A Podcast For Every Season

I have written entries in this blog, sporadically, off and on, not as much as I would like. It started out in 2016 with sustained regular entries about the business aspects of podcasting. I can’t do that job as well as people like Nick Quah do it, who are able to dedicate themselves full time to the endeavor.  

So I may just try to return to this with some musings about content and recommendations. The constraints of time have shifted my listening from setting out to explore every new or recommended podcast that sounds interesting, to just enjoying listening to certain favorites depending on my mood and interest. In the past several months of pandemic lockdown, that has become, as ever, Marc Maron’s “WTF,” but also Bill Simmons’ “The Rewatchables” and “Tabletop Genesis,” the podcast that features a different album by the band in each episode, going into a deep-dive nerd-alanche of discussion truly for the diehard fans of the group. With occasional detours to other indulgences of entertainment fandom, such as Amy Nicholson and Paul Scheer’s “Unspooled” podcast covering classic movies. 

 

One develops a relationship with the hosts of these shows, appreciating and being entertained by the nuances of their style and thoughts about the subject, by narrowing one’s listening from a broad spectrum of podcasts to multiple episodes of the same few shows.

 

My past pattern had been to check out mini-series style podcasts, such as “Slow Burn,” Rachel Maddow’s “Bag Man,” and “Crimetown,” but I think my habits have drifted to bingeing TV shows rather than narrative podcasts, because it’s harder to get into a running series on headphones while doing chores around the house. With a finite interview or recap style show, it’s easier to come and go and catch what you can. 

 

Sometimes it’s more promising to listen to something like “Bizarre Albums,” where they get in and out of the subject matter in 20 minutes or less, while some of the aforementioned shows typically run more than hour, so it’s a bigger commitment. For instance, the “Boomerang” episode of “The Rewatchables” was two full hours, as long as the movie itself, and it takes time to complete that. If it’s good, that goes by quickly in just a couple sittings, or more accurately “standings,” because you’re listening while working out or doing chores. The ones I tune into time after time are the ones that have a rapport between the hosts that stays engaging and carries you along.