So sad I just went looking for Pope Benedict's encyclical in MP3 and it has been removed both from Jimmy's link and Maureen's website.

One more comment --
I've gotten feedback from folks this weekend saying they'd really like to hear more encyclical podcasts. I'm still not interested in doing this; I just don't think it's my gig. But if Mr. Lozano wants to do it, I'd say he's definitely got an audience waiting for him.

Foxit makes PDFs less evil on Windows

Jimmy explained why he thinks PDF is evil here.

Jimmy,
One day, please explain why (.pdf) format is evil. It's free, it works, and it is very convenient.....

Hee-hee! I've been listening to the MP3 today, and I think it's really helpful. But now (on a second listening) the mechanical, unembodied voice is reading the part about the unity of body and soul--and it sounds really hilarious.
I'm not complaining,just giggling.

Maureen, thanks a million. I got an Ipod for Christmas from my employers and I'd love to listen to the encyclical on the bus to work these early dark Northern mornings.

I forgot to say that I don't particularly plan to podcast any other encyclicals. But if somebody else wants to do it, I am all for it. John Paul II put out a lot of stuff, and Humanae Vitae (sp?) has turned out to be really important, and the list really goes on and on.
So let me know if you decide to do this, Mr. Lozano. And do consider putting the podcasts up on archive.org, if you do. All kinds of people would probably be interested, and not all necessarily Catholics.

I've been reading it in my own voice. You can catch the first two parts on my podcast over at marialectrix.blogspot.com, or you can just go get it over at archive.org. I hope to have the rest of Part I up today, and the whole thing up by tomorrow.
Funny that so many of us want to hear it rather than read it. But honestly, it's a wonderful text for reading out loud. I doubt I read it like the Pope would, though; I keep getting really excited, which isn't very academic!

I would say great minds think alike, but I will go with Great and lesser minds (myself) think alike since the first thing I did was to convert it to mp3 using the same AT&T Natural Voice that you used.

and to be very clear, if we do this it'll be just the normal free podcasts. I've personally grown more and more interested in this body of teaching, love audiobooks, and have been wondering about this possibility recently.
If somebody else is doing it already that'd be great, we'll just move on to other content, but if not maybe this would be of some help.

A few friends and I are thinking of serializing an encyclical in a format suitable for audio and video podcasting.
Still talking about it with a few folks, will post here when we've made enough progress to discuss.
Probably will start with Deus Caritas Est and work back. Perhaps Salvifici Doloris next?

Benedict's First Encyclical: God Is Love

[UPDATE: 3pm CST - Jimmy Akin has it in MP3 audio format!]
It's out!
DEUS CARITAS EST (God is love).
NOTE: I plan to read this, digest it, and hopefully have something insightful to post tomorrow.
(original post: 7:46am CST)...

I'd also like ot know if there are podcasts of other encyclicals, kind of an "encyclicals on tape/CD" to listen to during a morning/evening commute.
When JP2 died I did some work on a project of that nature but haven't been able to complete it yet. I've switched computers since then but I should be able to retrieve the files I had, which a code gentleman very generously assisted me with massaging the junk out of them (like I did on B16's encyclical myself). I'd need to review the quality of the text files, but it would be possible to convert them over to mp3 and make them available if there was interest.
I also have a few select other Vatican documents that I listen to in mp3, though I'd want to clean up the text files on those and re-do them before making them public.

What are you using to make the mp3 again?
TextAloud from NextUp.Com with ATT Natural Voice Mike.

The way we look to a distant constellation
That's dying in a corner of the sky.
These are the days of miracle and wonder and
Don't cry, baby, don't cry, don't cry.

I'd also like ot know if there are podcasts of other encyclicals, kind of an "encyclicals on tape/CD" to listen to during a morning/evening commute.
I listen to the rosary sometimes on my ride to/from work, and it definitely helps me deal with traffic much better than I might otherwise.
"These are the days of miracle and wonder."
This is a long-distance call.
The way the camera follows us in slow-mo.
The way we look to a star, oh yeah.

The MP3 is, indeed, a bit "buggy". The voice reads straight through the ":" as if they were merely spaces, and reads "real-ism" as "real i.s.m.". Other than that (and the wreched pronunciations of Greek and Latin words), it's a neat tool. Thanks for the link - is it available for any other encyclicals (I'm thinking "podcasts"...)?

What are you using to make the mp3 again?