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I'm Against Podcasts
- neonate 8y agohttps://outline.com/KjkgBC https://outline.com/KjkgBC
- asaph 8y agoPodcasts are talk radio on demand. If you're against podcasts, you're against talk radio. Or at the very least, you're against making talk radio more convenient and accessible.
- smacktoward 8y agoI feel like podcasts are similar to, but not exactly the same as, talk radio. Most talk radio formats are built around listeners calling in, for instance, which can provide a degree of spontaneity that isn't possible in a prerecorded format like a podcast. (Which gives me an excuse to link to the classic Mr. Show sketch, "Pre-Taped Call-In Show": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhVbLJvYP8s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhVbLJvYP8s) That being said, I do think the appeal of podcasts is pretty close to what people find appealing about talk radio: people like to hear other people talk.
- learc83 8y agoI always hated it when listeners called in on talk radio. They very rarely had anything insightful to day, and even if they did, they general weren't able to convey it clearly.
- frosted-flakes 8y agoI always inwardly cringe when they start going off topic and the host keeps trying to rein them in. But when it's someone who knows how to present themselves on radio, it's good. There's this one show on CBC where listeners call in to a plant expert about their gardening problems, and he identifies them and suggests solutions on the spot. You get a wide variety of people who call in, but since the roles are reversed—callers are asking questions, not answering them—they tend to be much more to the point and willing to give up the floor. Despite not caring one whit about plants and gardening, I really enjoy this show. If the expert doesn't know the answer, sometimes another listener will call in to save the day. One of my favourite ones is when a lady's tree saplings were starting to die after they got a new well drilled, and after a bunch of questions the plant expert was stumped. Well, a well driller called in a few minutes later and said it was almost certainly the oil coating used on the pipes to prevent rust during storage (totally safe for consumption, but apparently harmful to trees), and the solution was to wait until the oil wore off after a few months. It sounds boring, but the plant expert is one of those old men who just have a way with words, and the CBC host is really good with prompting both the expert and caller with more questions or anecdotes.
- learc83 8y agoThere is a similar show in the Atlanta area where a professor from The University of Georgia answers gardening questions. I also find the callers on that show are a lot easier to listen to. I think you're right about them asking questions instead of just making comments.
- zimpenfish 8y ago"Gardener's Question Time" on the BBC is the same kind of soothing listening https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gardeners%27_Question_Time https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gardeners%27_Question_Time
- jhbadger 8y agoYeah, the whole "Long time listener, first time caller" thing where they take like a minute before they get to their question, if indeed they actually have one. To be fair, I see this sort of thing in person fairly often in scientific seminars where somebody "asks a question" but spends time first complimenting the speaker on the seminar, and then spends a couple of minutes just making comments rather than actually asking an answerable question.
- ghaff 8y agoPretty much every conference with Q&A ever. You can't avoid it in some settings, and sometimes a question will hit some point that the speaker obviously deliberately avoided, but for the most part Q&A is an anti-pattern at events. Provide some forum where the speaker can interact one on one instead.
- pwinnski 8y agoLong ago I listened to a once-popular talk show host whose name is something in the neighborhood of Tush Pinball. He pushed his callers to dispense with all of that "Long time listener, first time caller from the heartland hills of Indiana" stuff and just start the call by saying "Ditto." Easy and convenient, a really time saver, right? Except callers somewhat quickly started saying things like "Mega-dittoes from the heartland hills of Indiana..." and little, if any, time was actually saved. P.S. I made up "the heartland hills of Indiana."
- kalleboo 8y agoMost podcasts I listen to record on a live stream and take corrections and questions from a chat room, which usually keeps me from yelling at the hosts "YOU FORGOT THIS ANGLE TO THE MATTER". Having it be a text chat room going on in parallel also avoids the say-nothing dud call-ins and the hemming and hawing of the general public.
- Spivak 8y agoHaving listened to both I don't think this characterization is right. The sound of podcasts is heavily heavily inspired by the sound of NPR, but that is very different from what a lot of talk radio sounds like. The new-age analog of talk radio is streaming, it has a similar cadence and improvisation with the back and forth between rambling and participating with the audience.
- wink 8y agoI'm not sure what you're referring to (maybe the big names of current podcasting?), but I can assure you the rest of the world has podcasts too and may or may not have ever listened to NPR at all. This American Life isn't so old afaik, and I definitely listened to podcasts before that and never to any NPR stuff.
- kahirsch 8y agoThis American Life started in 1995.
- wink 8y agoMy apologies, I meant to say "This American Life in podcast form", or take Serial as an example that's often quoted. But it basically stresses my point. It could very well be that it was a direct inspiration for the first podcasts, but nowadays it's used as "audio content, often episodic". Also people often name the production value and other criteria of the big ones. But my point is that podcasts are on average not high production value or even done by companies or in the type of certain radio programs. I'd even say a sizable chunk is just the same people talking about the same or related topic(s) - I don't think I've ever heard that format on a radio station. (Except the same person interviewing different people, if that counts as "the same topic".)
- mrbassman 8y agoThe on-demand feature changes the nature of the medium. With radio you are often joining mid-stream, whereas with a podcast you always get to hear the whole thing. Plus the live callers, as others have pointed out.
- Canadauni 8y agoI was never really into podcasts until I started my current job and commuting regularly. After a while I noticed that listening to music was beginning to fuel my frustration with other drivers and I'd get to work already stressed out. I started listening to talk radio and podcasts and that has really improved my feelings on the road and my state of mind walking into the office. I honestly don't think it has really impacted my music listening either. I'll toss something on at work and listen while I work through a problem or while reading. The type of music I listen has shifted to fit my purposes but it is still there and I don't see it going away either.
- kuzimoto 8y agoI too have a commute, and find podcasts a nice way to stay current with news, learn something new, or hear about new stuff in areas that are interesting to you. I can't really listen to podcasts while working since I can't really focus on the the talking while thinking about what I'm doing, so music is perfect. It can help keep me focused and gives me plenty of time for exploring new music. The author's stance on Podcasts is just so odd. That you somehow can't enjoy both? Seems like he has an axe to grind or something.
- house9-2 8y ago> music was beginning to fuel my frustration with other drivers I find Reggae to be the best music for commuting, some Bob Marley, Peter Tosh or Toots and I am way more chill.
- Grustaf 8y agoAlso consider listening to audiobooks, or even better, audio lectures from places like ItunesU. Then your commute will actually make you smarter....
- c0vfefe 8y agoThis is surprising, given the vitriol that is on much of talk radio. What kind of music was making you more frustrated on the road?
- smacktoward 8y ago> Podcasts are bad because podcasts sound bad — and podcasts sound bad because podcasters aren’t thinking hard enough about what their talk sounds like. But this is exactly why we should cherish podcasts! They're one of the last vestiges of the old, weird, free Internet that we have left. Podcasts (mostly) sound bad because the people making them are (mostly) amateurs, which means they don't know the ins and outs of audio recording. They just hooked up a crappy USB mic to their laptop and started podcasting. And once they did that, there was no central corporate gatekeeper who could turn them off and tell them to come back when they knew what they were doing. All of which, yes, results in a lot of crappy podcasts. But consider the alternative. Do we really want to see one more wide open indie publishing channel turn into bland, pre-digested corporate mush? Is the problem with podcasting that it's not enough like Facebook? Because that's the alternative: one more medium where all the weirdness has been wrung out, except for those random bits of weirdness that happen to tickle an algorithm that makes some corporate overseer another nickel. Maybe that is what you want, I dunno. If so, don't worry! Now that people with money have taken notice of podcasts, there are plenty of would-be corporate overseers lining up to give it to you as we speak.
