Do You Listen to Podcasts?

BenWP

I trust the judgement of people on MFO, but sometimes doubt my own. What is all the noise about podcasts? Every news and entertainment radio or TV show I watch plugs a podcast, even Colbert and NPR hosts. For my part, I have no interest in filling my ears with yet more of what I already get in abundance on the car radio, on my iPad, and on the tube. Any thoughts as to why we are encouraged to listen to this stuff?

Old_Joe

I'm totally with you, Ben!

LewisBraham

Much like books, podcasts are impossible to generalize about. Some are good, some aren't. What a podcast can do that a radio show can't is go into far greater detail on a subject. Podcasts are particularly rich if you're interested in, for instance, true crime stories and have always fancied yourself an amateur sleuth. They often delve deeply into crimes and attempt to solve them. One of the most famous true crime podcasts that originally drove podcast popularity is Serial: https://serialpodcast.org/season-one

There are also podcasts that analyze historical events in great detail such as the Iraq war or the Bay of Pigs: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/blowback/id1502178774

Podcasts can also be funny and interesting like this irreverent science one called Ologies: https://alieward.com/ologies

I think it is a more flexible, more fluid, more in depth, less censored form than a typical radio show.

BenWP

Thanks, @LewisBraham. I did get hooked on Serial when it came out. Nowadays I find broadcasts characterized by narrative or explanation accompanied by irritating music to be, well…,irritating. This American Life sins in that way, as do other shows on talk radio. Thanks for the links.

Mark

One you might want to listen to:

The Mirage of Money (or, NFTs, WTF?)

with Heather Cox Richardson and Joanne Freeman

hank

Anybody else suffering from “information overload”? Love all this stuff. But just can’t keep up with all the financial information: WSJ, Barron’s, Fleckenstein’s daily blog, Stack’s monthly newsletter and weekly hotline, Bloomberg TV & radio, this board! Uhhhh …

(I’m sure a good fund manager wades seamlessly through all this and more …)

To put a more positive spin … Can’t recall listening to podcasts. For me, the daily flow of information / analysis on Bloomberg TV / radio is excellent (albeit one needs to block out the hyperbole and showmanship). I might also suggest Audible - Amazon’s audiobook plan. Once you purchase a book it’s your’s to keep, even if you cancel the subscription. Enjoy the musings of great investors like Buffet, Dalio, Marks and others anytime you care to listen.