“The more things change, the more they stay the same”: one of our most durable cliches, ever since French critic, journalist, and novelist Alphonse Karr may have coined the phrase in 1849.
It felt appropriate this week as I reconsidered the more recent evolution of podcasting.
As I’ve written before, podcasting for me is a daily habit, primarily built around my dog walks. Through the years I’ve curated my pod diet to the point that I follow dozens of different series, most of the time selecting only certain episodes that interest me. In a very few cases I catch nearly every episode.
Much has changed since the term “podcast” was coined 21 years ago by a British journalist, as a portmanteau of Apple’s iPod and “broadcast.”
It’s somewhat remarkable to think how Apple, responsible for branding and establishing an entire category of media, has given way to rival platforms Spotify and especially YouTube. YouTube now commands nearly one-third of the podcast audience, twice as much as Apple.
That’s thanks largely to the surge of video in podcasting. What began more as a 21st century streaming version of radio and another “theater of the mind” is becoming—especially for younger listeners/viewers—just as much a visual medium.
A lot has changed, yet so much also feels similar. This year we’ve been discussing the demise of late-night TV talk shows. It’s becoming clear how podcasting is filling the growing void of old-fashioned broadcast talk—and I don’t mean with only Joe Rogan.
Two new lists published this summer drove home to me the shift in podcasting culture.
One list is the idiosyncratic voice of an individual critic: Time Magazine last month published “The 100 Best Podcasts of All Time.” It’s an alphabetical account, not ranked, from “2 Dope Queens” (a former comedy interview show) to “You’re Wrong About” (a journalistic reappraisal of key historical figures and moments).
This month, Canada’s Left of Dial Media published the results of its “Essential Listening Poll” of 300 “audio creators, podcast hosts, writers, and scholars from around the world” whose collective input determined the “100 Greatest Podcasts of All Time.” Their top five:
1. “This American Life”
2. “Serial”
3. “The Daily” (The New York Times)
4. “Radiolab” (WNYC)
5. “S-Town”
In 2014, the smash success of “Serial” helped set narrative standards and a mainstream reputation for podcasting as a category. As a spin-off of public radio landmark “This American Life,” “Serial” leaned into an informal, literary, and meandering style of true-crime investigation. Some of the clearest evidence of how this came to epitomize podcasting culture: Numerous Hollywood scripts have been built around the premise of true-crime podcasters, including the wonderful Steve Martin-Martin Short-Selena Gomez comedy series “Only Murders in the Building” and “SNL” alum Will Forte’s “Bodkin.”
“S-Town,” also in the “Serial” family, is the podcast that flexed the strongest word of mouth as far as I’m concerned. True story: The year it was released I was on a morning walk through downtown Memphis, Tennessee, during a family road trip. On that walk I overheard two entirely separate conversations on the street—many blocks apart—discussing the series. It was as if the entire Home of the Blues was abuzz with the quirky story of intrigue from rural Alabama.
I’m glad to see the New York Times thrive with “The Daily” and other podcasts—including its 2020 acquisition of Serial Productions. Considering the Times also occasionally collaborates with WNYC, it’s sort of a dominant force at the top of the podcast tastemakers list. And don’t forget the flagship newspaper also owns Wordle and runs its own cooking app—part of its impressive diversification in an era of economic decline for traditional media.
But these lists also show how today’s podcast landscape has a lot less to do with complex narrative storytelling, deep investigations, and everyday people. The money for a while has been flowing toward celebrities and unscripted (or loosely scripted) yakking.
In other words, podcasting ultimately can’t escape the pull of gravity back toward what draws a reliable audience (famous names) and is cheaper to mass produce (talk shows).
So, Conan O’Brien has enjoyed a renaissance with his own podcast.
“Smartless” features actor friends Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, and Will Arnett.
“Good Hang With Amy Poehler” hovers near the top of the charts.
And so forth.
Some observations and recommendations from my current podcast diet:
“The Town,” a pod on the business of Hollywood, is the rare case where I listen to nearly every episode. Host Matt Belloni and his team produce one of the most seamless, fluid, and consistently engaging shows on any subject.
“The AI Daily Brief” helps me keep track of developments in our most dynamic sector of tech and business.
“The Dr. Hyman Show” has been my deepest foray thus far into the booming health-pod scene.
Fellow Iowa Writers’ Collaborative member Maxwell Schaeffer enlists interesting folks from all corners of Iowa for his “Maxwell’s Iowa Coffeecast.”
“Decoding Retirement” from Yahoo Finance is one of the many financial pods I follow.
“Sodajerker on Songwriting,” from Britain, is among the scads of music pods in my feed.
I could drone on, but which shows are you listening to—or watching? Share recommendations in the comments.
And if you see me on a dog walk, please just give me a second to pause my pod before striking up a conversation.
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Thanks for the suggestions. I am adding these to my list.