- freddie_mercury 8y agoI don't know why you're talking about "the ins and outs of audio recording". The author makes clear that's not what he's talking about. In the very next sentence after your quote he writes: >Forget the lousy microphones and the dinky interstitial stock music — the thing that derails most podcasts is the blab. And later on he explains again. >By “sound good,” I meant that I wanted podcasts to sound considered. Anyway, I think this is just a matter of taste. I imagine the author also hates talk radio/sports radio. You know those 2-hour shows about the Philadelphia sports or whatever? Much of podcasting is essentially the modern take on that. Of course, it isn't "considered". Of course it has "blab". That's kind of the whole point -- it is filling in a connection/emotional gap that people aren't getting in their day to day lives.
- bunderbunder 8y agoI, too, dislike the "eavesdropping on other people's tipsy pub conversation" genre of podcasts. I generally don't love the professionalized "least common denominator of an NPR listening audience's tastes, delivered in carefully rehearsed NPR voice" podcasts, either. My solution is to not bother with those podcasts. There are so many others that I find to be more worthy of my time. Admittedly, it's probably a small fraction of all podcasts, but it still amounts to more than I could possibly find the time to listen to.
- teilo 8y agoSummary: Bad boring and podcasts with low production value are bad and boring and have low production value.
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- supremerumham 8y agoThe writer is against podcasts, I wonder why...
- akulbe 8y ago> Podcasts are bad because podcasts sound bad — and podcasts sound bad because podcasters aren’t thinking hard enough about what their talk sounds like. Isn't this how most people get good at things... by doing them badly a bunch of times, and gradually improving?
- jetrink 8y agoI think this whole piece is a pretty bizarre exercise. > I consider [podcasts] an enemy of music. [...] With all of the world’s unheard songs beckoning us with their endless mystery, why would anyone choose to waste their precious listening hours on a podcast? This isn't just comparing apples and oranges, it's arguing that apples are the enemy of oranges. "With so many delicious oranges uneaten, why should anyone waste their time consuming a mealy, flavorless apple?" At least apples and oranges are both types of fruit. I don't think there is anything to be learned by debating the relative worth of two different types of media. He has his reasons for disliking podcasts, but they sound very personal. If he is annoyed by how podcast hosts talk, for example, that is simply how he experiences it. Others will have a completely different perception.
- chris_wot 8y agoHe's outraged because he can be. Personally, I think it would be better to be against pointless written opinion pieces.
- jswizzy 8y agoIs he though or is this an attempt to discredit a competitor? This guy is a journalism in a era when newspapers and other forms of tradition media are dying. Journalism is seen as a joke, partisan, propaganda, and even an enemy of the State by large swatches of the public.
- 8bithero 8y agoLol and articles like these are exactly the reason why people feel this way
- Talanes 8y agoThe commenters over there are falling into the same trap hard. So many variations of "Why would I listen to this when I could just read the information quicker?" Who are these people who cannot fathom that people may want to listen to something mildly informative while they are otherwise unable to focus on reading? Or just have an easier time absorbing information audibly rather than visually? Or even that someone would listen to something because hearing another human voice provides a value beyond pure information? Really though, I just wonder how valuable these people think their time really is? I assume their "I need to be absorbing optimal information at all times" shtick is supposed to come across as smart, but it just comes across as a little slow.
- ryguytilidie 8y agoHuh, its funny because I always thought I hated podcasts because of the typical NPR sound. I love a ton of low budget podcasts now and feel like its a lot more normal/organic to listen to people on lower budget mics than the NPR style mic/sound production.
- Causality1 8y ago>Why does an experience so inherently intimate feel so alienating to me? Because you're an obsessive extravert who's unable to enjoy a conversation you're not part of. >so instead of treating podcasts as a convenient way to feel smarter Author says that and then proceeds to do that the whole article. Every single podcast he tried was some hoity-toity artsy interview cast. I listen to podcasts to be entertained. I listen to people play Dungeons and Dragons, or narrate short stories, or improv comedy, or publish their own audio book. >I’m anxious about music ceding all of that time and turf to the rise of “big podcast, Good god, what a fucking douchecanoe this guy is.
- pensatoio 8y agoDouchecanoe. You nailed it. Nothing like a pointless rant that tries to pin your extremely personal experience on the masses. Thanks WP.
- jpm_sd 8y agoI love listening to goofy podcasts that are just a few friends shooting the shit. Middling-to-low production value is part of the charm. One of my recent favorites is The Greatest Generation [0], which is about Star Trek, mostly. https://art19.com/shows/the-greatest-generation https://art19.com/shows/the-greatest-generation
- bluedino 8y agoIt's not technically a podcast, but I enjoy listening to James Rolfe and friends (The Angry video Game Nerd) discuss old movies on his youtube channel (cinemassacre)
- jccalhoun 8y agoI wonder how he feels about NPR or BBC? I listen to a lot of podcasts but they are almost all round-table style shows. I very occasionally catch This American Life on NPR but I have very little interest in listening to all the scripted shows that seem to be imitating it and I have zero interest in true crime.
- dominotw 8y agolol..wtf
- Talanes 8y agoThe Podcast v. Music angle is particularly weird given how many podcasts are about music. As someone whose not particularly plugged in to any music scene and mostly unaware of what's popular, podcasts are one of the top ways I discover any new music to begin with. If I was purely listening to music, it would just be all of the music I already know and have.
- Wissmania 8y agoold man yells at cloud
- m463 8y agowait until he comes across an "i hate podcasts" podcast and then he'll be hooked.
- laurieg 8y agoThe difference between an edited and an un-edited conversation is night and day. Editing takes out all the stumbles, half-sentences, unfinished ideas etc. The reason it's not more common? Recording a 2 hour podcast takes 2 hours. Recording and editing a 2 hour podcast takes closer to 10.
- prions 8y agoThis was the best quote of the article for me: Forget the lousy microphones and the dinky interstitial stock music — the thing that derails most podcasts is the blab. There are two kinds, more or less. The first is that soft, inquisitive staccato popularized by Ira Glass on “This American Life,” the source from which so much pod-voice appears to have sprung. The ubiquitous NPR Voice/Sound is really what turns me off from podcasts/audiobooks/etc. While I love NPR, their sound is absolutely grating to listen to. Too HD, rife with extremely loud and detailed plosives and sibilants. I don't want to listen to the speaker suck the spit back down their throats in excruciating detail after every sentence. NPR's sound quality is too detailed. It's like if you watched a video of someone talking and could see the aftermath of a popped zit smack in the middle of your screen.
- ukyrgf 8y agoThis sound is from excessive EQ and limiting held over from trying to get the most out of the limited bandwidth of broadcast radio.
- bunderbunder 8y agoMy understanding is that, more specifically, it's a sound that's very carefully tailored to the acoustic environment in which NPR is typically consumed: a moving car. I once heard an interview with an NPR audio engineer where he related how he'd epoxy the studio microphones' bass roll-off switches in place because the setting that most people thought made their voices sound better also made them harder to understand over highway noise.
- SyneRyder 8y agoI didn't see your reply before I posted, but I think I just linked to that interview in my comment above - it includes that anecdote.
