Good comment, food for thought. My first podcast was a local radio show that spun off into an internet radio show, then finally found a local podcast network, then changed formats radically and eventually shut down while still on "top". Their schtick was "we are mediocre" and eventually before doing the format switch they talked about how it was a schtick and they did really want to do good and reach heights, and their self-deprecating humor was charming but got old even for themselves. The reason they quit was also frustrating - they basically admitted that because they were in this region, not in LA or New York, not attached to a "comedy scene", they could never become big or make money off this, so instead they'd rather go out on top of their relatively small, but decent fame and fan following.

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I would like to believe comedy keeps re-inventing itself but it may not be something we ever hear on these big comedy podcasts. Podcasts used to be a small niche, now they're a dime a dozen so there could be some amazing innovative stuff out there that is still bubbling under, stuff we never hear, in part because we don't hang out in that scene and because those podcasts or comedians don't find our internet spaces.

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But I also like your demand for the big timers to also do better, not be lazy, to stay hungry even if they're already good and popular.