I am always on the lookout for interesting podcasts. I listen when I’m driving, cooking, cleaning, doing chores and warming up before my workouts, which totals many hours each week. One way I find new podcasts is browsing feeds of top lists, new lists, and Apple recommendations. Those are not very fruitful for me. The “trending podcasts” are heavily slanted toward anything LGBTQ, DEI, True Crime and Pop culture. Meh.
A better way is when I hear an interesting guest on a podcast. I’ll look for this guest on other podcasts, especially their own if they host one.
As the podcast universe has become saturated, I’m seeing a consolidation. Some companies promote bundles of podcasts focusing on similar content: The New York Times, BBC, NPR, The Financial TIme do this. Other companies have multiple podcasts around comedy, sports, news etc.
I probably check out 4-6 new podcasts each week. Generally, I don’t make it past 10 minutes before deleting them and moving on.
The worst are podcasts where it’s a bunch of friends talking to each other about nothing. Usually they are all talking over each other, the listing experience is awful, and the content is uninteresting. Other ones I delete are formulaic rehashing content I’ve heard too many time before (esp, news & politics).
Some are just too whiny. Many podcasters under 40 talk as if they are a pseudo-therapist offering advice and using their podcast as a confessional for their anxieties and mental health problems.
This weeks was a new one for me. The podcaster was a moron. About 10 minutes into the podcast, the guest referenced Atilla the Hun and the host said, “Who is that?”
Delete.
I’d rather listen to silence.