- 99052882514569 8y ago>the setting that most people thought made their voices sound better also made them harder to understand over highway noise. I'm looking at you, Roman Mars of '99% Invisible'.
- randycupertino 8y agoI'm always surprised at the popularity of podcasts vs audiobooks. Seems podcasts have made the jump to "gen pop" but audiobooks, despite the increasing popularity of audible, still tend to be niche. I'm biased because I'm an audiobook hound, but I'd take an audiobook over a podcast any day. Far superior production quality, better content, a beginning, middle and an end, professional narrators, researched analysis and not just random people spouting off opinions.
- MisterBastahrd 8y agoIt's easier to write a story than it is to write a book. But most topics aren't book worthy, so stories it is.
- Kye 8y agoYou might like LeVar Burton Reads or Myths and Legends.
- diehunde 8y agoThat was a funny rant
- vlunkr 8y agoIt’s weird that this article is upvoted but every commenter agrees that it’s worthless. Every point he makes falls flat, and it feels like pointless contrarianism. It’s fine if you don’t like podcasts, guy.
- hartator 8y ago> With all of the world’s unheard songs beckoning us with their endless mystery, why would anyone choose to waste their precious listening hours on a podcast? Maybe some people don’t like music as much.
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- macawfish 8y agoAfter skimming through the comments, I refuse to click this link as a matter of principle.
- erikig 8y agoAs soon as I noticed that this particular post had more comments than upvotes I couldn't wait to jump in and read both the article and the comments.
- pmontra 8y agoPodcasts vs music seems a matter of personal preferences. I skimmed through this post in a few minutes. It would have been a much longer time if it were a podcast. I don't have that much time to invest on a single subject so I'm not into podcasts. I rarely watch technical videos for the same reason. I definitely prefer text: same content at my own pace. However I don't commute anymore. When I did I listened to news and random music if driving or I read a book if I was on a subway train (much better than driving.) I could have listened to podcasts or audio books back then.
- Reedx 8y agoYou can learn a lot from podcasts and they have the power to turn a commute into productive time. An odd thing to be against (although indeed, it's hard to listen to ones with poor audio quality). Maybe the author just needs to discover some like Hardcore History...
- doe88 8y agoListening a big chunk of my free time to various podcasts, I reluctantly come to the conclusion that the biggest enemy of podcasts is thinking and introspection. Where before I had moments in my day where I let my mind freely wander and think to the issues I'm currently working on or others, now I rarely have these moments anymore as I listen to podcasts more. I wish I reverted a bit, but it's difficult, listening podcasts has become a kind of addiction I guess.
- joombaga 8y agoMy experience is the opposite. Every little external sound is distracting. It's only when I'm ignoring some audio that I can think about problems holistically.
- floren 8y agoI've commented about it before--I was listening to podcasts way too much and it destroyed my creativity. I've cut down to 3 shows, which comes out to about 3-4 hours of content a week, and I try to save it for washing dishes, cooking dinner, or driving. My suggestion: trim the fat, pick a couple podcasts you really enjoy and unsubscribe from the rest, then resist the urge to hit 'play' as you're getting dressed in the morning.
- bashwizard 8y agoSays someone from The Washington Post.
- nextlevelwizard 8y agoAuthor seems very pretencious. Suggesting that podcasts are waste of time based on handful of examples and then suggesting that (to paraphrase): "there are countless songs you could listen to" as if most music wasn't complete waste of time. Then he goes for the sound quality and voices which just seems "hipstery" to me considering the few podcasts that I actively listen to have no hisses or cracks. Over all completely pointless fluff piece
- BrissyCoder 8y agoChris Richards go on CumTown.
- gridlockd 8y agoThis guy seems to have one of these "bullshit jobs" that David Graeber wrote about.
- soneca 8y agoI just read someone saying that he doesn't like podcasts but using the word "against" to shock friends and attract clicks.
- jcims 8y agoSince we’re on the topic of podcasts and the article at hand has been pilloried to my satisfaction, I have an unrelated question for other podcast listeners. Have you ever listened to the same podcast twice and experienced strong, even intrusive visual recollections of what you were doing the first time you listened to it? I find it particularly true from when I’m walking or driving while listening, but my memory is usually terrible and to have these photographic experiences is alien and awesome at the same time.
- Starwatcher2001 8y agoYes, especially when driving. Sometimes it feels like I should be reaching for gear stick at the same time as I previously did. It does feel bizarre.
- Kye 8y agoYes! Sometimes I play Minecraft while listening to podcasts. The episode becomes associated with what I was doing at the time.
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- theshadowknows 8y agoThis is just an ad for a book. He wraps it inside an inflammatory opinion piece. But it’s really just an ad. Why isn’t that obvious to people?
- basetop 8y agoThank you. I wish newspapers would stop this deceptive practice or openly mark the "article" as an ad. It's far worse than clickbait titles to me since I can immediately spot the clickbait, but you won't realize the article is an ad until you've read the damn thing.
- gourou 8y ago> “Ways of Hearing.” It’s a podcast — recently transposed into a book > I’ve been pushing “Ways of Hearing” on my loved ones All podcasts are bad, but a book about a podcast is okay because I can sell it.
- tictoc 8y agoPerhaps this is what art is at this point. Crafting a piece that can get people outraged, get them to invest time and finger activity over an opinion that perhaps the author doesn't even care about. It's just to cause a stir in people. I think there are a lot of people who just listen to podcasts to tune out the emptiness of their day. Why does it matter if the auditory input is a podcast, or terrible music, or the drone of daily life? I don't think the author does. I think like you said, it's just to stir the pot to get eyes on an ad. That seems like a fun job.
- mark_l_watson 8y agoStrange article, at least for me. A little of what the author says resonates with me but most is a hard ‘no’. Killing music? Well maybe some people listen to too much music. The author likes highly polished written material (so do I; I have written several books and I am a voracious reader - I am just finishing the very good 66 hour audio book Jerusalem) but there is also a nice human connection hearing someone’s voice and spontaneous interactive dialog. I listen to the podcast Exponential View (and sometime the MIT AGI class interviews by Lex Firdman) while I am at the gym. I am not a huge fan of going to the gym but keeping up with new tech and the social changes caused by tech while I work out makes the experience better.
- charliebrownau 8y agoLEFT WING """ journalists"" (activists) against free speech and diy podcasts talking about real subjects without mainstream industry or censorship ... Any real surprise
- schwartzworld 8y agoTalk about a stupid argument. Podcasts are too broad a category to hate that way. You can hate certain types of podcast, but claiming to hate them all is more about your preconceived ideas about the format than anything else. The choice of podcasts vs music is contrived and nonsensical, because there are podcasts that are entirely about music. What about podcasts featuring staged dramatic content (Welcome to Nightvale), podcasts with curated content from around the internet (Best of the Left), podcasts that are literally just recordings of actual radio shows (all of NPR's content), educational podcasts? I listen to podcasts about coding in JavaScript, getting to hear library authors explain their own work in real-time. Where else could you get niche content like that? Sure Pod Saves America is garbage, but come on dude.
- charliebrownau 8y agoWhen the MSM "" NEWS"" , papers , mags and tv shows fail People will still be making podcasts
- tw1010 8y agoI'm Against Paywalls.
- Soarez 8y agoWhat's this called? When an article criticizes something in order to promote it?
- arafalov 8y agoStreisand effect is one of the variations.
