6 ms·
90% of podcasts these days are just people rambling on without much thought while trying to sell you something. I have a feeling that most people who listen to
by m_ke 7y ago
90% of podcasts these days are just people rambling on without much thought while trying to sell you something. I have a feeling that most people who listen to podcasts do so for background noise, as a way inject some dopamine into their boring commute or routine chores.
I used to listen to podcasts a ton but switched to listening to lectures or conference talks.
- asdff 7y agoI'm not sure why you've picked up downvotes, it's exactly right. Most podcasts, just like youtube videos, have matured to specific lengths optimized for interspersed advertising opportunities.
- hombre_fatal 7y agoAt the same time, the criticism is useless without knowing the podcasts someone is listening to. Pretty big difference between listening to Wendy Williams vs, I don't know, philosophical debates and deep dives into history and all sorts of intellectually stimulating things. Most people I know including myself listen to the latter which is nothing short of welcome mind-expansion and I'm a more interesting person as a result of it. People listening to podcasts or reading books really aren't the people I'm worried about in the modern era.
- m_ke 7y agoI mostly listened to software engineering radio, software engineering daily, talking machines, this week in machine learning, village global, freakonomics, econtalk and other similar tech and business shows. Most of the content in those shows is still fluff and nowhere near as information dense as a lecture from Stanford or MIT. Take talking machines as an example, an interview with a guy like David Blei will be very shallow and watered down for the general audience, I'd much rather listen to him give a lecture at a machine learning summer school.
- stjohnswarts 7y agoWhat? My podcasts are all on subjects that I'm interested in and rarely (other than sponsored 1 or 2 minute ads that I can fast forward through) mention a product. What are you on about?
- m_ke 7y agoI mostly listened to tech podcasts like talking machines and econ/business stuff like freakonomics or village global. They all mostly follow an interview format where the guest is only there to promote something that they work on.
- y_tho 7y agoThey are there because they have insight into a phenomenon they have studied and is being discussed, and they may have a book or something that further explains what they are talking about should the listener be interested. Should they not mention or promote their work?
- skinnymuch 7y agoAlmost always the main guest is there to primarily plug something. They almost are never there just to discuss some findings.