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Comment by kikki | Hacker News Reader

I wonder through isolation how much of this is just wanting to listen to other people?

Not a revolutionary thought but I think one reason many podcasts are so successful is that we're essentially eavesdropping on conversations we find interesting. As I started to work remote and more in a silo I found myself playing more long form podcasts in the background rather than music

Same here. Podcasts have really helped me stay sane since I started working remote and living alone a few years ago. And there are enough out there now that I can play different types for different moods or purposes.

When I'm doing serious work, I (maybe counter-intuitively) often put on a lighthearted/silly/dumb comedy podcast, and it serves well as background noise. I don't feel any need to pay close attention or rewind if I missed something.

When I'm doing a slow, rote, boring task, or something not too important or mental energy-consuming, or if I'm just in the mood, I put on a hard science or philosophy podcast (Lex Fridman, Sean Carroll, Eric Weinstein) and listen pretty attentively.

Anecdotal but the social music app I built, JQBX(https://www.jqbx.fm), has had an average 8X increase in daily active users over the last two weeks. So I think a lot of it has to do with the social/feeling connected component.

Man, I love HN... I started using jqbx yesterday from a friend’s recommendation and now I see a comment from the creator. Small world.

At least some. My friend set up an IceCast station hooked up to their home stereo, so we can just listen in to what they're listening to. I found it comforting. Plus they have great taste in LPs, and I can have some retro fun streaming it in Winamp 2.95 on my Pentium 166.

I wonder if it could also be due to the fact that Internet usage has increased, which lowers available bandwidth—maybe as a consequence, streaming quality isn't as consistent.

I haven't had any issue with Spotify so far. Granted: I personally have a good connection and live in a relatively well developed country.

The bandwidth required for audio is tiny compared to most of the other things we do on the internet.

during WW2 people were glued to BBC broadcasts. people in shelter want to know whats happening outside the moment it happens

Same reason why news readership has gone up a huge amount this week

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