. This is not the same stuff that’s in the column; frank, funny, and usually featuring him savaging a clueless caller or their clueless significant other. Definitely a favorite.

Science Friday, 2 hours per week

Fantastic in-depth science review show. Better yet, they release each story as a separate podcast, so it’s easy to skip the few topics not worthwhile.

Science in Action, .5 hours per week

Weekly science news show from the BBC. More technical than some other science shows, and very good because of it.

Search Engine, 0.25 hours per week

Weekly CBC show about societal impacts of the Internet. This used to be a regular radio show, and survives as podcast-only after its cancellation. Quality has been a bit hit-or-miss since then, but still worth a listen.

Spark, 0.5 hours per week

Weekly tech news and social affairs show from the CBC. Eclectic coverage and point of view.

Studio 360, 1 hour per week

Excellent weekly show about creativity and the arts; they’ve done shows on everything from Superman to Aaron Copland, and the one I just downloaded is about Tesla. A fave.

TEDTalks, 1.75 hours per week

Fantastic, frequently jaw-dropping videos of talks from the TED conferences. A top fave.

Thinking Allowed, .5 hours per week

Weekly BBC discussion of sociology. Just added, but likely to be a fave.

This American Life, 1 hour per week

Brilliant, funny radio show from NPR. Really, if you’ve never heard The Santaland Diaries, then drop everything and go listen to it right now. A top fave.

The Unger Report, .1 hour per week

Weekly news satire. Hit or miss.

Wait, Wait… Don’t Tell Me!, 1 hour per week

Weekly comedy show covering the news in a quiz format. One of my faves.

The Writer’s Almanac, 0.5 hours per week

Daily five-minute “this day in the history of literature”, narrated by Garrison Keillor, with a daily poem. Wryly amusing and usually includes at least one daily bit of information I didn’t know and am glad to learn.

You Look Nice Today, .5 hours per week

Impossible to fully describe, but basically an improv comedy show from three very amusing, very geeky guys, including Merlin Mann. Frequently laugh-out-loud funny.