Why podcasts keep defeating the mainstream media 🎧 📰
Will Smith and Jon Stewart blew up the old way yet they’re pivoting to the approach taken by Joe Rogan, Russell Brand, and Howard Stern. Other creators (and the media) should be taking notes.
Something fascinating keeps happening with Jon Stewart lately: The clips of him talking to his writers on their podcast (done on Zoom with almost no budget) keep getting WAY more buzz/views than the actual (big-ish budget) TV show they produce.
Why do these living room clips go viral? They’re real and immediate and people love Jon. Big media platforms keep throwing money at heavily produced shows when people under 35 just don’t want ‘em. Once you enter podcastland, old school polished TV feels overly scripted, rehearsed, and rather archaic.
Who cares about late night anymore? From a comedian perspective, a late night set – once the gold standard – barely moves the needle in views/ticket sales while an appearance on Joe Rogan’s podcast can help comics level up overnight. In that way, Rogan is the new Carson.
Increasingly, what people now want…
Natural conversations - no scripting/reshoots
Topical - talk immediately about what’s happening
Not paywalled - don’t make people subscribe
Quick thinking - real intellect shines through
Charisma - a real star shines in any light
And they seem to care less and less about…
Bells and whistles/fancy sets
Writer’s room monologues-by-committee
Credits and theme songs
Celebs doing PR schtick
Paint-by-numbers political (or other) views that are pre-approved by CapitalOne, AT&T, and Flo from Progressive
Will Smith and his family get this: Hollywood’s First Family of Putting It Out There.
For decades, he became one with his hardened facade; now he’s melting it down…It is a profound validation of the power of emotional directness and its destigmatization for the famous.
Matt Taibbi recently pointed out how Russell Brand’s online success comes from his non-judgmental approach compared to the out-group hatred often found in the MSM.
Of course, Brand’s real crime is the basis of the show’s success: a welcoming, positive tone, the breezy lack of judgment, and a refusal to denounce anyone as enemies…This willingness to court all audiences is an affront to the basic formula of current commercial media, which relies upon a strategy of identifying out-groups and rallying audiences to escalating hatreds. Any show that sends an opposite message that people with differing views can and should coexist, or that people who cross conventional wisdom may be interviewed for any reason beyond being “called out,” must now themselves be considered reactionary.
This form of freedom is a big reason why Rogan is so popular too.
Rogan offers a chance to win over new converts and, in principle, have a discussion that breaks free of partisan constraints. For many Rogan fans, this breadth of discussion and freedom from norms is the heart of the show.
There’s definitely an age component to this too. Young people don’t trust institutions and want to listen instead of merely follow. Ethan Strauss examines the difference in this super piece: Stan Van Gundy and the Boomer Doomer Phenomenon as Case of Trust (h/t JF).
The young live within the chaos of the Internet; the old live within the clarity of organized messaging from a few newspapers and news channels. The young obviously have their own groupthink detours and their own buzzwords, but it all seems to happen absent a belief in institutional competence…
A listener is someone who takes in information before knowing its applicability. A follower is someone who takes in information explicitly in pursuit of direction. The JRE is for listening, as you have no clue where most of these conversations are going. The major papers and cable news channels are for following — moral instruction disguised as relevant information…. But many of his listeners largely aren’t looking to be “informed.” I’m not even sure many people of a certain age feel they’re part of an interconnected “citizenry.” They just want to listen to people talking, absent the onerous taboos that pervade modern life. Just to hear that feels like a luxury sometimes.
Btw all the people who hate on Rogan would be wise to examine why he's so compelling to his audience and consider adopting some of his techniques. Steven Shapin, Harvard historian, explains:
We’ve got to find ways for “right-thinking people” to speak more convincingly. And there’s a science of that, as well as an art of doing that. It’s desperately needed. We should take it as seriously as we take the spike protein. And I don’t think we are. I think we should take very seriously that there is a science—provisional, not as consensual as the science of spike protein—about people’s beliefs and perceptions. And we should respect people who speak well about that, even though they may be wrong from time to time…We’ve got to take credibility and trust seriously.
