Observations About Podcasts
What’s with all the marimbas?
I hate the joking about the script variety of promos for podcasts. The new New York Times podcast “Matter of Opinion” is decent, but the promo is absolute trash. All the promos involve fake laughter and flubbed lines and strange pauses. I just imagine a Pepperdine grad working as a producer just saying “keep it fresh! just have fun, they said this one is not journalism with a capital J. Have fun, seriously!” But honestly, if Ross Douthat is the funniest person on your podcast, you’re way screwed.
Don’t act like it’s a radio show. It’s not a radio show. I promise you I’ll remember what we were talking about thirty seconds ago before the Air BnB ad. It was thirty seconds ago.
Stop telling your guest you want to have them back again. You don’t. Even if it was great. Even if you do have them back again.
There are so many topics that people say they could do “two hours on that”. NO YOU FUCKING COULDN’T. I wish I could go fact check em. Hey Domonique Foxworth, you said you could do two hours on the difference between NBA lockerrooms and NFL lockerrooms? Two hours? You got some gas in the tank on it. But two hours?
Ezra Klein, do you remember when you derailed your podcast for eight months because you basically asked every guest some variety of the question, “does this involve polarization?”. That was shit.
Ezra Klein, you’re not as funny as Ross Douthat, but you make a vastly superior better podcast.
I didn’t like Jane Coaston doing “The Argument”. You ready for my take? You never had takes, you never had insight that opened my mind. You knew the shit, but you didn’t know YOUR shit. With minor exceptions I felt like you didn’t go deep enough on the topics, and the format didn’t permit you to bounce off someone else.
I don’t mind long episodes, there’s a pause button. I’m good, keep going.
Can we make a word for that thing where a podcaster does an open where they tell a little dumb story about their week before they jump in? I love that.
Derek Thompson is doing it. You respect your listeners time. Your guests almost always sound right. It’s those little things. For a podcast you never have to “fill time”. Just keep it going or play some spectacular music and reach out.