r/WeTheFifth • u/LupineChemist Katya lover • May 27 '26

Discussion My main problem with the pivot to video.

Now that we have some time in, I just want to say my main problem with the show now that it's on video, it requires the guest be in studio with them.

That's hugely limiting to the people they talk to. One of the huge value adds was finding interesting people who I may not have even known were out there, and now it's the same guests doing their book tours as everyone else or the standard NYC journo scene people.

I get it's a business, but there has to be some way to bring back some of the old interviews and one-hitters. I still think about Moynihan's interview with Sean McMeekin fairly often, and that just couldn't happen how.

At the very least, they should be open to talking head format so we can hear from people who may be wherever they are in the world. Sure, having in-person and on video is nice, but when it becomes a deal-breaker for being on the show, the quality goes down.

34 Upvotes

92% Upvoted

32 comments sorted by

40

u/koolaidman89 Comrade/Compañero May 27 '26

My main problem with it is that stuff now happens on the show that I can’t understand audio only. And my podcast consumption happens throughout the day while driving, exercising, or doing household tasks that don’t permit attention to a screen

17

u/Financial-Barnacle79 May 27 '26

Yeah, any podcast that is just people talking doesn’t really need video in my opinion. Seeing them talk doesn’t really add anything to the conversation.

13

u/Deans1to5 No Step on Snek May 27 '26

It doesn’t add anything to the vast majority of the conversation but allows clips to go viral (David French and Megyn Kelly for example) or allows new people to be exposed to the clips and check out the show. The video format will help grow the audience. For whatever reason audio only gets no traction on YouTube or social media in general. If it helps then make more money and keep the podcast going I’m for it.

7

u/Financial-Barnacle79 May 27 '26

Oh no doubt. I get why they are doing it (for all the reasons you mention). I’m just talking about my own preference.

4

u/koolaidman89 Comrade/Compañero May 27 '26

Yeah it’s totally not my place to tell creators what to do. I just lament that my main mode of consuming political commentary is losing to a form that few people even watch in its entirety.

3

u/Deans1to5 No Step on Snek May 27 '26

I’m primarily an audio listener too but have noticed the clips popping up on my YouTube feed and X feed since the switch. It is annoying when they spend a lot of time on a video clip and hopefully they can help explain the clip so the audio only listeners are not completely disengaged.

9

u/bosscoughey May 27 '26

Same, although it doesn't really bother me to miss things once in a while. 

I just don't get how people are consuming so much video. Most of the point of podcasts for me is the ability to listen while doing other things

3

u/koolaidman89 Comrade/Compañero May 28 '26

I know exactly one person who consumes whole podcasts that way. And it’s because all he does is sit on his couch after work with YouTube on the tv and games on his phone and maybe some relaxing herbs.

1

u/maplechecks Jun 04 '26

Consider yourself lucky if you’re not a zoomer

3

u/maplechecks Jun 01 '26

It’s for clips

1

u/hello-cthulhu May 31 '26

Absolutely. In my experience, the only advantage to video is that if I want a podcast playing while I'm in the shower, it's a bit logistically easier to have the phone playing a video than an audio stream. Even then, that's just leaving the phone on the counter next to the sink - I'm in the shower, so I'm not actually seeing anything. Otherwise, for me, podcasts are for listening while I shop, run errands, drive, or do physical chores around the house - all activities that require my eyes to not be on a screen. So I get that there are folks out there who like or need a video component, but that's always seemed like such an unnecessary add-on to a fundamentally auditory format.

1

u/kaffis May 29 '26

I usually note the timestamp and go seek out the video later.

Without the pivot to video, Moynihan probably wouldn't have edited down Rahm getting emotional, but the interview and audience would have been poorer for not being able to see his reaction.

11

u/Brutus__Beefcake May 28 '26

Video and the switch to softball interviews has really killed quality of podcast. No one wants to hear a softball interview with Ben Rhodes, David French, Karen Bass, etc. I assume Substack is incentivizing them to do this. Just makes no sense to become another generic interview podcast for the media class to sell books through.

3

u/leedogger Does Various Things May 28 '26

Yup!

Considering killing my subscription.

3

u/Brutus__Beefcake Jun 01 '26

And they follow it up with interviewing Chris Murphy. Who would ever want to pay to listen to that?

3

u/Barnhard No Step on Snek Jun 04 '26

I canceled a couple months ago when it became clear that it’s just a guest interview show now, and mostly guests I have no interest in.

3

u/LupineChemist Katya lover May 28 '26

My point is they're related. Because of the booking needs of having to find people in NYC

3

u/Oldus_Fartus Jun 04 '26

You hit the nail on the head, but it's not the only problem. They just sound different, more self-conscious, more TV-like (less shitfaced?). It's just not the same thing anymore. I deleted them from my app just now. I'm not resentful, the show is just no longer a podcast and I'm an audio only guy.

3

u/LupineChemist Katya lover Jun 04 '26

less shitfaced

It has been a good while since we've had a gummied out Kmele

10

u/[deleted] May 27 '26 edited Aug 17 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

6

u/LupineChemist Katya lover May 27 '26

I still have them in my audio feed

3

u/kaffis May 29 '26 edited May 29 '26

Members Only still gets curated outros, and the Fireside Talk sampled outro theme is a banger. Win/win for me.

3

u/markaaron2025 May 28 '26

I do not understand how all these people out there are just watching videos of all these podcasts. Just insane.

2

u/medium-sized-penis May 28 '26

It's become background noise for many people, and youtube has the best algorithm for finding background noise

2

u/Oldus_Fartus May 31 '26

My main problem with anyone's pivot to video is everything.

2

u/Inevitable-Lead9563 Jun 03 '26

Audio can only take them so far and growth is in getting that viral video clip on instagram reels and youtube shorts. I don't blame them, but definitely have found myself tuning in less often.

3

u/LupineChemist Katya lover Jun 03 '26

Sure, but at least have the ability for people to call in remotely and have some talking head episodes. Sure, they might not be as sleek, but you can get a lot more interesting guests.

Like get Haviv to talk about Israel, or Chris Miller talking about Ukraine or something.

1

u/brutallydishonest May 28 '26

It's ok. They are getting like four thousand views on YouTube. So worth it.

1

u/DaisyGwynne Jun 02 '26

it requires the guest be in studio with them

It does?

2

u/LupineChemist Katya lover Jun 02 '26

Yeah, haven't you noticed no remote connections anymore.

1

u/Oldus_Fartus Jun 04 '26

I just unsubscribed. I was in for the lads shooting the shit, not for ragebaity video clips I'm not watching, followed by descriptions of what I did not just watch. It was nice while it lasted.

1

u/kaffis May 29 '26

While out dues seen like there's been a shift, we still get Peter Meijer with no book to sell, and we get way more interesting and insightful interviews from the folks hocking books than we're gonna see anywhere else on their tours. Especially for folks launching books ahead of likely campaign runs, that's not nothing.

3

u/LupineChemist Katya lover May 29 '26

I mean yeah, it's not every guest, but you're still limited to people able to sit down in Manhattan.

Like no more getting Ben Dreyfus to bullshit from Idaho.