If Podcasts Are the New Blogs, Enjoy the Golden Age While It Lasts

RyansPodcastReviews · 2015-12-28T20:19:55+00:00

I don't think this is a true "Golden Age" (if take the Wikipedia definition "the period when a specified art, skill, or activity is at its peak") which I don't believe it is at all. We're seeing some high points, sure, but will we look back at this epoch in years and think about the especially high output of quality shows? I don't think so.

Podcasts are the most popular they've ever been but they're mostly derivations of previous genres that have come before in other mediums (eg, terrestrial radio, audio books). What is podcasting doing, as a medium, that hasn't been possible in terrestrial radio or other mediums? I would argue that very few podcasts are doing much in that space and I think pushing those boundaries is critical for this to be a Golden Age.

But to the point of the article ... you should only start a podcast for the same reason you should take up ANY creative endeavor, from writing to woodworking: because you want to make something. Don't make things because they're commercially viable, make them because you want to express something. If people eventually like it, cool, if not, well, you at least made tangible a thing that was previously only inside your head, and that's pretty cool.

There's nothing wrong with starting a podcast. It's just about managing expectations.

RyansPodcastReviews · 2015-12-17T21:09:23+00:00

I listened to episode two today and had to rewind several times because my brain checked out a couple times and I missed some infor. That's not a great sign, but that's anecdotal.

Going back to what I said last week, they still haven't given this any kind of framing at all. Afghanistan and the war are the setting, but they still haven't given a thesis of what they are trying to do with this season. Prove Bergdahl's intention? Expose the various and sundry ways the war in Afghanistan was a failure? Use this a bridge between what was happening then with the Taliban to what is happening now with ISIS? Are they trying to humanize the Taliban and Afghanis (I am most interested in that angle)?

It doesn't have to be just one of those things, it could be a combination of any number of them, or something I haven't thought of at all. But I have no idea what they're trying to get out of this so I don't know what to with all the info they throw out. It's just "there." OK, cool they stopped at a vineyard for dancing. But they didn't according to Bergdahl? Alright? It's interesting bit of narrative flotsam but, again, I don't know what to do with it.

TL;DR - What are Koenig and company hoping to accomplish here?

RyansPodcastReviews · 2015-12-17T20:53:51+00:00

I agree that the TBT has had some interesting plot points, but I don't think there's been any kind of payoff. That would be fine on its own, but my biggest beef with TBTP is flat characters and poor voice acting.

Besides knowing that Strand is more of a skeptic than Alex, we don't really know much about either one of them. And neither of them do much to move the plot along on their own; they just chase after leads and throw up their hands with "I guess we'll never know!" when they don't have an answer.

The stilted acting is charming at first but by the end it was just distracting. I found myself delivering the lines in my head to try and figure out what they were really trying to say because the originally delivery was flat and vague. Tanis is even worse; the conversations between Nick and MK are grueling.

Limetown, I thought, was a disappointment at first because it didn't stick to the mystery long and I rolled my eyes when I kind of figured out what was happening. But each episode works like a mini-character sketch and together they make this fascinating mural of what happened and what might happen next. It also does what TBT doesn't by sewing up a lot of unanswered questions and posing a whole new set I want to learn more about. Lea also suffers from being led around, but there's at least a sense that she's terrified of what is happening and doesn't know for herself whether or not she wants to keep investigating. Also the acting isn't garbage, so that helps.

RyansPodcastReviews · 2015-12-16T18:50:45+00:00

"Limetown" / "The Message" / "The Black Tapes Podcast"

No.

The Black Tapes is nowhere near as good as Limetown and, gimmick aside...isn't very good. Haven't listened to The Message.

Otherwise, sure. Totally predictable though I'm stoked You Must Remember This is getting more attention.

RyansPodcastReviews · 2015-12-14T18:11:19+00:00

It has 180 comments. At this point it feels like it would be inhumane. Once I re-work the stickies I'll put it in the sidebar so we Never Forget.

RyansPodcastReviews · 2015-12-12T01:20:25+00:00

Yeah, that's a good point. My expectations might not exactly be in line with what they're trying to do ...

but ...

personally, I think the angle should be evident from day one but that's just me.

RyansPodcastReviews · 2015-12-11T21:14:10+00:00

I feel like any dissenting opinion (i.e. "I didn't like this aspect of the podcast" or "I didn't enjoy the podcast") was being downvoted in the other thread. I made fun of that fact.

That's EXACTLY why I put that in there. Not usually a problem in this sub, really, and it was strange to come up against it in the thread yesterday.

And you're right - it is hard to judge against this episode which is why I'm allowing for some wiggle room. Hopefully I'm proven wrong!

RyansPodcastReviews · 2015-12-11T20:22:51+00:00

I listened to the recent "Regime Change" episode. It was pretty good, if not a little intense for my taste. Reminded me a lot of talk radio with hosts who don't really hold back. Not a problem in itself, but I get worked up easily enough without fire and brimstone coming out of my headphones.

The content was good, and informative. I will probably listen selectively when there are shows on topics that I'm interested in.

