Do Hobos Have iPods?

Surely you know John Hodgman. At the very least, you know him as the hapless "PC" in Apple's "Get A Mac" ads... a campaign that many say backfires, in part because Hodgman is so likeable.

Anyway, in case you didn't know, Hodgman is brilliant. And now, you can listen to a whole volume of his unmatched intellect for free. As Hodgman announced in his blog today, for a limited time, you can get the audiobook of "The Areas of My Expertise" (his "book of COMPLETE WORLD KNOWLEDGE") for "ZERO DOLLARS" via iTunes. And yes, he often types in ALL CAPS, but because it's meant ironically, it's okay. At least, I think it's meant ironically.

Still not sold on this hobo-obsessed, middle-aged white guy from Brookline, Massachusetts? He's a regular "correspondent" on "The Daily Show" on Comedy Central, for one. Always a plus. He's also contributed to NPR's "This American Life," perhaps one of my all-time favorite radio programs. (You can hear his segments online: Hodgman on superpowers in February 2001, and Hodgman on Christmas traditions in December 2005.) Earlier this year, he sat down with "All Things Considered" host Robert Siegel to talk about his book. The interviewed that aired — in which Siegel all but loses it — is still among my favorite NPR moments of 2006. More recently, he even sat down with Marketplace Money.

Want even more Hodgman?

Literary-minded folks will want to consume the column Hodgman penned for McSweeney's Internet Tendency, "Ask a Former Literary Agent." Tech heads may better appreciate his chat with Engadget. Similar, modestly sized portions can be found in interviews with Media Bistro, Radar Online, and this chat with The Phoenix in Boston.

He actually has a lot of experience in and affection for radio, and reflects on it (and, of course, everything else) in this great question-and-answer article in The Transom Review. As an added bonus, they put online some old audio clips of Hodgeman on-air at WMFO over twenty years ago. He was seventeen years old!

So, grab the free audiobook. If you missed your chance, just buy the book. As Hodgman says, "Logic demands that you comply."

(Thanks, Bill, for the heads up!)