Wasn't it always thus? Growing up, before podcasts, it was all about talk radio or FM music in the background. People had radios or TVs on constantly. Sports games were often passively watched, with the commenter being the company in the room. A drive around town reveals that nearly everyone - especially lower-class people - have some kind of broadcast on constantly. And often very loud.
I wonder if podcasting is just the white man's reggaeton.
It was but, I said in the piece, it was communal in nature. In work everyone is listening to the same stuff on the radio or at home watching TV would be done together. The podcast is caters to the lone individual.
True. This may or may not be a British thing, but there has been a type of American incel loner who called into radio stations to give his/her take on things. Most of them were probably not well-adjusted, or terribly lonely, and it was kinda sad that some people could only freely communicate with their favorite radio host. We have a lot more people now who operate that way.
Thank you for this masterpiece, Mr. Morgoth. We remember that you never entered the self-referential podcast discourse merry-go-round and know that you never will.
And your observation of the link between listening to podcasts and atomization is all-too accurate. And yet I feel that this is also because of the remarkably high quality of the podcast content in our circles. It was easy to have a conversation during lunch with colleagues or acquaintances during, say, the 90s because what was on people´s minds were not existential political or philosophical questions, and that was because there were few obvious reasons to grapple with these issues. And even if there were, in order to personally engage with these topics there was no other way than to read the appropriate books, obviously a "slower" process.
Just considering Mr. Morgoth and his frens (such as AA) as a source, I can easily listen to an hour of interesting new content a day. But the discourse in this sphere at this point essentially presupposes a basic understanding of several elite theorists, not to mention news information not widely reported in the mainstream media and various other esoteric knowledge. Even if a newbie was politically sympathetic, the discourse is too "advanced" to easily get into. It would be like entering a conversation baroque music aficionados are having about virtuosos in an eccentric musical style. I think a lot of your listeners would like to have such conversations in real life and not just as a parasocial activity, but that that level of intellectual inclination is not widely spread enough for that to be realistic in "normal" social circles.
This is a dark acknowledgment of reality which I hadn’t considered. I am surrounded by actual people, husband and two sons at home, other children and grandchildren on a weekly basis. I listen to the 5 or so people I follow while doing needlework or cooking. My husband listens while walking ( walking the 6 month old german shepherd puppy does not allow podcast listening, she’s a constant challenge to both of us oldies). But younger people must be absorbing hours and hours of this stuff filling the vacuum.
It used to be one of the more pathetic signs of old age that the television was always on, keeping them company in hospitals and nursing homes. Now the young need this impersonal companionship as well, a reversal of the norm.
I think it is different from listening to music because it is more engaging, like a faux conversation. The listener is deciding every moment how much he agrees or disagrees with the podcaster. People are less likely to listen passively, more likely to rewind if they missed a bit.
To intelligent or non-bored people, it's all about being concise. I rarely watch or listen to any broadcast that lasts more than an hour. What can be said, should be said within even 45 minutes.
I'm not a fan of podcasts or videos for this reason. I find writing is generally more succinct just by its nature of being written and then edited. A well written piece will generally be well edited. A very skilled writer can present a 2000 word piece in 1000 words.
Thanks again Morgoth. This year I've been really busy at work and haven't kept up with you as much as I would like to. I have been flat-out here in France and haven't gotten back to Scotland for over a year. I would just like to take this opportunity to thank you again for all you do for us and can't wait for your appearance on Milleniyule. I wish you, yours and all our people the best.
The jobsite I’m currently at is an extension of the same jobsite I was a few months ago. It’s one of these 3 story, over priced, hipster apartment complexes.
While construction is still under way, the developers put advertisements listing off all the fancy amenities on the construction fences. One of the amenities listed for the common areas of this future apartment complex: PODCAST STUDIO.
While doing streetwork too, you get to encounter a large amount of passersby in their vehicles, yapping to their phones that are suctioned to their windshields and pointed directly at their faces.
Podcast purge. I go through phases of listening to podcasts daily, get ground down, and then ease off. Echo chambers can be unhealthy. I travel a lot so if I want some noise on the train it's some sort of piano playlist. No longer use NC headphones, earbuds now. Always listen to Morgoth though.
Atomization preceded podcasting and as a result it had a large and unserved audience, as you mention. If Robert D. Putnam, who has proved to be a serious prophet, were to update BOWLING ALONE, surely he would devote at least a chapter or two to the medium. It is of note that, at least to my knowledge, there really isn't the equivalent of fan clubs for podcasters, which given today's isolation would involve too much social interaction. There are a few social media groups for larger podcasters but they seem to draw sparse engagement. It is possible those are inorganic marketing ploys.