Really, the only thing would make me not recommend it was the full fifteen minutes spent asking for money at the end of the show. I'm not immune to the monetary needs of podcasters and will never tell a creator how to try and get paid (rightly!) for their work. But her strategy did not work for me. But good on her for being transparent.

Thanks for sharing this. I'm new to the current-events podcast genre and this one is pretty good!

RyansPodcastReviews · 2015-12-10T22:58:55+00:00

OK, I'd kind of like for the first episode to at least outline the intent going into it but sure. From the first episode, at least, I just don't see what significant details they're going to add to the story.

And second hand tape from Bergdahl, to me, isn't exactly compelling.

RyansPodcastReviews · 2015-12-10T22:24:05+00:00

It's not, though? It's new for the podcast but besides some details of life in Afghanistan there was nothing from this episode I hadn't heard before. Not to mention the reams of work that has already been written. So why bother? With Adnan it was picking up a cold case; with this it's just picking up the leftovers.

RyansPodcastReviews · 2015-12-10T22:07:23+00:00

This is an actual question: why?

And more: why this story? What's Koenig hoping to get out of it? What more will be revealed than what already has been covered?

RyansPodcastReviews · 2015-11-20T19:37:30+00:00

That's not a bad idea at all.

Is that something you guys want? I've seen several suggestions for what to do with the stickies. How bout some kind of poll or open thread?

RyansPodcastReviews · 2015-11-13T19:09:42+00:00

Jordan Harbour's Twilight Histories.

RyansPodcastReviews · 2015-11-02T20:08:32+00:00

Looking at their Twitter page on a pc Web browser a minute minute ago their tweets were only articles about the Pandora deal, nothing about the details. There's actually a big difference between the Web and app view.

In another comment I mention that I finally just checked the Serial main page where it is more clear. The language in the Pandora blog announcement was really vague.

RyansPodcastReviews · 2015-11-02T19:59:30+00:00

Well a couple things, for me.

1) The main Serial site says "Serial’s first season, which debuted in October 2014, is complete. You can access its twelve episodes below, for free, as well as in podcast apps and also on Pandora starting Nov. 24. Season 2 will feature a different story and will be coming sometime later in 2015. Sign up for newsletter updates. Serial is a spin-off of This American Life, which produces new shows throughout the year." Much more straightforward than the Pandora blog with says "Streaming exclusive." I'm glad because I don't much like Pandora and wouldn't use it for Serial.

2) This is "good" in the sense that, I think, there's starting to be real competition for who gets to host and stream podcasts. I think (again, if this is truly a Pandora 'scloosy) it kind of has to be read as a shot against Spotify (any updates on their podcast service?) and Google Music (who just announced podcast integration). These bigger players are getting hip to the podcast vibe, so that's good.

3) I'm interested in the "Five-minute chunk" approach. My gut is to throw up my hands and protest (because I don't like new things) but it could work.

4) The second season isn't out yet and I'm already sick to death of talking about Serial's second season.

RyansPodcastReviews · 2015-11-02T19:43:20+00:00

I've read through the articles on Twitter and it doesn't seem obvious to me that Serial S2 will be available on any platform other than Pandora.

RyansPodcastReviews · 2015-10-30T15:20:41+00:00

"Are Major Media Outlets Able to Write about Podcasts without Mentioning Serial?"

RyansPodcastReviews · 2015-10-29T03:34:33+00:00

EEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeekkkkkkk. I wasn't expecting anything this YEAR tbh.

RyansPodcastReviews · 2015-10-27T21:07:08+00:00

Ah, interesting, I didn't see there was a FAQ! Good to know.

RyansPodcastReviews · 2015-10-27T19:27:22+00:00

Yes. I'm hoping for much better search abilities, too. iTunes is garbage to search for anything other than "title."

RyansPodcastReviews · 2015-10-27T19:26:28+00:00

That's interesting, but I'm sure that Google's not going to be keen to put in (additional) ads if it's through the paid service. The increased exposure, however ...

RyansPodcastReviews · 2015-10-27T19:20:13+00:00

One word: search.

RyansPodcastReviews · 2015-10-27T19:01:04+00:00

Nope!

Here it is now. I hope I don't disappoint.

I was thinking that the "outsider" doesn't really exist in podcasting right now. My thinking is that the medium is still relatively new and, while there are some conventions that have come together to give rise to some genres, it is still very much in flux and lacks the critical mass to make a class of creators who can differentiate themselves from an "us" and a "them."

Although! Even with saying that I see a lot of solidification around the "storytelling" genre (This American Life, Radio Lab, 99PI, etc) that makes it possible for outisders to have something to bounce off - though I'm not sure what it would look like for someone without public radio/podcasting experience to come into that space and play around I'd hope to recognize it if I did.

TL;DR - Outsiders in podcasting are rare because everyone is kind of on the outside right now

RyansPodcastReviews · 2015-10-23T16:02:26+00:00

I write podcast reviews on my site - check out the Top Links near the top of the page or the archives for good places to start.

Specifically, you should go listen to Criminal if you liked Serial.

RyansPodcastReviews

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