I wanted to let everyone know about Buddhist Geeks. As I've been seeking to learn more about Buddhism lately, I found Buddhist Geeks web site and podcast and they've both been a great resource for me.
I started by downloading just the latest podcast to see if it was cool. Podcasts can sometimes be pretty lacking in polish, which can detract from the information even if it's great information. I was very pleased by the quality. I then went back and started with everything from 2010 forward. When I finished that, I started at the beginning and I'm working my way to the middle…way.
Anyhow, I've been extremely pleased with the content, the production and most of all the openness of the whole thing. They really tackle all manner of Buddhist related material and don't seem to bring any slant to the table.
Anyhow, perhaps my favorite thing is how they've evolved from where they started (their motto was "Seriously Buddhist, Seriously Geeky") to where their identity really surfaced through their work as "Discover The Emerging Face of Buddhism". Now they are even taking a bold step and hosting a conference in California on this very topic that clearly is of interest to a lot of Buddhists and Buddhish people in America.
They've recently added a digital magazine aspect to the web site and also are hosting some coursework on Buddhism directly through the site from what it looks like. The site, and all of it's podcasts and articles are 100% free. They gladly accept donations and support if you are interested. After consuming untold hours of FREE educational audio from them, I finally decided it was well worth it, and signed up as a Micro-Patron. It's a VERY small price to pay for a vast collection of quality Buddhist audio.
I really encourage you to check Buddhist Geeks out and see if you find any value in what they have to offer. It's TOTALLY free and you do not *have* to donate, but if you enjoy it, you might want to consider a donation to help keep it coming. From my research it is some of the best material out there for free. It's also worth pointing out that a big part of the reason I was willing to donate to them is precisely because of them not requiring it, but consistently and gently reminding me about it. They managed to walk a thin line between annoying people by asking for money, and not asking enough. They basically have each podcast tagged with a message about "If you like what Buddhist Geeks has provided" then please feel free to donate. If I hadn't heard that message each time, I may not have done it. If I had heard it MORE than I did, I certainly wouldn't have. Good work on their part!
MS
It's interesting to see you are writing about BG. I kept meaning to tell you to check out their most recent podcast as I thought it might be of interest to you. I guess I don't have to do that though.
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