"Perhaps the broader issue is that there doesn’t seem to be a saturation point for long-form audio content."
This touches on what I consider the most intriguing aspect of the current trend.
The slop that has seeped into many pods is to be expected. Television series run their course, musical acts sound stale at some point, film sequels become tedious, 24-hour news devolves into cat videos and so forth. So will audience attachment to a podcaster be great enough to lengthen a run once what made a particular show interesting plays out? If so, there is something more than mere entertainment at work here and our increasingly empty bars and pubs offer a possible answer. Professor Putnam?
You get the whole parasocial thing with this endless content. I’ll just happen to be online when a stream is going on, it’s a Friday night and it’s three hours long. Is there nothing better to do? I will catch a replay and it is the same people there day in day out.
Candace reaching top of the charts reflects the growing failure of globohomo and its captured institutions and narratives. She was right to point out the absurdity of the official narrative related to Kirk's death. Unfortunately it reminds me of the 2020 election fraud. The machine does its best to wave off problems. The few who publicly fight to figure it out are themselves then subjected to psyops dragging them to the point of absurdity.
I haven’t read this. I’ll probably wait till you monthly review but I want to say that you get it right more than anyone I consume. That Trading Places Review so ffing powerful.
Lotus Eaters the other day With the post 2nd world War equality shit. it’s so obvious. Priceless you lot.
The difference listen to you on a podcast Morgoth is that I actually learn stuff. Sometimes you say stuff that prompts me to look into things further, sometimes you give me another perspective on things. You also clearly research topics before speaking on them. Other Podcasts are increasingly like WWE, people just 'blagging it' about topics they have done no research, opinions on someone's elses opinions or reciting well worn scripts + mantras for their audience (woke,UFO,RIght/Left wing).. they are all empty content
Wasn't it always thus? Growing up, before podcasts, it was all about talk radio or FM music in the background. People had radios or TVs on constantly. Sports games were often passively watched, with the commenter being the company in the room. A drive around town reveals that nearly everyone - especially lower-class people - have some kind of broadcast on constantly. And often very loud.
I wonder if podcasting is just the white man's reggaeton.
It was but, I said in the piece, it was communal in nature. In work everyone is listening to the same stuff on the radio or at home watching TV would be done together. The podcast is caters to the lone individual.
True. This may or may not be a British thing, but there has been a type of American incel loner who called into radio stations to give his/her take on things. Most of them were probably not well-adjusted, or terribly lonely, and it was kinda sad that some people could only freely communicate with their favorite radio host. We have a lot more people now who operate that way.
It is associated with headphones and iPods for me. I know many who do their podcast listening while walking the dog.
Thank you for this masterpiece, Mr. Morgoth. We remember that you never entered the self-referential podcast discourse merry-go-round and know that you never will.
And your observation of the link between listening to podcasts and atomization is all-too accurate. And yet I feel that this is also because of the remarkably high quality of the podcast content in our circles. It was easy to have a conversation during lunch with colleagues or acquaintances during, say, the 90s because what was on people´s minds were not existential political or philosophical questions, and that was because there were few obvious reasons to grapple with these issues. And even if there were, in order to personally engage with these topics there was no other way than to read the appropriate books, obviously a "slower" process.
Just considering Mr. Morgoth and his frens (such as AA) as a source, I can easily listen to an hour of interesting new content a day. But the discourse in this sphere at this point essentially presupposes a basic understanding of several elite theorists, not to mention news information not widely reported in the mainstream media and various other esoteric knowledge. Even if a newbie was politically sympathetic, the discourse is too "advanced" to easily get into. It would be like entering a conversation baroque music aficionados are having about virtuosos in an eccentric musical style. I think a lot of your listeners would like to have such conversations in real life and not just as a parasocial activity, but that that level of intellectual inclination is not widely spread enough for that to be realistic in "normal" social circles.
I've always been an essayist at heart. My long-form audio stuff was the outlier, and even then, that's usually Classic Movies that bombs in the algo.
It's very often the case that I don't feel like something is worth commenting on, and that's fine.
This is a dark acknowledgment of reality which I hadn’t considered. I am surrounded by actual people, husband and two sons at home, other children and grandchildren on a weekly basis. I listen to the 5 or so people I follow while doing needlework or cooking. My husband listens while walking ( walking the 6 month old german shepherd puppy does not allow podcast listening, she’s a constant challenge to both of us oldies). But younger people must be absorbing hours and hours of this stuff filling the vacuum.