- p0nce 8y agoI know a few podcasters and one thing they seem not well prepared for is the extreme difficulty of voice recording and processing. In particular sibilance control and dynamics are just really difficult. Having a good vocal sound takes a lot of experience. I can't really blame them, as quality of content is probably most important.
- village-idiot 8y ago.... so don’t listen to them? I don’t understand why someone’s personal media preferences require an editorial. I’m pretty meh on TV, but you don’t see me writing a few hundred words on it because I understand that nobody gives a shit about my media preferences.
- dls2016 8y agoOf course a jean-wearing, podcast-listening, village-idiot wouldn't understand the Washington Post's high-brow takes. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/15/AR2009041502861.html http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04...
- DiseasedBadger 8y agoHe missed a trick to christen "Big Pod". Most music is garbage anyways. More importantly, pods are not about "sound". They're about "social". Podcasts are rent-a-friends.
- Kye 8y agoThe author needs to find better podcasts. He acknowledges this, but still remains dismissive of podcasts. The Knowledge Project and Exponent replaced every self-help babbler and tech blogger for me. My Brother, My Brother and Me and The Dollop are better entertainment than most of the best TV shows and movies. It's interesting that this is the opposite of one of the more convincing podcast takes I've seen. I forget who it was, but they argued that podcasts and video were a return to the visual and verbal storytelling and information sharing that pervaded before the relatively limited--in some ways--written word took over. That might have been an Exponent episode...
- DamnInteresting 8y agoJust a heads up that The Dollop unapologetically built their huge, lucrative following via naked plagiarism. I have my own history podcast (with a much smaller audience than The Dollop), and a few years back I discovered that they were re-reading lengthy segments of my original podcast scripts word-for-word on their podcast without permission or attribution. When I called them out they claimed this is "Fair Use", and that non-fiction cannot be copyrighted. It really knocked the wind out of my sails, and it bothers me to this day, so I can't see them recommended like this without adding this important asterisk. My open letter to them from 2015, with audio evidence: https://www.damninteresting.com/a-special-note-to-the-writers-at-the-dollop/ https://www.damninteresting.com/a-special-note-to-the-writer... Sorry for the bummer. MBMBaM is great though.
- Kye 8y agoIt looks like their defense is that they make it clear they're reading what someone else wrote and making jokes. That wasn't clear, but I do understand where they're coming from. I listen for the jokes, not the history. They should be more upfront about their sources. It's similar to MBMBaM reading Yahoo Answers questions word for word while being silly about it. Except they do make the source clear. I do agree with them that it fits under fair use since it usually protects parody and commentary. They list all their sources now, so it's moot. I was much more moved by hearing that Lore basically reads off wikis. They don't add anything. That's why I switched to Myths and Legends.
- bovermyer 8y agoI don't like podcasts. The reason I don't like podcasts, though, is the same reason I don't like talk radio or television. If I want to listen to people, I will talk to people myself. This is not an indictment of podcasts. Rather, it is a personal opinion. And I think the author of this article is confusing his opinion for a general truth.
- smt88 8y agoI agree about unedited podcasts where people just talk to each other, but there are excellent podcasts that are closer to documentaries or audio books (Hardcore History, for example). They're pre-written, heavily edited, and performed well.
- bovermyer 8y agoAnd that's just fine, except I don't have any interest in sitting and listening to such things. Other people are totally welcome to enjoy them; I just spend my free time on other things.
- codingdave 8y agoI read it more as he wanted to vehemently express his opinion, because he likely isn't the only one who has it, and it is an opinion that is not currently voiced in the media.
- doctorRetro 8y agoAbbreviated: "I hate this medium because of my strawman reasons."
- duxup 8y agoThis article reads like a wordy extension of the author's "Twitter fit". I feel like I read a lot of "I tweeted something" articles these days. Ironic that the one tidbit about how it "sounds" (but not actually talking about sounds) is about people wanting to be heard, and the foundation of this is "I tweeted something one day".
- erikig 8y agoI don't mind the tweet follow-up articles at all - in fact I'd hope that writers with a platform would use said platform to expound on their twitter musings more often. Twitter is perfect for taking the temperature on an issue. That said - I felt that this article was a bit of a waste of the initial interest the tweet garnered.
- duxup 8y agoI feel like Twitter is a terrible medium to take temperature of anything. The medium is the message and Twitter only serves to push a very inane sort of message / response.
- inflatableDodo 8y ago>I consider them an enemy of music Presumably something like 'Lost in The Stacks' http://lostinthestacks.libsyn.com/ http://lostinthestacks.libsyn.com/ with it's amazingly revolutionary mix of, get this, some talking and then some music, would blow his tiny little mind. Current episode, 'As Your Attorney I Advise You Again to Drive at Top Speed' - http://traffic.libsyn.com/lostinthestacks/LITS_Episode_420.mp3 http://traffic.libsyn.com/lostinthestacks/LITS_Episode_420.m...
- tempodox 8y agoLike so much other crap on the web it owes its existence to the fact that dilettants are inflicting their fumblings on a global audience. Either you ignore the whole bunch or you have to invest energy into filtering the good from the bad. Either way, whining that the new forms of entertainment aren't like the old ones won't achieve anything.
- nickelcitymario 8y agoThis article is fantastic, because it lays out exactly why I love podcasts. Podcasts are to audio what punk rock was to music: freedom to be an amateur. Was punk for everyone? Nope. Were punks particularly talented? Some were, but mostly nope. Yet punk became one of the most influential genres of music of all time because it gave you permission to suck. It's like what's been said about the Velvet Underground: They never made it big, but almost everyone who went to one of their concerts or bought one of their albums started a band of their own. (The same was later said of The Pixies.) Sure, there's a lot of garbage. But it's real. It's raw. It's people finding their voice. I couldn't be happier to see the elites complaining about podcasts. Just add it to the pile of people complaining about punk, YouTube, ebook self-publishing, blogging, and all the other ways we're free to express ourselves today.
- rgrieselhuber 8y agoExactly. The same goes for news and political commentary. We are in a golden age of media creation and we have the tools to seek out the truth in many areas and spread the messages we think are worthy of spreading. Whether an audience exists is up to the savvy of the podcast maker themselves. It is not uncommon to see independent YouTube streamers on a laptop with live audiences that put corporate media to shame.
- mistermann 8y agoTotally agree, I find it fascinating to compare how the media tells us things are in other countries and cultures vs how YouTubers show us they are.
- rgrieselhuber 8y agoGreat way to put it.
- leftyted 8y agoLou Reed made it pretty big though. I agree with the article. Especially this part: > Forget the lousy microphones and the dinky interstitial stock music — the thing that derails most podcasts is the blab. There are two kinds, more or less. The first is that soft, inquisitive staccato popularized by Ira Glass on “This American Life,” the source from which so much pod-voice appears to have sprung. The second mode is performative in a different way, and you hear it on most round-table podcasts — a tone that people use at parties when they want to be heard by people that they aren’t necessarily talking to. And it’s pretty much one or the other. Be podcasted to in a cozy, overly considered way, or be podcasted at in a hastier, less-considered way. There's something phoney about podcasts. I see most podcasts as similiar to TED talks or books by Malcolm Gladwell. These things are the opposite of Punk, which feels real, even when it's shitty. That doesn't mean there can't be good podcasts or that there aren't any, but the dominant format seems pretty lifeless to me.
