The Podcast Thread

A thread about podcasts. Yes, I’d be interested in hearing recommendations, and comments about your favorites, but I also thought we could speak more broadly about podcasts. For example, I started this because I wanted to discuss different interviewers and their styles. This notion came up when because I recently heard Marc Maron’s podcast, WTF for the first time, and the differences between his approach and someone like Rick Beato (who does youtube interviews) really struck me. The former interrupted his guest a lot–I want to say more than any other interviewer that I can think of. On the other hand, the latter, at least in the Pat Metheny interview, allows the guest to talk a lot, with very little interruption. If I interviewed people, I’d likely be more guilty of interrupting the guest, but I actually prefer Beato’s approach in the Metheny interview. (Metheny was loquacious, so Beato’s approach worked well. Such an approach may not work as well with a less talkative guest.) There are also some hosts who talk a lot, especially when formulating a question. Ezra Klein does this, as did Charlie Rose. Again, I could see myself being guilty of this, but I prefer an interviewer who says as few words as possible, especially when formulating questions.

To shift gears, I would appreciate recommendations, as I’m looking for more podcasts–especially since I don’t listen to any sports podcasts now.

The Tyranny of Narratives in Journalism

I ran across Cowen’s talk recently, and I thought of this thread. I don’t have a lot of time now, but here’s a brief description of the thread. My sense is that journalists, and maybe more specifically publishers and editors, require news to occur within a narrative. Indeed, “stories” in the context of journalism is essentially synonymous with a newsworthy event or information. This is the reason I use the word tyranny. Must a narrative framework dominate the approach of journalists? What’s the downside and upside of that? Cowen touches on the downside–and he’s touching on many of the points I want to bring up. (I do want to push back on some of his points, too, though.)