Interesting. Shall think about this. I don't much listen to podcasts for whatever reason. But the older I get, the more obsessed with the idea of conversation I become. A few days ago I bored the hell out of a friend by emailing her a long passage from Oakeshott's essay 'The voice of poetry in the conversation of mankind'. Nice use of Johnson, by the way.
Thanks for reading and commenting. That’s very true about conversations – good ones are rare and conversations are not the same as simply talking. That’s why many podcasts don’t work. And to invoke Johnson again, we recall he said that questioning “is not the mode of conversation for gentlemen.”
I think we take for granted how skill-intensive chat podcasting is. I listen to a lot of podcasts that interview academics, and very few of the guests are both engaging and pleasant to listen to for long stretches of time… especially when I am so spoiled by Holland & Sandbrook of The Rest of History, who make it look diabolically easy.
That’s 100% true. Holland & Sandbrook do make it look easy—and the same is true for Dan Carlin, who gives the impression that he’s “simply talking.”
One of my golden rules for chat podcasts is there can be absolutely no empty banter. If the guests or hosts start talking to each other about their weekends, or as if they just bumped into each other at the store, I instantly turn it off. When we started Fifteen-Minute Film Fanatics, that was our number one rule: say hello and begin. Far too many podcasters are tempted by that open mic and lack of time constraints.
The other problem with many chat/interview podcasts is that the interviewer thinks they are the star of the show. They ask questions six sentences long. This is something I work very hard to avoid on the New Books Network—and believe me, I love to talk!
Thanks for reading and commenting. I appreciate it.
Nice work here! Naturally should have been a recorded conversation…but one can’t have everything. If it makes you feel any better I am routinely surprised that you are Dan from 15MFF.
Interesting. Shall think about this. I don't much listen to podcasts for whatever reason. But the older I get, the more obsessed with the idea of conversation I become. A few days ago I bored the hell out of a friend by emailing her a long passage from Oakeshott's essay 'The voice of poetry in the conversation of mankind'. Nice use of Johnson, by the way.
Thanks for reading and commenting. That’s very true about conversations – good ones are rare and conversations are not the same as simply talking. That’s why many podcasts don’t work. And to invoke Johnson again, we recall he said that questioning “is not the mode of conversation for gentlemen.”
Ha! I actually quoted that in a post on (inter alia) overfamiliarity in the workplace last year. He was a great man.
I think we take for granted how skill-intensive chat podcasting is. I listen to a lot of podcasts that interview academics, and very few of the guests are both engaging and pleasant to listen to for long stretches of time… especially when I am so spoiled by Holland & Sandbrook of The Rest of History, who make it look diabolically easy.
That’s 100% true. Holland & Sandbrook do make it look easy—and the same is true for Dan Carlin, who gives the impression that he’s “simply talking.”
One of my golden rules for chat podcasts is there can be absolutely no empty banter. If the guests or hosts start talking to each other about their weekends, or as if they just bumped into each other at the store, I instantly turn it off. When we started Fifteen-Minute Film Fanatics, that was our number one rule: say hello and begin. Far too many podcasters are tempted by that open mic and lack of time constraints.
The other problem with many chat/interview podcasts is that the interviewer thinks they are the star of the show. They ask questions six sentences long. This is something I work very hard to avoid on the New Books Network—and believe me, I love to talk!
Thanks for reading and commenting. I appreciate it.
What a great summation of the event--informative, incisive, and personal withal. Thank you, Dan!
<3
Nice work here! Naturally should have been a recorded conversation…but one can’t have everything. If it makes you feel any better I am routinely surprised that you are Dan from 15MFF.
Thank you. You should meet the other guy from that show. He's a trip.
I heard he was a jerk
I really loved reading this. Did you mean to write conversion or conversation?
Thanks! And yes--that was a typo, which I just repaired. Thanks for that!