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I was like this until I found the NPR Planet Money podcast. I am not 100% sure why I found this so engaging but here are my guesses: 1. They cover a subject I

by trog 4y ago

I was like this until I found the NPR Planet Money podcast. I am not 100% sure why I found this so engaging but here are my guesses: 1. They cover a subject I was interested in (economics), but knew basically nothing about. This made it easier to listen to as I found I didn't space out when they were talking about things I already knew. 2. Nice, tight editing and good production. No hosts blathering on for hours - they keep it short and to the point. Most episodes are 20 minutes and easy to get through.

null0ranje 4y ago
I used to listen to Planet Money, but it’s devolved over the same dumbed-down drivel that dominates NPR these days: “Money has always been used to buy goods, but did you know you can also use it to buy services? Here’s some pop culture reference comparison to fake a narrative.” I think the show started suffering when NPR turned every show into a podcast; it removes the ability to cater to a more focused audience because you have to waste half the show doing background.
- nostromo 4y ago
  I’m glad I’m not alone thinking this. 10 years ago it was the best of the best. Now it tries way to hard to be cute and “engaging.” I think media types decided everything needed to be like Vox Explainers, so now everything sounds like it’s designed for primary school students.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- skrblr 4y ago
  Completely agree. More or Less and Business Daily (both BBC) have replaced Planet Money for me in the last few years.
- trog 4y ago
  I think that's a bit unfair - I think they're taking a very dry, boring subject and trying to make it engaging and interesting to a wider audience. They are sometimes going to err on the side of too generic, but most of the actual stories are still quite interesting, at least to me, who is coming into economic stuff very late in life and has very little grounding.

by trog 4y ago

null0ranje 4y ago

I used to listen to Planet Money, but it’s devolved over the same dumbed-down drivel that dominates NPR these days: “Money has always been used to buy goods, but did you know you can also use it to buy services? Here’s some pop culture reference comparison to fake a narrative.” I think the show started suffering when NPR turned every show into a podcast; it removes the ability to cater to a more focused audience because you have to waste half the show doing background.

nostromo 4y ago
I’m glad I’m not alone thinking this. 10 years ago it was the best of the best. Now it tries way to hard to be cute and “engaging.” I think media types decided everything needed to be like Vox Explainers, so now everything sounds like it’s designed for primary school students.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
skrblr 4y ago
Completely agree. More or Less and Business Daily (both BBC) have replaced Planet Money for me in the last few years.
trog 4y ago
I think that's a bit unfair - I think they're taking a very dry, boring subject and trying to make it engaging and interesting to a wider audience. They are sometimes going to err on the side of too generic, but most of the actual stories are still quite interesting, at least to me, who is coming into economic stuff very late in life and has very little grounding.