- iambateman 8y agoIt seems the author doesn't like bad podcasts. If you came to the comments to see if there was anything of substance about the article, don't worry, you're free to move on. ;)
- garbonicc 8y agoTL;DR: get off this guy's lawn
- DoubleGlazing 8y agoWow, talk about gatekeeping. I think podcasts are wonderful, a form of media that has very low barriers to entry and where the smaller players can compete with the big boys on a relatively level playing field. So what if a lot of podcasts are crap? If the podcaster enjoys it and someone listens then good for them. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and all that.
- iuguy 8y agoLiteral gatekeeping - I just get a paywall when I click on the link. Aaand nothing of value was lost.
- 52-6F-62 8y agoI'm sure even podcasters like to be paid for their work—whether you agree with what they're saying or not. I hear a large number of podcasters slide their commercials and sponsors in as if they're not being sponsored at all—and there are no communications regulations focusing on subversive use of advertisements in those contexts. There is space for the good in the podcast world, but I wouldn't assume it's superior be default. Fool's errand, IMO.
- iuguy 8y agoI'm referring solely to the link to the Washington Post article. No article comes up, just a paywall.
- mikece 8y agoThe single word that comes to mind when reading this: "Waaaaaaah!!!" I listen to podcasts because I learn from them or am entertained by specific people with insights and expertise I appreciate. The whole bit about eavesdropping on a conversation is the essence of what makes a good podcast: it's a conversation that if you caught a part of it in real life you would stop and stand at the edge to listen and learn more. And the best podcasts involve listener feedback, sometimes in real-time. Perhaps the ultimate irony of the assertion that podcasting is killing music is that podcasting was INVENTED by an MTV VJ and former disk jockey, Adam Curry, and that the ORIGINAL podcast -- The Daily Source Code -- was heavily focused on music and ultimately shut down because RIAA lawyers leveled a massive legal threat at Adam even after he had purchased online music licensing to cover his podcast. What podcasting does is decentralize the exchange of information: it destroys the ability of a powerful few to be the gatekeepers of information or "pick the hits." That's why "they" hate it and why it will only increase as a medium over time.
- mprev 8y agoAdam Curry came up with the name but people were embedding media in RSS feeds before that.
- ghaff 8y agoActually, Ben Hammersley seems to have come up with the name. Adam Curry and Dave Winer are usually credited with the concept but it certainly wouldn't surprise me if you had embedded media in RSS earlier.
- exabrial 8y agoI wish the avg podcast was 10-15m in length so I could listen I my commute, not an hour, which seems to be the accepted norm.
- ghaff 8y agoNot 10-15m but quite a few are sub 30 minutes, e.g. 99 Percent Invisible to give one example I listen to. Personally, I find 20 to 30 minutes about ideal a lot of the time. Too much shorter and I have to queue multiple podcasts together and too much longer is just a bit long, especially if it's not a produced podcast with multiple segments. An hour is usually too much for a single 1:1 interview IMO.
- jordanpg 8y agoWhat an edgy, contrarian critique. Watch as the author translates his criticisms of some podcasts that he doesn't like into a global criticism of all podcasts. I wonder if this guy still insists on listening _exclusively_ to LPs and lossless audio formats. Here are some things about podcasts that I love: * some podcasts are true gems -- extremely high quality content * free * no ads or ads are trivial to avoid * blather that I (and apparently the author) don't like can be trivially skipped * rule 34 for podcasts: someone is making podcasts about everything Did I mention occasionally extremely high quality, free, and no ads?
- coldtea 8y ago>What an edgy, contrarian critique. Let's not use "edgy and contrarian" like Britain's working class use "pretentious". E.g. to criticize any attempt to divert from the norm and be more inquisitive. It's perfect fine to be "contrarian". If anything, we need more of those.
- Allower 8y agoThis post is NOT about being inquisitive, maybe you didn't bother to read it.. And being contrarian for the sake of being contrarian is a TERRIBLE idea. I'm all for thoughtful criticism, but simply disliking things for no intelligible reason is grounds for ridicule.
- coldtea 8y ago>And being contrarian for the sake of being contrarian is a TERRIBLE idea. I'm all for thoughtful criticism, but simply disliking things for no intelligible reason is grounds for ridicule. It makes as much sense as liking things because they're the norm, which is the default for most people. So hardly "grounds for ridicule". Plus, "being contrarian for the sake of being contrarian" adds contrarian voices, which are by definition few (if they were many, they wouldn't be contrarian but "the norm") -- and are thus sorely needed in a mono-culture of agreement (or shallow bi-partisan splits of opinion, like Dems and Reps). If not for anything else, to serve as the devil's advocate, since few ever consider points outside the norm. Notice that I said contrarian, not stupid/crazy. E.g. it should be a contrary opinion to popular opinion/norm, but that doesn't mean any contrary opinion will do (e.g. "I believe we should all be eating rocks").
- MisterBastahrd 8y agoThis is a pop music critic, of all things. The quality of pop music from a culture and complexity standpoint has fallen through the floorboards like a chunk of radioactive debris and is digging to depths unknown. People are listening to podcasts because they want to be entertained and informed. You aren't gonna get that by listening to the mumble rapper from Degrassi High. If pop music suffers from podcasts, then maybe podcasts aren't the problem... and if the best you can do is complain about the timbre in someone's voice or the quality of the studio, then you've lost the argument.
- yoz-y 8y agoI'd like some way of tracking authors over various media with a browser extension and then be able to 'ban' them. Reading drivel like this is the actual waste of time.
- manigandham 8y agoThis article was a far bigger waste of time than any podcast.
- del_operator 8y agoDo the popular podcast styles eventually feel like a transform that muddles the truth of the experiences? I could see how it could cause some anxiety when actual experience isn’t condensed into truthy bits. I think that’s something I’d see more in writing, but haven’t personally expected from podcasts.
- glerk 8y ago> With all of the world’s unheard songs beckoning us with their endless mystery, why would anyone choose to waste their precious listening hours on a podcast? A better question is why would anyone listen to podcasts when there are millions of audiobooks out there? Why spend any listening time on endless rambling and ads, when I could learn something worthwhile?
- jonnycomputer 8y agowith all the world's unheard podcasts out there beckoning us with their endless mystery, why would anyone choose to waste their precious listening hours to another 3-chord pop tune?
- philwelch 8y agoI’d rather read books with my eyes. I find it irrationally enraging to be read to when I can read a book myself.
- glerk 8y agoI used to feel the same way, but I ended up adapting to the new medium. Reading is great, but sometimes listening is more convenient (commuting for example)
- Darkstryder 8y agoI hate podcasts too. Or to put it more lightly, at the very least they are completely alien to me. In my opinion the elephant in the room when talking about informational podcasts or video is... text. As a medium, text is just so much more efficient (at least for me) that I can't begin to imagine why one would want to listen to a piece of content instead of reading it. I scan-read 20 articles faster than I could hear (or watch) a single one of them if they were presented in audio or video. And doing so I still have my ears available (for coworkers at work, for example). Video can be interesting in a few specific cases : music production is a hobby of mine, and video can be interesting (but not always) as you can simultaneously watch somebody doing something while hearing how it affects the sound. But most podcasts (and youtube videos) do not exploit the unique properties of audio or video enough to justify the tremendous requirements they ask on my attention span. In my opinion audio and video emphasize entertainment over information, but most of them are not that entertaining (compared to an actual entertainment media), and not that much informational (compared to a text article). I think newspapers made a tremendous mistake with the pivot to video and the pivot to podcasts. Vive le texte !
