The Intimacy of Podcasts: The Broski Report
When I first heard the concept of a podcast, I thought they could only be a platform for angry right-wing politics preachers or free therapy sessions in the form of self-help podcasts. While those are still categories and genres in the realm of podcasts, my eyes were personally opened when I stumbled upon The Broski Report. Created by internet sensation Brittney Broski, The Broski Report truly exemplifies what makes podcasts so great: intimacy. A point raised by Michelle Hilmes (2022) in “But is it Radio?: New Forms and Voices in the Audio Private Sphere,” is that intimacy is a podcast's greatest strength as it allows for a stronger bond between host and listener. Podcasts are especially unique in this context as they are rarely censored or told what they can and cannot say. Many podcasts have the freedom to touch on fandoms, niches, comedy, loss, relationships, and even the meaning of life. All of which have been touched upon in The Broski Report.
I think the reason I love this podcast so much is because of its duality. One minute I’m crying laughing at a joke Brittney herself cannot stop laughing at, and the next she is giving some of the most insightful and philosophical takes on life and how to live it. I also love her because she is a woman who outwardly speaks about her interests without shame. Whether that be her celebrity crush of the week, her current niche obsession, or reminiscing on her favourite childhood movie, I love being able to see a woman get so passionate about topics that most only feel comfortable sharing with their closest friends. This is the intimacy one gains from The Broski Report. Rather than feeling like you’re listening to an internet celebrity in another country, you feel like you’re on call listening to a friend.
Work Cited:
Michelle Hilmes, “But is it Radio?: New Forms and Voices I the Audio Private Sphere”, The Routledge Companion to Radio and Podcast Studies (pages 9-18)
Hi Mya, I like the connections you made in your post and how you shared your own experience with podcasts. Your statement about the podcast feeling like "you're on call listening to a friend" stuck with me, and I think right now, that's why so many people engage with podcasts. Sometimes when I'm on a long drive and exploring, my friends and I call to chat literally about anything. I suppose since I don't listen to podcasts, this is my pseudo-alternative. I also think that podcasts don't feel like something produced for a mass audience, despite when thousands of people are listening. That level of intimacy is a feeling that I get when I listen and engage with small artists or groups on SoundCloud. When something isn't overly polished, filtered by an industry or the label, it feels more personal. So your point about podcasts rarely being censored fits that too. However, this does make me wonder if that intimacy lasts as a podcast show grows. I guess my question is that when a podcast gets big sponsors and a greater audience, do you think it starts to lose that friend-on-a-call feeling?
ReplyDelete