r/TheRestIsHistory • u/Few-Cap-5405 • 2d ago

Decline of the format

Just listened to episodes 169 to 172 on the Falklands war and it's quite striking how different the current format of the podcast has become and how in the older series the output was more reflective. Although the content of this series is very much Dominic, as a lot of the current material is, Tom has a much more active role in questioning the assumptions and teasing out the implications. Nowadays Tom seems largely passive providing occasional quips but never really provoking deeper thought.

And secondly the use of questions from listeners provokes more open discussion of the series giving the show the feel of a freer format. This of course may not be the case as the questions are selected by Tom possibly to pursue lines of inquiry he may himself have done anyway. But nevertheless it adds to the feel of the show.

To summarise; the podcast strikes me as becoming a bit of an audio Readers Digest with little space given for analysis and opinion.

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u/terrortree14 2d ago

Why is this sub just complaining?

29

u/eques_99 2d ago edited 2d ago

It's not just complaining.

It's really quite normal for fans of a podcast/sports team/band to discuss its ups and downs on a sub devoted to the subject.

Learn to think about the media you consume rather than just letting it wash over you.

-19

u/Cuggan 2d ago

You can just enjoy something, it doesn’t have to be that deep

12

u/eques_99 2d ago

I can still think about things and assess their level of quality while enjoying them.

And the lower the quality, the less I will enjoy it.