This smacks a bit of the complaints about TiVo and the other time shifting apps:
Castro Podcasts - The Brooks Review:
Podcasts are too long, but instead of podcaster doing the hard work to shorten them, listeners use hacks like trimming silence (ruining the tempo, not that there was any) and playing at faster than normal speed playback. Listeners (and this was literally news to me today) also use chapters to jump about in the podcasts to skip over the boring bits.
Isn't the entire point of a podcast that the entire podcast is relevant and entertaining?
Ben's not wrong. He minimizes how hard it is to produce a decent podcast, however.
The PVC Security podcast had a veteran podcaster (Timothy DeBlock), one of the hosts had radio & TV experience (me), and Edgar Rojas had his je ne sais quoi. We three went in with the idea of producing a better InfoSec podcast than anyone else was doing at the time,
Our production values would be higher. We would be more fun. I think we were, for the most part. We kept the show under 50 minutes and removed as much useless dead air and vocal ticks as we could without losing pace. But it wasn't easy. Eventually we three, plus Tracy Maleeff who had by then signed on, called it a day. Fortunately, Tim carried on with his Exploring Information Security podcast.
Back to Ben's comment - most Security and CyberSecurity podcasts are still unlistenable without the podcast app features of Castro or Overcast. No one in the security podcast space outside of the SANS Internet Security StormCast and the CyberWire are concise. The SANS show often has lofi production but the content is high value and brief.
One year traversed from episode 99 and I know how I would do PVCSec or another show better - tighter, focused, fun, and 30 minutes long once or twice a month. Topical but not a news service. Still not an echo chamber. But … how much singing? Anyway, eh … maybe again someday (a podcast, not the singing).
Meanwhile I am taking a stern look at my podcasts. They don't demand my attention like social media, but I have too many that make me feel bad with no way for me to do anything to fix what the show tells me. The comedy shows I need to keep for the laughs and the popular media knowledge.
What do you think?
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