It used to be one of the more pathetic signs of old age that the television was always on, keeping them company in hospitals and nursing homes. Now the young need this impersonal companionship as well, a reversal of the norm.
I think it is different from listening to music because it is more engaging, like a faux conversation. The listener is deciding every moment how much he agrees or disagrees with the podcaster. People are less likely to listen passively, more likely to rewind if they missed a bit.
Tbh, I only listen to your videos.
I like Nick Fuentes, but not for 3 hours every day. The clips will do.
As for the conspiracy trash, I'd rather stick a screwdriver through my balls.
It's situations like these being a blogger must be better than being a podcaster 🤣🤣🤣
To intelligent or non-bored people, it's all about being concise. I rarely watch or listen to any broadcast that lasts more than an hour. What can be said, should be said within even 45 minutes.
I'm not a fan of podcasts or videos for this reason. I find writing is generally more succinct just by its nature of being written and then edited. A well written piece will generally be well edited. A very skilled writer can present a 2000 word piece in 1000 words.
Thanks again Morgoth. This year I've been really busy at work and haven't kept up with you as much as I would like to. I have been flat-out here in France and haven't gotten back to Scotland for over a year. I would just like to take this opportunity to thank you again for all you do for us and can't wait for your appearance on Milleniyule. I wish you, yours and all our people the best.
The jobsite I’m currently at is an extension of the same jobsite I was a few months ago. It’s one of these 3 story, over priced, hipster apartment complexes.
While construction is still under way, the developers put advertisements listing off all the fancy amenities on the construction fences. One of the amenities listed for the common areas of this future apartment complex: PODCAST STUDIO.
While doing streetwork too, you get to encounter a large amount of passersby in their vehicles, yapping to their phones that are suctioned to their windshields and pointed directly at their faces.
Once upon a time it would be ''reading room''.
Podcasts have become equivalent of washer-women’s gossip circles
Podcast purge. I go through phases of listening to podcasts daily, get ground down, and then ease off. Echo chambers can be unhealthy. I travel a lot so if I want some noise on the train it's some sort of piano playlist. No longer use NC headphones, earbuds now. Always listen to Morgoth though.
Atomization preceded podcasting and as a result it had a large and unserved audience, as you mention. If Robert D. Putnam, who has proved to be a serious prophet, were to update BOWLING ALONE, surely he would devote at least a chapter or two to the medium. It is of note that, at least to my knowledge, there really isn't the equivalent of fan clubs for podcasters, which given today's isolation would involve too much social interaction. There are a few social media groups for larger podcasters but they seem to draw sparse engagement. It is possible those are inorganic marketing ploys.
"Perhaps the broader issue is that there doesn’t seem to be a saturation point for long-form audio content."
This touches on what I consider the most intriguing aspect of the current trend.
The slop that has seeped into many pods is to be expected. Television series run their course, musical acts sound stale at some point, film sequels become tedious, 24-hour news devolves into cat videos and so forth. So will audience attachment to a podcaster be great enough to lengthen a run once what made a particular show interesting plays out? If so, there is something more than mere entertainment at work here and our increasingly empty bars and pubs offer a possible answer. Professor Putnam?
You get the whole parasocial thing with this endless content. I’ll just happen to be online when a stream is going on, it’s a Friday night and it’s three hours long. Is there nothing better to do? I will catch a replay and it is the same people there day in day out.
Conservanation Street
Candace reaching top of the charts reflects the growing failure of globohomo and its captured institutions and narratives. She was right to point out the absurdity of the official narrative related to Kirk's death. Unfortunately it reminds me of the 2020 election fraud. The machine does its best to wave off problems. The few who publicly fight to figure it out are themselves then subjected to psyops dragging them to the point of absurdity.
The only podcast I listen to is war strike , and it's not really a pod cast in the true sense .. but they are 10hrs long so great for my long drives
I haven’t read this. I’ll probably wait till you monthly review but I want to say that you get it right more than anyone I consume. That Trading Places Review so ffing powerful.
Lotus Eaters the other day With the post 2nd world War equality shit. it’s so obvious. Priceless you lot.
The difference listen to you on a podcast Morgoth is that I actually learn stuff. Sometimes you say stuff that prompts me to look into things further, sometimes you give me another perspective on things. You also clearly research topics before speaking on them. Other Podcasts are increasingly like WWE, people just 'blagging it' about topics they have done no research, opinions on someone's elses opinions or reciting well worn scripts + mantras for their audience (woke,UFO,RIght/Left wing).. they are all empty content