No ads.

I've been trying to listen to podcasts lately but I have to wade through so much self promotion that it ruins my learning experience.

That's funny, I usually listen to podcasts while I Skritter.

I agree with you though--I love Skritter's clean look and interface (and how they let the product speak for itself). Hope that never changes.

If you're burnt out on Chinese learning podcasts, listen to some podcasts completely in Chinese (ie., podcasts designed for a Chinese audience). That way any blatant self-promotion is in the language you're trying to learn, and thus still good for you :-)

Which podcasts do you guys use?

德国之声中文广播 on iTunes
news from Germany, in Chinese

Shanghai radio (with 8 or so channels)
http://radio.bbtv.cn/

Search “中文” in the iTunes store. Scroll down and click on Podcasts. There's a huge selection to choose from.

I use Chinesepod in conjunction with Skritter and that is an absolute superb combination. I listen to Chinesepod on the way to and from my Work in Tokyo and when home and during breaks at work i do skritter. It is not enough to just sit and learn words/characters I have to learn the best way to use them as well and that is where Chinesepod comes in. I do not feel that any of them are enough by them self but the combination is unbeatable.

BBC's China Focus podcast is pretty good.

popupchinese and customchinese. i find customchinese is much better than chinespod as it has more Chinese and less English, and the conversation is done in two ways to enforce the meanings, new words, and ideas. however each site has its +ve, and -ve.