Almost every survey of the podcast industry in 2024 agree on one point: Conversation podcasts are king. As video grows in popularity (33 percent of US podcast listeners choose to consume it this way), ad spending is on the rise (estimated to top $4 billion worldwide), and listenership is growing at a steady 8 percent year over year, it’s format of conversation—in its combative, enlightening, and sometimes absurdist beauty—that always draws people in.
The ecosystem is full and unpredictable. There are some basics that have become traditional items: The Joe Rogan Experience, Armchair Expertagain Read. New fare like I Have You again ShxtsnGigs (more on that later) they also got a huge following. Other chat-casts, like it Club Shay Shay, it appears that the court disagrees with all exemptions. “Katt Williams, please shut down the site,” @nuffsaidny recently joked on X, referring to the comedian’s guest appearance from January when he prophetically announced in 2024: “All lies will be exposed.”
“That appointment — that relationship — is everything,” said Eric Eddings, vice president of audio at Kevin Hart’s media company, Hartbeat, about the bond talk hosts can establish with listeners.
In 2014, along with Brittany Luse, Eddings was launched For Colored Nerdsa weekly gabfest about pop culture, race, and current events (full disclosure: I appeared on the episode in 2017). After NerdsEddings went to Gimlet Media, where he co Nod (along with Luse) and produced shows It has been postponed again Place of residence before moving to SiriusXM. Today, Eddings directs the development of the Hartbeat podcast. What was true about the person he was dealing with when he started, he tells me is still true today. In a recent video call, we discussed the state of the industry and its sometimes complex evolution.
JASON PARHAM: Why have broadcast interviews become so popular?
ERIC EDDINGS: There are several reasons. Just to be clear, many companies wanted to find ways to invest less in software. Narrative podcasts are very expensive to make. They require a large upfront investment, and you try to figure out how to make them as successful as possible if they touch the audience. And many companies have had difficulty bringing those types of projects to market given the complexity of the entertainment industry.
So it’s a matter of money?
Podcasts with conversation as a focus are relatively easy to research, market, and create each week. You’ve seen a lot of twists and turns on that. Those are big influences. But that also briefly changes the conversation a bit.
How?
Even though podcasting has been around for a long time, you’ve also seen many groups of people approach podcasting in new ways. There is more familiarity. You’ve seen comedians, you’ve seen the powerful. There was a trend at the beginning of this pandemic where people said, “Ah, we should start a podcast.” Although now I think people have ideas or find people they want to work with and see podcasting as a place to explore that. It’s a really flexible way. Collaboration allows for exploration. And that kind of assessment is very easy in the context of a conversation because the conversation is the point.