Exploring the Challenges of Podcasting and Its Untapped Potential
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Chapter 1: The Podcast Landscape
Podcasts stand out as one of the most groundbreaking and engaging forms of digital media. Although they predate streaming video, podcasts have significantly influenced discussions on crucial issues, and most are available free of charge. Their roots lie in radio, a medium that predates both television and film. George Ayittey highlighted in Defeating Dictators how vital radio is for revolutions, likening its importance to that of civil infrastructure and energy control. This is largely because radio is straightforward to implement: the technology is readily available, its distribution is easy, and it’s hard to disrupt. Podcasting shares many of these attributes, albeit to a lesser extent.
Have you ever heard someone lament about the abundance of podcasts today? This is a common sentiment, and it stems from the remarkably low barrier to entry in the podcasting realm. With just a smartphone, anyone can record and publish a podcast, making this medium radically accessible worldwide, with the only significant barrier being language.
In the last two decades, as the internet has transformed society, podcasts could lead the charge in this evolution. So, why do so many podcasts lack quality?
One major factor is the saturation of the market, leading to the cliché, "everyone has a podcast now." This joke resonates with reality. The podcast creator demographic remains predominantly white, middle-class, and male, resulting in repetitive discussions on similar topics. This trend is humorously critiqued by Bo Burnham in his Netflix special Inside. Even when creators diverge from this demographic, the most popular podcasts tend to follow predictable formats.
A quick look at the 'top shows' on Apple Podcasts in the UK reveals that many fall into a few standard categories: celebrities discussing politics, science, history, or sports, or wealthy CEOs interviewing other celebrities. While celebrity involvement boosts listenership, this trend illustrates a concerning lack of diversity in podcast genres.
Despite their potential, many podcasts have devolved into uninspired dialogues between individuals from similar backgrounds, discussing current events they largely agree on. With over a century of radio history to draw from, this mediocrity in podcasting can feel like an insult to the format's vast possibilities.
What could those possibilities be?
"Sound enters through the back door of the brain," a lesson often learned in media studies. Our society tends to prioritize visual stimuli over auditory ones, which affects our interactions and experiences. We instinctively shut our eyes and dim the lights when we want to sleep, rarely covering our ears. Sound, while often a passive sense, wields immense influence due to its inherent simplicity.
We can discern conversations in crowded places, estimate locations based on sounds, and recognize individuals by their footsteps before even seeing them. This remarkable auditory perception often goes unnoticed.
Another saying in media is, “An audience will tolerate bad picture, they will not tolerate bad sound.” In cinema, viewers may endure a flickering image, but if the audio drops for even a moment, they will rush to complain. Sound design is typically the last aspect considered in production yet holds the highest importance.
Whether it’s a TV show, a film, a news segment, or even a TikTok, every audiovisual medium carefully crafts its sound for maximum effect. In fact, sound design plays a crucial role even outside traditional media.
Emotional Impact of Sound
Lawrence Abu Hamdan’s 2019 Turner Prize-winning installation delves into 'earwitness' testimonies. Through sound design and text, he illustrates sound’s profound impact on us, both practically and emotionally. For instance, one earwitness in a murder case recalled hearing keyboard taps rather than gunfire during the incident.
In another case, Hamdan attempted to recreate the sounds a prisoner heard during torture. The witness described the noise of food sacks being unloaded, insisting it be louder until the sound of a sack of potatoes crashing down became deafening. As Hamdan points out, the prisoner wasn't just recalling the sound of a sack; he was expressing the sound of hunger.
This highlights our acute sensitivity to sound, as it is an ever-present aspect of our lives. Sound can awaken us, captivate our attention, inflict pain, and when lost, can lead to devastating consequences.
The poet Raymond Antrobus encapsulates the alienation of deafness in his poem Dear Hearing World, lamenting how the hearing world often silences the experiences of the deaf. Meanwhile, silence in film carries dramatic weight, provided the sound design was initially effective.
Sound contextualizes our experiences. Builders, for example, rely on their ears to detect rot by knocking on walls. Unfortunately, podcasts often underutilize this powerful aspect of sound.
Constructing Effective Sound
Even the simplest podcast incorporates some sound engineering techniques. Proper microphone gain settings, mic positioning, transitioning between speakers, and the use of music are fundamental to effective podcast production.
Interestingly, our ears fatigue more quickly than our eyes when concentrating on sound. Musicians often find that what sounded great yesterday can sound entirely different today when they return to a mix.
Despite its apparent simplicity, sound is not easy to master. It consists of frequency waves traveling through the air, processed by our ears and interpreted by our brains. The first sound recordings involved a horn directing sound waves to a needle that etched the waveform into wax. Today, we capture sound digitally, yet sound mixing remains a complex task for audio engineers, who strive to create a cohesive experience that guides the audience’s focus.
Not all podcasts struggle with sound design. One standout is The Infinite Bad, a radio drama stemming from an actual-play tabletop role-playing game, which skillfully employs music and sound effects. Another excellent example is Have You Heard George’s Podcast, a rich tapestry of interviews, documentary elements, radio drama, and poetry.
In the golden era of radio, sound was paramount. One of my favorite radio programs, I’m Sorry I’ll Read That Again, featured live performances that included comedic sketches, parody songs, and sound effects, all in front of an audience.
Film occasionally grasps the nuances of sound design, especially in contrasting contexts. A memorable moment in Interstellar juxtaposes a character listening to rainforest sounds against a visual of Saturn. Such creative experiments are precisely what podcasts could excel at, yet often fail to explore.
Thinking in Sound
While films can be passively enjoyed, listening requires active engagement. Although we can multitask while listening to podcasts, we are still focused on the audio. If our hands are busy while watching a movie, our attention wanes.
Thus, sound holds incredible power in communication. The monotonous, repetitive formats that have emerged in podcasting limit the exciting possibilities this medium offers. Crafting an immersive soundscape demands meticulous effort, as any shortcomings will be easily detected by listeners.
Musicians dedicate significant resources to achieving flawless recordings, aware that every minor detail will be scrutinized upon repeated listening. It is a disservice to the podcasting format to rely solely on a few familiar show structures.
I aimed to innovate with my own podcast, but if you already have one that surpasses mine in popularity, I encourage you to experiment with your sound design. A little extra effort could unlock the potential for a much greater impact.
Chapter 2: Challenges in Podcasting
The first video titled The Top Three Problems With Podcasting explores the prevalent issues within the podcasting landscape, shedding light on common pitfalls and misconceptions.
The second video, 7 Reasons Podcasts FAIL and Why Yours Won't, delves into the specific factors that lead to podcast failures and offers insights on how to avoid these traps.