JetGirlArt

Conversation podcasts.

I have a couple of episodes sketched out for the next season of Y2KFM and was checking out what is popular in the podcast world.

I have my handful of go-to podcasts to listen to in the car when dropping off/picking up kids and going to the store.

Now, Drive to Work and The Retroist are both solo shows. The Retroist uses audio clips from commercials or shows but doesn't really talk to anyone else. Mark will have the occasional team lead join him at the office during a set release. But both of theirs are the basis for how I conduct my show.

Radio Lab, Decoder Ring, and Darknet are all interview style podcasts. They have a host or two interview people about a topic and get to learn and ask questions along with/for the listener. The tone and pacing I try to use is as similar to Decoder Ring as I can muster.

The Empty Bowl is a dual host conversation style show where two people have a discussion over something. It really works when both people can carry their own weight. I used to listen to another like this where Marlon James and his editor discuss dead authors. It really works but both hosts have to be on the same page.

Anyway, I listen to these all the time so I figured I'd check out the latest stuff on the top podcast charts. Most of it is politics or true crime shows. I am interested in neither of those, so I checked out Amy Poehler's show "Good Hang". I could not hang. The first one I listened to was with Kathryn Hahn. And it just felt like one big intro. They start off with like, "Hey how's it going, what are you up to?" kinda things and that's fine. But then it got into like, "Remember that time on that show we worked on a long time ago? OMG YES! GIGGLING" And then the rest of the show is just like, two famous people laughing at inside jokes. I figured it was a fluke or an early episode issue but I tried later ones and it's the same thing.

Then I tried a few other similar ones. Some with mixed groups of people talking about Magic the Gathering. Some with just dudes talking about anything. (Also oddly, typically made up of comedians.) And they were all like the Good Hang structure. Just a group of friends chatting on the back porch at a party I wasn't invited to.

With other shows I feel like I'm an active participant. Like a lecture or a conference panel. I'm one person in a massive audience but the hosts are still aimed at me. I'm being told a story or informed about something going on. These conversation podcasts just aren't for me.

I have similar issues when trying to listen to D&D game podcasts. It feels too much like watching other people play a videogame that I would rather be playing.