Opinion: With all due respect to the Daily Emerald podcast team, I can’t help but judge podcast-lovers at least a little.

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I couldn’t tell you how many podcasts people have recommended to me if I tried. Everything from “Therapy Gecko” to news briefings from The New York Times has made the list, and as different as they are, the podcasts all have one thing in common: I don’t listen to them.

It’s not that I’m ungrateful for my friend’s well-intentioned media recommendations because it really is a sweet gesture. They might as well be saying, “Look, Sadie, here’s an expert talking about one of your interests. That should be fun!” And it really should be. Has there ever been another point in history when you could pull up clips of people talking about your favorite books, movies, bands, murders and more at the click of a button? At first glance, podcasts seem like a wealth of information that should delight people with different interests from a variety of backgrounds.

Almost universally beloved, podcasts are essentially creative episodic audio broadcasts. They cover an unbelievable range of topics and vary in form from solo creators to groups and interviews. A glance at some of the most popular podcasts in 2022 shows that the biggest topics are news/politics and true crime. In theory, however, there’s something for everyone.

One of the reasons podcasts are so popular today is that they allow listeners to multitask instead of demanding full attention the way a video would. In such a busy world, this is an enviable trait in creative media. It makes podcasts the seemingly perfect background for a morning commute to school, work or a busy afternoon of chores.

Unfortunately, podcasts don’t sound as great when you consider the fact that just anyone can start one. I certainly don’t mean to argue we should limit access to creative outlets, since that’s the opposite of what I believe. However, people have a certain level of trust in podcasts (possibly because so many are news-oriented) which makes it easy for misinformation to spread. You may think you’re listening to a breakdown of daily headlines from an expert when you’re actually listening to the political opinions of a fool presenting their thoughts as facts. This can be avoided by doing simple background research on the creators of the podcasts you listen to, but how many people take that step to fight misinformation?

On a more personal level, I take issue with podcasts because I’m tired of listening to people talk all the time. Aside from sleep, my day is divided into three categories: school time, social time and free time. Obviously I’m an active listener in my lectures, and I always enjoy hearing what my friends have to say outside of class. This leaves my free time as the only part of the day when I’m not expected to listen to someone speaking. I’m not as much of an introvert as I once was, but everyone needs a break.

So why would I fill the only quiet part of my life with the voice of some stranger who thinks he’s qualified to speak as an expert on every topic the general public wants to hear? I would so much rather listen to music or talk to someone I actually know.

Another issue I have with podcasts is that they take the spontaneity out of a conversation. The people who know me well know that one of my horrible habits is eavesdropping. I’m so nosy; I love catching bits of conversations that people around me are having when I’m on my way home from class. Podcasts take the fun out of listening in on an organic conversation because everything private or off topic can just be edited out. 

I’m not a complete monster, though. I can understand why so many people enjoy podcasts, and I can honestly say I wish I did, too. Who knows, maybe the perfect podcast will show up in my Spotify recommendations this week, and I’ll be hooked. For now, though, I’ll stick with real conversations.