Of course, Howard Stern is the OG of this “keep it real” approach and has been doing it forever.
The corporate media would be wise to reconsider its high horse/shame-based approach and start considering why no one cares what they think anymore. Also, they should do actual journalism (the kind that involves phone calls and legwork instead of scrolling and clicking) and hire folks in flyover states instead of running an info operation based entirely in NYC, DC, SF, and LA. Trust, like politics, is local. If people in MAGA country have literally never met a reporter, it’s no wonder they don’t trust ‘em.
What’s the lesson here for creators? Go to a big platform for the cash grab, if you 100% need a huge production budget, or require Pro Tools (or whatever) to be “in tune.” Otherwise, go the minimal viable production route, put the real you out there, and live in the future instead of the past.
Quickies
🌀 Everything on the Internet is a lie and we deserve it because the first thing we ALL do to log on is lie about having read the Terms and Conditions.
🌀 So now we've had Bruce Springsteen, Dolly Parton, and Larry David in awful Super Bowl ads which just goes to show that, eventually, capitalism will come for every single one of your heroes and turn them into snake oil shills.
🌀 Somehow everyone believes they're an independent thinker yet thinks everyone else is a tribalist.
🌀 Ben Simmons is a Gen Z'er with vague mental health issues who doesn't want to work so I can't think of a more perfect place for him than Brooklyn.
🌀 Big fan of the French approach to kids/food: There's no such thing as the kid's menu. Children eat what the adults eat or they don't eat. C'est la vie!
🌀 Gal I know did Dry January and now is doing Frugal February (where you can't buy anything you don't absolutely need). No booze and no stuff? I told her it sounds like she's cosplaying being alive during the Great Depression.
🌀 My attachment style is not believing everyone in the world can be placed into just three categories.
🌀 I wonder how much people would be pro-Botox if we had to call it by its real name. "It's time for my regular botulinum toxin session!"
🌀 Nothing is thirstier than using hashtags.
🌀 People are so lonely nowadays they'll believe in *anything* if it gives them a sense of community. "Yes, we believe in a bunch of lies. But they're OUR lies."
🌀 There should be a word for when you see the security guy and instantly feel LESS safe.
🌀 "I have writer's block." We all do. Writer's block is the natural state of being. That's why you start writing. To disrupt the inertia of not writing.
Upcoming shows
NYC: Misguided Meditation on 2/26
Just announced new MISGUIDED MEDITATION shows on 2/26 in NYC. Last one sold out so we're doing two this time. Get tix quick (flash sale this week only gets ya discount). It's funny and there are cool sounds and trippy visuals and a 1hr open bar (courtesy of Misguided Spirits) and it all takes place at a yoga (!) studio. Be there then. Tickets/info here.
Colorado: Steamboat and Boulder shows
I’ll be getting in the (Mountain Time) zone in March…
Standup clips
Below are some recent clips I’ve posted to social media.
Also: As a comedian, the craziest thing you can do is eavesdrop on your partner/roommate's work Zoom calls. They're remarkable! Everyone is so polite, no one ever mocks each other for what they're wearing, and people never mention abortion.
Mansplaining “Sex and the City”
My pal Kevin McCaffrey is a comedian, writer, and Mike Pence’s cousin (no joke). He also co-hosts a podcast called Sex and the Cidiots which is all about watching SatC for the first time. After enduring the reboot (lord it’s embarrassing), I’ve been rewatching the original SatC and have thoughts. So I decided to text Kevin about it, text exchange below…
🎟 Up ahead for paid subscribers: Our exchange about Sex and the City (I’m a big Charlotte stan), trauma creep, why scapegoating Spotify is wrong, Hollywood's fave dream coach's advice for artists, Robert Anton Wilson on the the problem with belief, and Lauren Oyler on our “pay attention to me” culture. Sign up to read it all (and get future bonus content too).
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