Podcasts are the entry-level format in the world of digital media. Requiring nothing more than a microphone and a dash of charisma, podcasters have swept the modern world and filled the serene and silent void with their voices. Listening to our favorite actors, hosts, storytellers, professors, and true crime enthusiasts on our morning commute, audiences have formed a pseudo-relationship with podcaster. Listeners are regularly tuning in to a content creator’s private thoughts and enjoying the companionship of a one-sided conversation. 

With much of their success stemming from society’s obsession with constant stimulation, podcasts have become a uniquely accessible, oversaturated, and completely unregulated conduit of content. 

Like all realizations of power, podcasters’ artificial interpersonal connection with their audience has split creative motives down the middle as they begin to recognize their influence. Are podcast creators using their influence for the good of their audience or for selfish gain? 

Via u/tank.sinatra and u/Castbox_