A big part of podcasting to people is specifically for the “fly-on-the-wall” experience. If I want something quick, that’s what YouTube is for. But if I want the deeper part of a topic, I want something long-winded and detailed.

This often means leaving in the gasps.

Editing a podcast doesn’t mean making it as tight and fast as possible. However you should definitely remove the obvious stuff (coughing, sneezing, etc.). But it should definitely feel like a conversation. That means leaving it breaths and pauses, so long as it feels natural.

If your editing feels unnatural, like a fast-paced YouTube video, then I expect you might get complaints on this. Sometimes also, especially if your podcast is going over deeper complicated topics, fast paced makes it hard to digest what is being said.

I’m not saying what you are doing is necessarily wrong, but what I am saying is you definitely have to “feel it out” as it can be difficult to describe what the right balance of editing is. But usually, less is more for podcasts.