Podcasts (Or; My Friends That Don't Know I Exist.)

by Mike

Editor's note: This was originally sent out in the newsletter on 7/11/19

Podcast Dilemma

Since starting my ‘Summer Slowdown’ at the beginning of June, things have been going well. I have way less knowledge of daily news, which is sort of a relieving feeling. My screen time numbers, according to my phone, have been reduced nearly in half, and I feel like I have been reading a lot more. At the very least, I have been more apt just to let my mind wander instead of pulling my phone out in all those brief moments of downtime. This has all been more or less achieving the goals I had hoped for. The one area I think I should address is podcasts, but I have a lot of conflicting thoughts in this regard.

Podcasts end up taking a lot of my ‘free’ brain time. All those perfect times of extended brain inactivity, I have a tendency to fill with podcasts. From driving time to chores around the house, times when my eyes and hands are occupied, but I don’t need to really focus on the task I am doing (this isn’t to say I don’t focus when I drive), I listen to podcasts. Outside of showers -- I haven’t gone that far yet -- I fill all these times with podcasts. These would be perfect times to let my mind be bored. To allow it to pick apart whatever it feels like obsessing with at the time. I do think boredom is good for people too, it allows your mind to do whatever it needs. I think a lot of times for me it would probably do me good to cut them out, or at least down, for a while. I struggle with this, though.

My history with podcasts goes back a ways. I knew of the term from way back in like 2006 when they first started showing up as a category in iTunes. Even then, it was still a bit harder to come across them and get them on your iPod, especially when for years around this time, all I had was dial-up internet. It’s funny, thinking about it now I realize that my regular listening and obsession with them really coincided with finally getting a decent internet connection. In 2010 I really started getting into them, although at the time it was mostly video podcasts, I mean they put out the audio too, but most of them I watched. Of course, following any good obsession, this led to starting a podcast myself. In May of 2011, I launched a weekly tech show, Bleed Geek, with some friends (I made sure this show went out every week no matter what, I really need to get that consistency level into this newsletter), this ran for a little more than three years. There have been a few other shows I have been apart of over the years as well, some spin-offs of Bleed Geek, others their own thing altogether. In the end, I have recorded, edited, and released over 300 episodes of various shows. It helps me appreciate the work that goes into all the shows I listen to.

Throughout all this, I have continued listening to a lot of different shows, some have come and gone, but some have been super consistent. The core of the shows I listen to now, I have been listening to for five or six years. A number of the shows are all from the same group of people, a lot of them are from a podcast network called Relay FM. The hosts of these shows sort of intermingle and have multiple shows. Some of the shows have come and gone, some have been changed a lot, but over the last five years or so, it has become more that I am listening to the hosts than I am the topic matter. Most of the shows are still tech-related, but as time goes on, I find I am less interested in tech rumors and more interested in the people talking about them, and their takes on it.

The group that I follow —I will put an appendix at the end with a list of shows and hosts— has sort of become like this group of friends I have. They have tons of inside jokes, their beliefs often mirror mine, and I just enjoy the rapport they have with each other. Many of them have sites they write on or YouTube channels they post to. The podcasts act as an intermediary of it all, pulling it all into one place, adding context. Honestly, a big part of the reason I have a hard time not checking Twitter is that it is filled mostly with this same group of people. I feel like I am missing something by not checking out what they are doing there as well.

It feels weird even to say it, but this group feels like really close friends to me. I know a lot about their lives, and while some of it may be a show, I feel like I know who they are. When I start to explain it, it sort of feels like I am a stalker, right? But when they put out two to three hours of content each week, you see them on Instagram and Twitter, you get a feeling for who they are. Like being in this group of friends, and they have no idea I exist.

It makes giving up podcasts feel a lot more complicated. Like I am leaving something behind if I were to stop listening. With the regular releases of their shows, I feel like even missing an episode could be a big deal. It makes me stay on top of them all. The FOMO there is real. I understand this is partially irrational, but I do get enjoyment out of it. Even with trying to reduce my distractions and giving my brain more time to roam, this is one area I am not letting go of quite yet.

In the end, I guess I don’t see the trade-off is worth it yet. To give up these people, that I see as my friends, to get back some boredom time. I will find other ways to keep my head open. Staying off of Twitter has also helped reduce the number of random one-off shows from sneaking into my queue as well, so I guess that is something for now.

As an aside, I have also considered starting my own podcast again. Probably as sort of a companion to this newsletter. It would probably be a shorter format with light editing, just quick thoughts. I do kind of worry that it would take topic content away from here though. Not that one couldn’t enable the other, but you never know. Let me know if you think this is a good idea or not. I would also love to hear some of your favorite podcasts, even if I (probably) won't listen to them, I am curious to know what you listen to.

Thinking about the consistency of how well I kept up with putting the Bleed Geek podcast out, and having just finished Atomic Habits, I really want to push to be more consistent with this newsletter. Hopefully you will see that happen in the near future.

Thanks for reading,
Mike

Appendix

Shows

These are the main ones I will never miss. There are others that are regular, but maybe I don’t listen to every episode or are more seasonal. (The podcast links below are Overcast links.)

  • Upgrade; a weekly tech show hosted by Myke Hurley and Jason Snell.
  • Connected; a weekly tech show hosted by Myke Hurley, Stephen Hackett, and Federico Viticci.
  • Cortex; this is more of a productivity style show with Myke Hurley and CGP Grey, it sort of comes out every other week, but sometimes it is longer in between.
  • Hello Internet; this show is less structured in topic, but kind of hits everything, it is hosted by CGP Grey and Brady Haran, it doesn’t have a consistent release schedule either, every two to three weeks.
  • ATP; a weekly tech show, hosted by Marco Arment, Casey Liss, and John Siracusa.
  • Reconcilable Differences; this show kind of hits a little bit of everything, but mostly is just about life, hosted by John Siracusa and Merlin Mann, it comes out every other week.
Hosts
  • Jason Snell; Jason has been writing about Apple for a long time, he currently runs the website; Six Colors, he writes all over the places and does tons of podcasts. He also runs The Incomparable podcast network which is full of nerdy podcasts, some of which have very specific topics.
  • Stephen Hackett; Stephen is a co-founder of the Relay FM podcast network, he also runs 512 pixels, a mostly Apple-focused website. He also now co-hosts the long-running Mac Power Users podcast.
  • Federico Viticci; Federico is the founder and editor in chief of Macstories, an Apple-focused website. Macstories has a few of its own podcasts as well.
  • Marco Arment; Along with hosting ATP and a few other podcasts, Marco is the creator of Overcast, my favorite podcast app.
  • John Siracusa; John used to be very well known for his very long and in-depth OS X reviews. He hosts two of my favorite podcasts. He used to have a podcast called Hypercritical, I often feel a kinship with him.
  • CGP Grey; Grey is probably best known for his YouTube videos, which range on all sorts of topics. He is a sort of mysterious figure who never shows his face. Much the way I feel with John, I feel a kinship with Grey. It is also a common joke that he is a robot due to his very analytical nature, and his odd set of social skills.
  • Myke Hurley; Myke is the other co-founder of Relay FM, where a large number of my favorite shows come from.