It all went to shit when it became a race for "market segment capture."
People used to make podcasts based on their personal or professional interests, now it's done to "capture" an audience that you can then pimp to sponsors for cash. Look at Daily Wire. They will literally shill a parade of sponsors for 10 minutes in the middle of a podcast. Everything from VPNs, food delivery, phone apps, gold coins, vacation packages, home appliance service plans ... *literally anything that pays!*
People used to make podcasts based on their personal or professional interests, now it's done to "capture" an audience that you can then pimp to sponsors for cash. Look at Daily Wire. They will literally shill a parade of sponsors for 10 minutes in the middle of a podcast. Everything from VPNs, food delivery, phone apps, gold coins, vacation packages, home appliance service plans ... *literally anything that pays!*