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Comment by browningstreet | Hacker News Reader

I've lost interest in podcasts recently because it feels like the same people are just round-robining from host to host. It's all the same people.. Huberman feels like a lab manufactured podcast meme machine, even the high profile podcasters like Tim Ferris seem to have the same guests as everyone else.

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Isn’t that like, an extremely narrow subset of podcasts you’re talking about? Like basically just the longevity+psychedelics+stand-up comedy podcast circle? I don’t see any of those guests on my movie and TV podcasts, for instance.

I don't even know who that is, and I listen to plenty of podcasts.

The standup comedy podcast circle feels like a pyramid scheme. It's funny how interconnected it is.

What? Something being interconnected doesn't make it a pyramid scheme, it's not even the same general idea.

I'd say incestuous circle of brand-boosting than a pyramid scheme. The same 10 LA-based people go on the other 9 people's podcasts right when they've got some show or TV special to promote.

I was in that podcast circle, and honestly, it's just exhausting. They have to keep pumping new information at you and I eventually ended up doing nothing but being depressed at how much I was supposed to change about my life.

He also has appeared twice on The Nine Club, a skateboarding podcast.

Where did that huberman guy come from. Literally on every feed everywhere, ranting about getting good sleep and exercise.

All these podcasters know each other. It may as well be network television

This is what agencies do. They can make someone 'blow up' by having their client on top podcasts and other media.

You likely know of Lex Fridman and many of his older podcasts really interview people you might not normally see in the "mainstream". Many of those people were especially leaning towards CS and would likely appeal to you, my fellow HNer :)

I roll in his interviews like a dog in dead fish. Really thoughtful and introspective. Some are very technical (i.e. I have to listen to them twice).

Is it important for podcasts to have guests? Are podcasts that provide insight or discussion or deep dives into ideas without guests not as valuable as ones with guests? Do you primarily seek out podcasts that have guests?

Re my comment in this thread, I realise maybe this is the distinction I should make to find good podcasts. I should look for ones without guests.

I haven't had interest in podcasts beyond the few occasions I've tried, because I consistently got the sense that a podcast was made in the interest of the creator (as something "low effort"), instead of me as a listener.

It feels like an obligatory side income stream for every "creator" out there, one that only requires them to turn up in front of a microphone and banter once a week. The signal to noise ratio is way off. I don't want to start of with 15 minutes about how the creator's week was.

Nowadays I realise that there are podcasts that are actual "productions" (educational or otherwise), which I would enjoy a lot more. I'm probably missing out on a whole medium. But I haven't come across that many yet.

I used to have high expectations for podcasts and YT. Though I've come to appreciate having any content in niches that will never sustain full time production values. And even the quirky and awkward hosts have grown on me.

Think of it like replacing niche, once local-only radio programs. Those too aren't very high production because of resource and time constraints. It won't please everyone and doesn't have to.

It probably depends very much on the sort of podcasts you're listening to. I haven't noticed that (most of the podcasts I listen to don't have guests, for a start), but then I've never even _heard_ of Huberman or Tim Ferris.

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