4 ms·

My favourite podcasts all started as passion projects, often with a simple headset next to a laptop and no production to speak of. Some keep continuing like tha

My favourite podcasts all started as passion projects, often with a simple headset next to a laptop and no production to speak of. Some keep continuing like that (although typically people get a bit deeper into audio production as time passes) and some go "professional" after a while. The tendency to start out with a studio and crew from the get-go is always a red flag for me, and is indeed quite boring most of the time. What I want is just "two dudes talking" (or dudettes, that's fine too!) about something they're intensely, deeply interested in. Can be sociology, food, coding, whatever. It seems that's hard to set up for a commercial entity, who'd have thought?

QuarterReptile 4y ago
OTOH, the "two dudes talking" also produces the absolute worst podcast content when they do their small talk on air rather than getting it out of the way first. No podcast audience wants to hear your inside jokes and about how everyone's been making fun of you for your ski injury.
- dexterdog 4y ago
  I agree, but the success of the Bateman-Arnett-whatshisname podcast would suggest that we are both wrong.
- cooperadymas 4y ago
  And yet, nearly every popular podcast does this, so maybe the audience actually enjoys it? It's a bit like the story at the top of every recipe on the web. It annoys a certain type of people, but it's also the reason most of the people are there.
  - ghaff 4y ago
    You definitely have a variety of audience expectations and a given person's expectations may even differ by podcast. Some people like virtually hanging out with a lot of idle chit-chat, while others just want maximized information flow through a firehose. Neither is right or wrong and complaining that some information source doesn't match your preferences probably isn't going to get you anywhere.
    - abhinavkulkarni 4y ago
      We at JKStream (https://jkstream.com https://jkstream.com) are trying to solve some of these problems by allowing users to subscribe to their favorite podcast interviewers and guests. For e.g., here's a nice, clean feed for Cal Newport: https://jkstream.com/#/personality-cal-newport-Q16733303 https://jkstream.com/#/personality-cal-newport-Q16733303
  - pwinnski 4y ago
    Those stories are mostly there to avoid delisting by Google. That some people might enjoy reading them is very much a distant secondary consideration.
  - antasvara 4y ago
    I have a feeling that podcast small talk only appeals to a small subset of people, but isn't a dealbreaker for people that enjoy the content that isn't small talk. I think most people don't like the story at the top of a recipe. However, with a "jump to recipe" button like most sites have, this story also isn't a dealbreaker.
pwinnski 4y ago
The "two people talking" podcasts are popular, but my all-time favorite is still a one-man production: Mike Duncan's The History of Rome [0]. Even his follow-up, Revolutions, was great. No other podcast has grabbed and held my attention as much before or since. 0. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_History_of_Rome_(podcast) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_History_of_Rome_(podcast)
- Tainnor 4y ago
  Mike Duncan is great, I learned so much from his podcasts.
  - abhinavkulkarni 4y ago
    You can keep track of Mike Duncan's podcast activity here: https://jkstream.com/#/personality-mike-duncan-Q361250 https://jkstream.com/#/personality-mike-duncan-Q361250

QuarterReptile 4y ago

OTOH, the "two dudes talking" also produces the absolute worst podcast content when they do their small talk on air rather than getting it out of the way first. No podcast audience wants to hear your inside jokes and about how everyone's been making fun of you for your ski injury.

dexterdog 4y ago
I agree, but the success of the Bateman-Arnett-whatshisname podcast would suggest that we are both wrong.
cooperadymas 4y ago
And yet, nearly every popular podcast does this, so maybe the audience actually enjoys it? It's a bit like the story at the top of every recipe on the web. It annoys a certain type of people, but it's also the reason most of the people are there.
- ghaff 4y ago
  You definitely have a variety of audience expectations and a given person's expectations may even differ by podcast. Some people like virtually hanging out with a lot of idle chit-chat, while others just want maximized information flow through a firehose. Neither is right or wrong and complaining that some information source doesn't match your preferences probably isn't going to get you anywhere.
  - abhinavkulkarni 4y ago
    We at JKStream (https://jkstream.com https://jkstream.com) are trying to solve some of these problems by allowing users to subscribe to their favorite podcast interviewers and guests. For e.g., here's a nice, clean feed for Cal Newport: https://jkstream.com/#/personality-cal-newport-Q16733303 https://jkstream.com/#/personality-cal-newport-Q16733303
- pwinnski 4y ago
  Those stories are mostly there to avoid delisting by Google. That some people might enjoy reading them is very much a distant secondary consideration.
- antasvara 4y ago
  I have a feeling that podcast small talk only appeals to a small subset of people, but isn't a dealbreaker for people that enjoy the content that isn't small talk. I think most people don't like the story at the top of a recipe. However, with a "jump to recipe" button like most sites have, this story also isn't a dealbreaker.

pwinnski 4y ago

The "two people talking" podcasts are popular, but my all-time favorite is still a one-man production: Mike Duncan's The History of Rome [0]. Even his follow-up, Revolutions, was great. No other podcast has grabbed and held my attention as much before or since. 0. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_History_of_Rome_(podcast) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_History_of_Rome_(podcast)

Tainnor 4y ago
Mike Duncan is great, I learned so much from his podcasts.
- abhinavkulkarni 4y ago
  You can keep track of Mike Duncan's podcast activity here: https://jkstream.com/#/personality-mike-duncan-Q361250 https://jkstream.com/#/personality-mike-duncan-Q361250