The Podcast Index

#1

Post by logn » Wed, Sep 11, 2024, 2:02 PM UTC

Re: The Podcast Index

#2

Post by karaterobot » Sat, Sep 14, 2024, 3:32 PM UTC

4 million podcasts. That's an order of magnitude more than I'd have guessed. A quick search shows other sources estimating 5 million.

Re: The Podcast Index

#3

Post by sgu999 » Sat, Sep 14, 2024, 3:43 PM UTC

I love podcasts but discoverability is simply awful on Apple Podcasts, not to mention the rampant enshittification. What's better in their list of apps?

Re: The Podcast Index

#4

Post by blackeyeblitzar » Sat, Sep 14, 2024, 3:51 PM UTC

sgu999 wrote: post #3

I love podcasts but discoverability is simply awful on Apple Podcasts, not to mention the rampant enshittification. What's better in their list of apps?

Overcast is popular, but I would say its UI has also become worse over time:

https://overcast.fm/

But its less about discovery than tracking your library and playing them back.

Re: The Podcast Index

#5

Post by ghaff » Sat, Sep 14, 2024, 4:01 PM UTC

karaterobot wrote: post #2

4 million podcasts. That's an order of magnitude more than I'd have guessed. A quick search shows other sources estimating 5 million.

Well, I'm guessing I have two podcasts in there, one of which is completely inactive and the other of which I haven't published anything new to for well over a year. There are a lot of podcasts out there that are pretty inactive and some were only intended as being limited series in the first place. So, yeah, if the universe of discoverable podcasts is 4 million it wouldn't surprise me at all if an order of magnitude fewer are creating new content. (Though older content, e.g. for The Big Dig limited series can still be historically noteworthy.)

Re: The Podcast Index

#6

Post by ghaff » Sat, Sep 14, 2024, 4:02 PM UTC

blackeyeblitzar wrote: post #4

sgu999 wrote: post #3

I love podcasts but discoverability is simply awful on Apple Podcasts, not to mention the rampant enshittification. What's better in their list of apps?

Overcast is popular, but I would say its UI has also become worse over time: https://overcast.fm/ But its less about discovery than tracking your library and playing them back.

I don't know if it has become worse but it has some UI quirks that confuse me from time to time.

Re: The Podcast Index

#7

Post by ghaff » Sat, Sep 14, 2024, 4:06 PM UTC

karaterobot wrote: post #2

4 million podcasts. That's an order of magnitude more than I'd have guessed. A quick search shows other sources estimating 5 million.

I'm not sure how you solve discoverability other than personal recommendation from someone with similar interests. As noted, there are a ton of podcasts out there and many won't overlap with your interests, others are largely or wholly inactive, others are poorly produced, etc. The fix, such as it is, is probably to have a podcast reviewer who isn't in it for payola, who overlaps with your interests and sensibilities who makes recommendations on a blog.

Re: The Podcast Index

#8

Post by dloss » Sat, Sep 14, 2024, 4:07 PM UTC

sgu999 wrote: post #3

I love podcasts but discoverability is simply awful on Apple Podcasts, not to mention the rampant enshittification. What's better in their list of apps?

To discover new podcasts, I often search on https://www.listennotes.com/ for episodes about people or topics I find interesting.

Re: The Podcast Index

#9

Post by mmanfrin » Sat, Sep 14, 2024, 4:08 PM UTC

The restriction against allowing @gmail accounts to sign up is kind of insane.

Re: The Podcast Index

#10

Post by keyringlight » Sat, Sep 14, 2024, 4:16 PM UTC

sgu999 wrote: post #3

I love podcasts but discoverability is simply awful on Apple Podcasts, not to mention the rampant enshittification. What's better in their list of apps?

I've been trying to get back into listening to podcasts over the past few years and something I've found is that the means of delivery is split. You can't rely on being available to subscribe to 'textbook definition' RSS based podcasts, it could also be on apple, spotify, youtube, an embedded player on their website, or any combination of those.