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Humanity, not RSS, made podcasting

I think that the thing that made podcasting what it is. I don't think it was the technology. The RSS.

Episode 265: Jihobbyist (episode page, opens in a new tab) July 17, 2026, 3:00 p.m. CT 00:38:12 (play audio from this timestamp, opens in a new tab)

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Summary

What drove podcasting to critical mass wasn't the technology, since RSS could have been anything. It was the humanity: anyone could fire up a microphone, and listeners hear a real person on the other side and feel they know them, like a radio DJ in 1987.

Also said

Episode 265: Jihobbyist (episode page, opens in a new tab) July 17, 2026 00:39:02 (play audio from this timestamp, opens in a new tab)
We know it's another, we hear the humanity on the other side. And when the, we can tell. And when you hear the humanity... on the other side, it makes you feel like you know that person, just like it did.
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