I haven't written much about podcasting here; I'm still trying to figure it out. In general, most podcasts that I've listened to have been 'talk-radio like' - lots of chatter by the casters about this and that with an occasional song thrown in. They are very personal in the same way the blogs can be; but often that means being interesting only to the person talking and their immediate circle of friends.
There is a type of podcast that is getting me excited, however, the soundscape. With these mp3 files, the caster takes us to a place and immerses us in the environment; sometimes with a voice-over narration, sometimes letting us hear their interactions with people they meet, and sometimes just letting the sounds around them tell the story. I find these so much more interesting and perhaps more journalistic - they take me someplace other than where I am and show me something new.
Of the 'talkies', only the ones that offer something other than 'what I had for breakfast' and aren't all me-me-me are worth the time. Good luck sorting them out!
Try these on for size, they have become part of my daily Metro commute - Momus Radio, walking tours created mostly with the audio capture feature of a digital camera; the new podcast site, Herro Flom Japan which has some great soundscapes; or my current favorite, Kobe Beef, from the half-Japanese, half-black, half-American Terrance Young who lives a cross-cultural life in Kobe, Japan.