- wlesieutre 8y agoCan you read 20 articles while driving a car or walking to the store or cleaning your house? I find they're a great way to double-up with activities where I'd otherwise be bored out of my mind, and I can take the opportunity to learn about something, or at the very least not be bored. TV might be more entertaining, but I've never heard anyone argue "Why would you sit down and watch the new Game of Thrones episode, you should listen to a podcast instead!" Being an audio-only medium makes them a lot more amenable to consuming while you do something else. They're only competing with music and audiobooks in that respect. It's not like I get home from work and think "You know what I want to do this evening? Sit in a chair and listen to podcasts for an hour."
- Darkstryder 8y agoI do these kind of activities, but mostly divided in 5 to 15mn chunks. (Notably, my commute to work is a mere 10mn walk and I have a toddler child at home requiring frequent attention) I would have trouble dividing a 40mn podcast into five listens divided over 3 days. For those kind of double-up, I find listening music vastly more enjoyable, but that's just my opinion. Lately I actually prefer not doubling-up and just listen to the silence and letting my mind wander. It feels good too !
- ben7799 8y agoSuch a weird article, more of a waste of words than any podcast I've listened to in a long time. The mainstream journalists/media have raced to the bottom in a clickbait orgy. Podcasts are one of the only areas where you still have deep in depth coverage of areas the mainstream has too short of an attention for. Also funny he thinks it's bad for music. I listen to a lot of music podcasts. Mainstream/Pop music is in a horrible place, a lot of these podcasts help keep real musicianship alive. Lots and lots of knowledge transfer. I play guitar, to use the guitar example if a famous guitarist goes on a podcast you're going to hear a very very different level of content compared to if the Washington Post interviews the guitarist. The podcast guy probably plays guitar and the audience is guitarists so the interviewer can ask intelligent questions and the musician doesn't have to dumb down everything they say to the point it all comes off as magic. This article is the same kind of thing as someone lamenting we should go back to a 1950s music system where there are a few big companies that are able to play gatekeeper on everything.. so we end up with everyone stuck listening to the same stuff.
- pard68 8y agoWith so many wonderful, unread books beckoning, why waste your time reading rags from WP, NYT, etc.?
- anon284271 8y agoI pressed paused on podcasts because for every great one (first season of Serial) there were dozens of lousy ones. Even the highly regarded podcasts are often surprisingly ineloquent. Take Maron's. Great guests, but I almost feel myself getting dumber listening to him fumble and pause.
- alimhaq 8y agoIt's pretty clear what's happening here: the author prefers music to podcasts, and then tries his best to make some sort of argument to justify this. His arguments are at best nonsensical and at worst completely contradictory. I was considering writing out a response to each of his points but it's honestly not worth my time. A lot of what the author says is a blatant slap in the face to podcasters that spend so many hours tinkering with their work. Quotes like "By sound good, I meant that I wanted podcasts to sound considered." and "...podcasters aren’t thinking hard enough about what their talk sounds like" are ridiculous if you know any serious or notable podcaster in person. One reason why this might be happening [to the author] is because the author wants podcasts to be more like music, but the reality is that even though music and podcasts are competing for the same resource (ears) their goals are mostly different. The primary differentiating factor is that podcasts almost always aim to convey some concrete information to the listener, and this constraint will always limit the ways the information can be transmitted to the listener (as opposed to music, which is more free-form in nature and isn't necessarily subjected to any restrictions).
- dmix 8y agoHis half explained defence of music being less listened to was pretty strange. Who cares if people listen to less music? Most people were listening to recycled top 40 trash on radio before podcasts became accessible in cars and on smartphones. I’d personally rather people learn stuff or hear about interesting topics while they drive than hear the same song for the 30th time. A lot of crap passes for podcasts but so does modern journalism where the click baity headlines are the only interesting part of the story.
- daveFNbuck 8y ago> Who cares if people listen to less music? The writer here is a pop music critic, so his paycheck comes from people listening to and being interested in music.
- balancemayvary 8y ago> Most people were listening to recycled top 40 trash on radio before podcasts became accessible in cars and on smartphones. I’d personally rather people learn Thank you! Personally I'm very disappointed by Top-40...I view music as a medium which has inspired me with confidence, empathy and curiosity. What's more, music, like porn, should get credit for having bootstrapped open-source data sharing. It plays a huge role in my life personally. I like to think that certain lyrics and artists gave me back a thirst for spirituality after a dogmatic, puritan upbringing brought me to nausea at the mention of the word. (FWIW, I wouldn't describe myself as a "worshipper"...but rather I've a fresh appreciation for the potentials of meditation and storytelling) I enjoy curation of Podcasts, and more pointedly...seeking out interviews with people talking about what I want to learn about...this has taken what I love about "edifying music" and does it in a more distilled and long-form format. Allow me to name a few off the top of my head who just ooze wisdom: Henry Rollins (In his older age esp.) is a profoundly well-spoken and inspirational traveler and writer. I intend to read all his books someday; but for now getting a distilled version of his wisdom from his spoken word or interview on JRE is hugely empowering and inspiring during a workout or long commute. Jordan Peterson; Big disclaimer here: I don't love his conclusions. Instead, I immerse myself in his thought-experiments, remaining skeptical, smirking at his casual dismissal of activism. I've listened to his audiobook (12 rules) back-to-back when biking to work, it got me asking questions, which reinforced my own pursuits. This is the opposite of apathy, so agree with him or not...he's a voice I like to have around. Alan Watts: Philosophy, Taoism. I mention this because there's a very interesting trend going on: Philosophical Chillstep; aka rhetoric set to a rhythm. The paranoid might cry brainwashing...I've been critical of that dynamic and I conclude that it's a nice way to get someone's talking points...it's encouraged me to seek out the long-form original versions of the oration. Zoog Von Rock / Amelia Arsenic of Angelspit: The top commenter mentions punk, so allow me to include these Auzzie-gone-murrican cyberindustrial rabblerousers. What's funny is that I see correlation between some messages in Angelspit's lyrics and aforementioned JP's rhetoric (both consider the consequences of a world that liquidates human quality of life in pursuit of productivity) Edit: Example of some of Zoog's helpful vlogging: https://youtu.be/WYDjNKESS5A https://youtu.be/WYDjNKESS5A Adam Yang 2020: Obama rode on Facebook. Trump ran on Twitter. I'm watching Yang on Youtube with particular interest...this is a guy with 75 policies...and at rallies there seems to be a sentiment for returning to respecting intelligence and a thirst for leaders who can back up their ideas with numbers. Feeling hopeful, might streetteam l8r. I hope the author of the article takes notice of him, in fact, because for how formulaic pop-music is...one wonders how long it will be before generating reviews and top-lists of pop-music songs will be entirely automated...
- 8bithero 8y agoI'm really confused by the author's arguments > With all of the world’s unheard songs beckoning us with their endless mystery, why would anyone choose to waste their precious listening hours on a podcast? Why is he trying to compare music to podcasts? Because they're auditory? By that same token, it could be argued why anyone would choose to waste their precious listening hours on music with all of the world's unheard audio books beckoning us with their endless mystery and wells of knowledge and information.
