How chat podcasts have taken over the medium and dominated the cultural discourse (again).
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Less than a week into 2024, Katt Williams went on a podcast and laid waste to the world.
Its podcasts likeCall Her Daddy,where Alex Cooper hunts for notoriety and headlines with buzzy bookings.
ItsHuberman Lab,where the pop scientistAndrew Hubermanadvises the masses to spend more time in the sun.
You might notice some commonalities among this elite class of chat-casts.
Many are either unafraid of controversy or eager to court it.
The currency of celebrity is a governing force, and these shows are basically exercises in brand extension.
Being a good interviewer is a plus but not a strict requirement.
(At least temporarily, as in the case of Bobbi AlthoffsThe Really Good Podcast.)
Podcastings contemporary chat-centrism marks a kind of full-circle moment.
In 2014,Serialcatalyzed the narrative-podcast moment and helped draw huge sums of money into the space.
But chat-casts continued to be the bread and butter of the medium all through this period.
In hindsight, the narrative-podcast moment turned out to be a diversion for the medium.
Chat-casts fit the mold perfectly.
If the host is someone with a built-in following, youre halfway to a solid business right there.
Two traditional-radio giants, iHeartMedia and SiriusXM, are also two of the biggest podcast publishers.
Podcasting seems to be on the verge of yet another full-circle moment.
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