Would it be possible to make higher-quality podcasts for working class people / non-readers?
I like radio as a genre, but think the existing outlets could be improved on. In 2022, I checked in on what I could find locally. NPR was too much like a cloudy day in a cafe (the information is the tea you sip), while listening to low-key jazz on the cafe sound system (i.e., not active enough, not engaged in the life-and-death of reality) (now they sound like they've lost their spirit and are fairly neutral, maybe because they have fallen on hard times). Conservative talk radio sounded like (still sounds like) a small businessman driving around on a hot day, life precarious, remembering the fight he had with his wife last night, afraid of getting screwed over by a supplier (i.e. a lot of grievance, engaged in the life-and-death of reality, but in a self-centered way). I didn't think either of them were good for motivating sustained productive work.
So back in 2022, I thought of an alternative form of talk radio, which would be based on the music of J. S. Bach. A fun call-in show that played excerpts of Bach, trying to go for Bach vibes of "delayed gratification", "prolificness / productivity / diligence", "solidity / stability", "patience", "complexity". (The vibes could be talked about openly, but would also be communicated through the music.) The show would try to emphasis that people had agency and how they could exercise agency, in their own lives and politically (with practical advice). Its political stance would be pragmatic and anti-partisan.
While I would listen to a show like that (especially if I had a long commute), and I can think of a few people I have known who might like it, it is a bit of a joke (a "Bach themed talk radio" idea is a bit outside the Overton Window for a lot of people, I think). But I wonder if there are other "alternative talk radios" that could be imagined, for working class people or non-readers. I don't know about the world of podcasts as much, so maybe these alternatives already exist there?
So, I'm walking into an appointment, so I apologize if I cut this short. (Thanks for your comment!). The problem is two fold
1) for whatever reason, people are incapable of understanding complexity, or putting themselves in a position to "level up" their literacy (and thus critical reasoning) skills.
2) They are "demanding" in a market sense the low quality stuff. There's already great, sophisticated, smart podcasts, streaming, long form content, etc. They just don't want it! They think it's boring, etc.
The solution, easily is to improve people's literacy as kids. But also, we need to be better as a culture for shaming people for consuming stupid content. Not sure we operationalize either tbh.
Would it be possible to make higher-quality podcasts for working class people / non-readers?
I like radio as a genre, but think the existing outlets could be improved on. In 2022, I checked in on what I could find locally. NPR was too much like a cloudy day in a cafe (the information is the tea you sip), while listening to low-key jazz on the cafe sound system (i.e., not active enough, not engaged in the life-and-death of reality) (now they sound like they've lost their spirit and are fairly neutral, maybe because they have fallen on hard times). Conservative talk radio sounded like (still sounds like) a small businessman driving around on a hot day, life precarious, remembering the fight he had with his wife last night, afraid of getting screwed over by a supplier (i.e. a lot of grievance, engaged in the life-and-death of reality, but in a self-centered way). I didn't think either of them were good for motivating sustained productive work.
So back in 2022, I thought of an alternative form of talk radio, which would be based on the music of J. S. Bach. A fun call-in show that played excerpts of Bach, trying to go for Bach vibes of "delayed gratification", "prolificness / productivity / diligence", "solidity / stability", "patience", "complexity". (The vibes could be talked about openly, but would also be communicated through the music.) The show would try to emphasis that people had agency and how they could exercise agency, in their own lives and politically (with practical advice). Its political stance would be pragmatic and anti-partisan.
While I would listen to a show like that (especially if I had a long commute), and I can think of a few people I have known who might like it, it is a bit of a joke (a "Bach themed talk radio" idea is a bit outside the Overton Window for a lot of people, I think). But I wonder if there are other "alternative talk radios" that could be imagined, for working class people or non-readers. I don't know about the world of podcasts as much, so maybe these alternatives already exist there?
So, I'm walking into an appointment, so I apologize if I cut this short. (Thanks for your comment!). The problem is two fold
1) for whatever reason, people are incapable of understanding complexity, or putting themselves in a position to "level up" their literacy (and thus critical reasoning) skills.
2) They are "demanding" in a market sense the low quality stuff. There's already great, sophisticated, smart podcasts, streaming, long form content, etc. They just don't want it! They think it's boring, etc.
The solution, easily is to improve people's literacy as kids. But also, we need to be better as a culture for shaming people for consuming stupid content. Not sure we operationalize either tbh.