- jonnycomputer 8y agoWhy is this taking up space on the Washington Post? Doesn't this belong on a personal blog or on twitter? Or better yet in private diary? My response is as follows: I'm against self-indulgent, curmudgeonly writing like this intended for public consumption being given the patina of approval by respectable publications like the Washington Post.
- brodouevencode 8y agoKeep in mind the author is a pop music critic, so of course he's against anything that could impact his income.
- thebigspacefuck 8y ago>With all of the world’s unheard songs beckoning us with their endless mystery, why would anyone choose to waste their precious listening hours on a podcast? Yoy could replace podcast with pretty much anything. I don't like listening to music all of the time or doing any one thing all of the time for that matter. I get bored and I just don't enjoy it as much anymore. And really, I love music. I used to want a job like Radio DJ where I could listen to music all day and I love coding because I mostly get to do that. But, I don't want to listen to all the music ever created because a lot of it just isn't for me and the mystery stops feeling endless after a while. My listening hours aren't precious to me if I listen on the commute, 8+ hours at work, and at home when I'm doing chores. Every single day. I wish those hours were more precious sometimes. I'd love for music to feel as meaningful to me as it did when I was a teenager when I only had a few CDs and new music was a big purchase or something given to me by a friend. But now it's like I'm drowning in too many options and I'm just shuffling through different playlists trying to find something that sounds interesting. So I listen to Audiobooks or Podcasts or just my own head radio if I can. It's not wasted time at all because it helps me enjoy music more in the long run. This really is a terrible article and it seems like an immature opinion to have. I'm surprised to see it in the Washington Post.
- c0vfefe 8y agoI would think a way to recapture the meaning and mystique of music listening is not necessarily to throttle your listening time, but rather to more intentionally explore different genres & curate your own taste. The kind of aimless browsing you describe can happen at any duration of listening per week, if we allow it.
- PorterDuff 8y agoI like the idea of podcasts because of the amateur angle, not so much since it's basically just another version of talk radio. I don't doubt there is some loss in social contact if you use a recording to fill-in for conversation, but there's something a little off-putting about music too. It worries me sometimes that (given my age) 'More Than a Feeling' or 'Hold On Loosely' are so etched into my brain...and I'm a jazz listener/musician. Why is that? They live next to old commercial jingles and show the amount of programming that can go on in the 'independent' mind. To finish up my old man rant, it's funny how modern people need constant noise and a steady supply of sweet beverages to avoid unease. Maybe there's a book here on the curative value of quiet walks and drinking plain water, it wouldn't be very long though.
- 52-6F-62 8y ago> Maybe there's a book here on the curative value of quiet walks and drinking plain water, it wouldn't be very long though. I like the sound of that one. You should put it together. Leave some blank pages for breathing room. Some nice binding, fine paper selection, and care in type choices. Are we collaborating now?
- PorterDuff 8y agoOnly the finest handmade paper will be used.
- PorterDuff 8y agoBut first, a smartphone app to manage the water consumption and walking times.
- scarface74 8y agoI disagree that most podcasts sound bad. Even outside of the NPR/Gimlet style professional podcasts, most of the ones I listen to like ATP and Daring Fireball take their editing seriously. They have all of the speakers record their own side, and they have a backup recording of the audio conversation. Then they align the two recordings to prevent cross talk.
- JaimeThompson 8y agoI just discovered The Mountain Goats via the weather segment of the latest Welcome to Night Vale so it is possible to discover music via podcasts.
- hiccuphippo 8y agoWhat are some good podcasts to listen to? I listen to StarTalk with Neil DeGrasse Tyson and loved the (short, just 12 episodes) End Of The World with Josh Clark.
- PascLeRasc 8y ago99% Invisible and Reply All are my go-to "starter podcasts".
- pkamb 8y agoIMO the best podcasts are organic and conversational between interesting hosts, not "produced" segment shows like many of the big names. Here's a suggestion: Omnibus! With Ken Jennings and John Roderick https://www.omnibusproject.com/ https://www.omnibusproject.com/
- crazygringo 8y agoWeird article. I personally can't listen to podcasts for another reason though: I find them so frustratingly slow. E.g. when I read the New Yorker, I can read 5x faster, and more importantly skip over sections I'm less interested in. (So even listening at 2x speed still doesn't fix it, and you just can't "scan" a podcast the way your eyes can scan a page.) When I listen to a podcast, I feel so stuck at the pace of the spoken word. A big part of it is also probably that I commute by subway so it's easy to read... maybe if I commuted by car I'd appreciate that a slow podcast is better than nothing at all.
- PascLeRasc 8y agoDo you have this problem with speaking to people in real life too? Podcasts aren't meant to be an information dump, it's about the interactions between the hosts.
- tartoran 8y agoAnd about nuance which can't be expressed as well in writing
- crazygringo 8y agoHuh. I mean, all the podcasts my friends recommend me always seem to be information-dump type ones, whether on politics or design or whatever. Kind of like audio New Yorker articles or mini-documentaries. I listed to the first few hours of Serial and it sure felt like a documentary to me too -- I didn't notice any interaction between the hosts. So I'd just prefer to read. But to answer your question, no. But maybe that's the difference -- I'd rather "interact" with my friends directly where it's a 2-way street, that just listen to hosts interact with each other. But I guess if I were feeling lonely/bored that could make a lot more sense to put on a podcast, if I couldn't put on a TV show (e.g. because driving)...
- mikeash 8y agoPodcasts are radio on demand. They offer all the variety that radio does, or did, and more. They can offer the quality of a good commercial radio show, or the quality of a rotting potato, or anything in between. It’s up to you to find something you like. There’s so much out there that there is probably something you’ll like. So many of these comments talk as though “podcast” implies news or commentary and that’s it. Did I stumble into an alternate universe? I know those exist (news and commentary podcasts exist, that is), but there’s so much more. The closest I get are news-related comedy shows like Wait Wait or the BBC’s Now Show. I’m always on the lookout for the next episode of Welcome to Night Vale, and on the rare occasions that there’s a new Hardcore History, it’s a real treat. If I run out of something new, I love to listen to an episode or two of the old Dragnet radio series and get immersed in 1950’s Los Angeles. Podcasts are inferior to text or video? That’s like saying that cheese is inferior to the Central Limit Theorem. The comparison doesn’t even make sense. I basically can’t listen to podcasts without something physical to do. If I’m idle and trying to listen, I’ll start reading something at the same time and miss half the show. But while I’m out for a walk or doing yard work or cooking or on a long drive? They’re the best! Text or video aren’t sensible there. The only competition would be radio (or, ugh, my own thoughts), where the comparison is just like the comparison between live TV and video on demand.
- DamnInteresting 8y agoI used to be quite fond of many podcasts, but my love has been recently waning, mostly owing to two obnoxious trends: 1) Re-runs, which make no sense in the podcast realm; and 2) podcasts airing episodes from other shows on the same podcast network. Both practices are increasingly common, and they rapidly fill my feed with content I don't care to listen to. It's hard to housekeep since I mostly listen while driving.
- ghaff 8y ago>podcasts airing episodes from other shows on the same podcast network I get your point but it's also allowed me to discover podcasts I probably wouldn't have otherwise learned about. And my general experience is that, if the cross-post is on a favorite podcast, it's probably worth at least a trial run. I mostly pre-curate a playlist before getting in the car. There are very few podcasts where I listen to all or even most episodes. I do wish there was a better voice interface of some sort so that I could better interact while driving.
