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Yesterday, as part of a new podcast that will launch in the Spring, I interviewed the brilliant... This seems like the wrong way to go about podcasting. What c

Yesterday, as part of a new podcast that will launch in the Spring, I interviewed the brilliant... This seems like the wrong way to go about podcasting. What can you say today that will still be interesting to hear in six months?

jefftk 4y ago
If you can't say things today that will still be interesting in six months you should consider deeper subjects! (Overstated for effect. I do think there's a place for news and timely commentary, but it's far from everything.)
- jessaustin 4y ago
  I appreciate overstatement! You're right, important communications consider eternal subjects. When I read books written centuries ago, the authors still speak to me. Podcasting, however, is a particular medium with particular characteristics. One assumes Marcus is trying to build an inventory so he won't have to work as hard to keep the podcast going once it launches. A bit of this is fine, but too much will damage the work. If Marcus and Kohane discuss medicine today, and necessarily neglect to mention the significance of a relevant event five months hence, the episode will seem weird whether the publishing delay is explained (e.g. as commonly heard on sports-betting podcasts) or not. A podcast is not a book. It is an open-ended serial conversation. Serial works necessarily respond to the present moment.
  - jefftk 4y ago
    Maybe? I only listen to podcasts occasionally, but when I do I generally listen to well-reviewed older episodes instead of the most recent ones. With my favorite podcasts (ex: https://80000hours.org/podcast https://80000hours.org/podcast, https://www.econtalk.org https://www.econtalk.org, https://songexploder.net/ https://songexploder.net/) this generally works well.
    - jessaustin 4y ago
      We have different podcast habits. I listen a great deal. I'm currently subscribed to over 200. Not all of those are still "live", of course I don't bother listening to every episode of most of them, and I currently intend to unsubscribe from at least ten, but since I drive a fair amount, operate noisy equipment a fair amount, and do random solitary farm tasks a fair amount, I do listen to lots. Also I have playback speed set at 1.8x currently, and I'm steadily increasing that. I don't use an app that features reviews. I'd rather spend five minutes listening to the original than five minutes reading about it. Most podcasts I find through guest appearances or criticisms from current subscriptions. (E.g., I subscribed to the excellent "Red Scare" because the also excellent "Pod Damn America" dudes spent like ten minutes bitching about them.)

jefftk 4y ago

If you can't say things today that will still be interesting in six months you should consider deeper subjects! (Overstated for effect. I do think there's a place for news and timely commentary, but it's far from everything.)

jessaustin 4y ago
I appreciate overstatement! You're right, important communications consider eternal subjects. When I read books written centuries ago, the authors still speak to me. Podcasting, however, is a particular medium with particular characteristics. One assumes Marcus is trying to build an inventory so he won't have to work as hard to keep the podcast going once it launches. A bit of this is fine, but too much will damage the work. If Marcus and Kohane discuss medicine today, and necessarily neglect to mention the significance of a relevant event five months hence, the episode will seem weird whether the publishing delay is explained (e.g. as commonly heard on sports-betting podcasts) or not. A podcast is not a book. It is an open-ended serial conversation. Serial works necessarily respond to the present moment.
- jefftk 4y ago
  Maybe? I only listen to podcasts occasionally, but when I do I generally listen to well-reviewed older episodes instead of the most recent ones. With my favorite podcasts (ex: https://80000hours.org/podcast https://80000hours.org/podcast, https://www.econtalk.org https://www.econtalk.org, https://songexploder.net/ https://songexploder.net/) this generally works well.
  - jessaustin 4y ago
    We have different podcast habits. I listen a great deal. I'm currently subscribed to over 200. Not all of those are still "live", of course I don't bother listening to every episode of most of them, and I currently intend to unsubscribe from at least ten, but since I drive a fair amount, operate noisy equipment a fair amount, and do random solitary farm tasks a fair amount, I do listen to lots. Also I have playback speed set at 1.8x currently, and I'm steadily increasing that. I don't use an app that features reviews. I'd rather spend five minutes listening to the original than five minutes reading about it. Most podcasts I find through guest appearances or criticisms from current subscriptions. (E.g., I subscribed to the excellent "Red Scare" because the also excellent "Pod Damn America" dudes spent like ten minutes bitching about them.)