Three Podcasts Post

Podcast 1: Views by David Dobrik and Jason Nash

This episode, published on March 9, 2019, was titled “David meets his idol”, and it’s 44 minutes long. I’ve listened to other episodes of this podcast a few times before, because I recognize the hosts (David Dobrik and Jason Nash) from their vlogs on YouTube. In fact, this is most likely how many of their listeners found them as well, as the podcast is advertised at the end of each of Dobrik’s videos, which all have millions of views. Clearly the podcasts aren’t the first priority of the hosts, as they advertise their content on many social media platforms to increase the profitability of their careers. At times, it seems like neither of them really take it seriously and aren’t always concerned with making the most entertaining podcast for their listeners. Their podcasts are mainly based on comedy, while the two hosts tell their stories of being millionaires, going to crazy parties and clubs, and behind the scenes of the videos they produce. Since the hosts are friends, they play off of each other and easily talk about the others’ lives. In this particular podcast, both hosts delve into their personal lives in the form of Nash talking about his children, and Dobrik discussing his past in high school. Dobrik also discusses events concerning his vlog from the past week, and how he had difficulty cutting it down to the correct time (4 minutes, 20 seconds) for him to upload it. There’s no real noticeable technical work except for the about 10 second intro song for the podcast. There is also a segment called “Joe’s teeny weeny podcast”, a 25 second clip starring their friend Joe, which also has its’ own small theme song. This is much different than seeing the hosts on different types of media, such as YouTube, since it is all dialogue instead of mainly using other stylistic elements. Dobrik’s vlogs, which are only 4 minutes and 20 seconds long, are what he and Nash are most famous for. They consist of edited, high energy skits, pranks, and fun adventures with his group of friends. Unlike the podcast, they are very fast-paced. The podcast is still full of jokes, but it is meant to show the calmer, realer side of the people behind the vlogs and their unusual lives.

Podcast 2: And that’s why we drink

I’ve never listened to this podcast before now, but it’s very popular on Spotify and the description states that it covers the topics of paranormal and crime stories-two topics I am highly interested in. I turned on their most recent episode (110), titled “A pretty little monster and a planetary enzyme”, which was an hour and 23 minutes long. It is hosted by two women (Eva and Christine), and like the Views podcast, they have an intro song that runs for about 15 seconds. I thought that it would be more serious than it was (considering the topic) but it wasn’t comedic like the Views podcast either-the genre was more in line with storytelling/entertainment. However, they veered from the topic quite a bit, spending about 15 minutes in the beginning talking about themselves and their Facebook group (which they’re deciding to shut down).  Then they launched into a brand deal (Views also had many sponsors). Every time a brand was read out, a glass clink was heard. It took exactly 18 minutes and 20 seconds before they began talking about anything that the podcast was described to be about (the paranormal, in this case, ghosts in the University of Maryland and the infamous “Goatman”).  It’s obvious that the podcast already has many dedicated viewers, based on their discussion about the large Facebook group and amount of episodes it has. This feels different from other media because it’s almost like having a conversation with the hosts in their casual style. The experience seemed different because it was calm and served as background noise more than anything else-even if some of the topics were interesting, it never took my full focus to listen to it.

Podcast 3: The Daily

The Daily is a podcast focused on news that uploads shorter episodes (around 30 minutes) several times a week. The podcast I played was uploaded on March 8, 2019 and was titled “Reckoning with the real Michael Jackson”. With the new documentary, Leaving Neverland, becoming very popular and discussed in a short amount of time, I was interested to see how the news would report on such a dark and sad topic. Immediately I noticed that the podcast seemed a lot more professional, starting off with an intro song and an announcement introducing the podcast and the topic. The main host (Michael Barbaro) and his guest had audio clips (mainly other news clips) and music mixed with their speaking to dramatically enhance the podcast. They discuss the controversy around the documentary, and their own opinions about the news they present. There were a lot of technical elements when they were presenting the actual news, and less so when they were discussing their own opinions (although when one of the hosts discussed his past listening to Michael Jackson music, sound clips from a Michael Jackson performance plays). It was almost like hearing their own thoughts and the ambiance of the environment instead of just two men talking. It reminded me of listening to a documentary. The hosts did talk about themselves, but it was always within the relevance of Leaving Neverland and the culture surrounding Michael Jackson and his influence. This podcast felt the most similar to other mediums, because it uses the most stylistic elements-the only real difference for me was that I was listening to a show instead of watching it. It was obvious that the hosts were professional (Barbaro is listed as a journalist in the “about” section) so even their opinions came from an educated source, without speculation.