- DamnInteresting 8y agoYeah, I understand their intention, but personally I am seldom intrigued by the alternate offering. Consequently, to my ears, each such crossover becomes a very long advertisement, and these crossovers have been popping up a lot as podcast networks continue to grow. If the preview were in the form of a short excerpt, enough to give me a sense of the other show's vibe, I would call that a livable compromise, but I can't abide having entire episodes foisted on me. But maybe I am an outlier, and if so, I will just be unhappy about it all by myself.
- ghaff 8y agoFair enough. It's certainly more about mutual back scratching than it is audience service. I'm probably less affected because I pretty much choose individual episodes to watch anyway rather than just listen to everything on a given podcast. I don't commute so I don't spend a huge amount of time in my car and therefore don't listen to a huge number of podcasts overall. (I rarely listen at home.)
- overthemoon 8y agoI'm not so knee-jerk negative about the take industrial complex but boy, this seems like they needed some filler. I dislike the civilizing influence of the "well-produced" podcasts like stuff from NPR. It's not that they're bad (necessarily, but some of them are polished bullshit) it's that they're NOT weird and kind of bad. EDIT: Ironically, the ones he holds up as standards (S-Town, Pod Save America) are the ones I generally detest.
- KillSwitch195 8y agoThis is by far the most immature accusation of all accusations i have heard from people on podcasts. He lost me when he said "Most podcasts are conversations for people to eavesdrop on — recorded talk that precludes real-life talk about real life with zombie talk about podcasts". This is like saying "Chemistry is just mixing chemicals on conical flasks and lighting up bunsen burners". This is oversimplyfying the existence of podcasts. What about social media ? Does it not preclude from real life connectivity. What about videos ? does it not preclude from real life experience ? What about any form of art ? Does it not preclude us from observing the art of nature. You can basically say this argument to anything. Its an empty argument.
- astura 8y agoSomeone call the wambulance. The entertainment police are out in full swing telling people they are being entertained "wrong." Look, I really don't care for listening to music, it's just not entertaining to me. I can't explain the reasons why, just not my thing, music just doesn't tickle my fancy so I never listen to it. I also really don't care for live theater or art museums. However, I don't go writing wordy and overwrought op-eds or blog posts saying how I'm 'against' those things, because I different people understand people enjoy different things than me. I read the first several paragraphs and skimmed the rest because its truly insufferable.
- ha1zum 8y agoWhat a whole lot of nothing
- deagle50 8y agoThe author's tears are delicious. You reap what you sow.
- twoller 8y agoThey're also another avenue for those who want to feel the comfort of having a social experience without having to put forth any effort. The amateur aspect of them helps a listener feel as if it's an inclusive conversation they could be a part of.
- Lowkeyloki 8y agoI mostly agree with the author. Maybe not on the specifics, but I've yet to find a podcast that I don't mind listening to. I've enjoyed a little bit of MBMBaM and Ear Biscuits, but they're so long! After a certain amount of time, I just zone out and I can't listen anymore. It just becomes noise. But just wait until the author learns about AM radio! People apparently actually listen to it.
- dajohnson89 8y agoI'm against paywalled articles, so let's call it even
- Jorge1o1 8y agoWhat motive could a Washington Post journalist possibly have for trashing podcasts? ^_^
- grigjd3 8y agoI don't get it. This guy can feel free to not listen to podcasts. It's not killing music by any stretch of the imagination. I still find plenty of bars and restaurants that annoy me with having a local band play that I don't really want to listen to. There really is nothing forcing you to identify and listen to podcasts.
- failrate 8y agoAlternative title: I've only listened to bad podcasts.
- techrich 8y agoIronic that the Washington post are complaining about alternative media! Its almost like they have revenue issues!
- humbleMouse 8y agoThis may be the dumbest thing to ever make it to the front page. What a pointless thing to complain about. Podcasts are not for everyone, but to be "against" them is so dumb I dont even know where to start.
- LordHumungous 8y agoLocal hipster hates something popular, more at 11.
- pnathan 8y agoTFA arguments seem ... ill informed. "Not a replacement for music?" Uh, ok. Entertainment is more important than information? sure bro.... I don't care for podcasts either. (1) Most are too infomation-lite and too long. I can read far far far faster than someone can speak. (2) Most adopt sort of a morning-show breezy chat back and forth, which drags the information content down. I listen to one-two podcasts regularly, depending on mood. One is a 10-12 minute religious homily by a scholar; the other is a hour-long run by a criminal justice lawyer commenting on legal issues regarding the police and society. Both are information sources I can't get elsewhere easily. I think of podcasts as talk radio. FWIW, historically there were radio dramas - works of fiction created for radio. I am sure there are similar podcasts which are tons of fun for people.
- drngdds 8y agoCalling podcasts Objectively Bad is very silly, but it's weird how people talk about them as though they're this original innovation of the 21st century (the most exciting and significant one, even!) when they are literally just pre-recorded radio shows.
- LargeWu 8y agoCounterpoint: Podcasts can have an immediacy about them that the written word can't compete with. I'm not talking about the long-form "Serial"-type or magazine "This American Life" style podcasts. Those are very scripted and rehearsed. Rather, I'm talking about a lot of the topical shows I listen to. Having a few people with chemistry discussing their topic, where they can riff and improvise and be themselves, can be incredibly interesting in the way the written word can't.
- sbuttgereit 8y agoPop music critic comes out against podcasts, in part because they aren't well produced. Yet, what's really killing pop music, at least in part, is that so much of it, to my ears, is now an exercise in production techniques than it is about the music being produced. Ultimately, that "sounding right" is also simply an extension of fashion statement. True, that fashion in pop music has been more important than the actual music for a long time, but over the decades the music part of this has been diminishing in importance. And frankly, it's pretty boring stuff out there these days mostly because of that emphasis on production values over the content. Everything is so homogeneous; yeah, old guy talking here, but I'm not exactly locked into a generation or genre in what I do choose to listen to, either... I'm not a big podcast fan, either, though there are a couple I listen to if I have drive time. Still, much of that world, and some YouTube efforts, just seem so much more genuine to me. Anyway, I think a pop music critic should likely be thinking about what's wrong with pop music that makes podcasts appealing by comparison rather than having sour grapes about a format that clearly is comparatively more desirable, regardless of what faults it may or may not have.
- ru999gol 8y agojason scott was recently talking in his podcast about this sort of thing: https://textfiles.libsyn.com/the-podcasting-episode https://textfiles.libsyn.com/the-podcasting-episode To be honest, as someone who listens to podcasts for 14+ years now, I always found it completely hilarious when the dead tree media talks about podcasts.
- rubyn00bie 8y agoAs someone this resonates with and after reading some of the comments... I don't think he means they literally have poor sound quality because of a bad microphone. I think he means they sound sterile and without life, they are somehow lifeless. That the majority of Podcasts sound the same, the same monotone narrator, the same perfectly pitched voices delivering lines, etc... I dunno how to describe it but it's why I don't listen to podcasts.
- joe5150 8y agoI don't understand the headline. the word "or" implies the object of podcasts is to kill music? I don't think those are the only options. I listen to two or three podcasts on a regular basis that admittedly don't have top-notch production values, but also don't have "dinky interstitial stock music" or whatever vague "tone" this guy is admonishing. if he's only listening to badly-produced podcasts that use gimmicks that annoy him, that's basically a personal problem in my opinion. he should try listening to something that isn't just trying to sound like the radio.