More often than not, I’m wearing my airpods when I’m making rotis or chopping vegetables — tasks that seem to stretch under lockdown. My family learned quickly that my meal prep routine was sustained by podcast listening. Interruptions were likely to result in mis-shapen and charred phulkas or over-salted subzi .
And I figure I’m not the only one who’s listening longer, and to a wider range of content while waiting for the hours to pass before life returns to what we used to call normal.
Industry analysts estimate that podcast audiences have jumped considerably since the start of the pandemic. The CEO of HubHopper Gautam Raj Anand pegged the rise to as much as 30%, across platforms, in the early days of lockdown, also noting a jump of 70-80% in content creation during this period.
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But like much else, not all podcasts are created equal. Some have the heft of a Big Name and others come with an enviable history.
July saw two big events in the US podcasting world, both offering a sense of just how serious a business streamed audio has become. The first was the $25 million acquisition of Serial Productions by The New York Times , and the launch of a new mini-series under this partnership. [Quick refresher: Serial, hosted by Sara Koenig, is the true-crime podcast that is credited with ushering in the era of committed listenership.]
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The new show, Nice White Parents , is an in-depth examination by reporter Chana Joffe-Walt of how the American public school system has been shaped by a group that has effectively abandoned the idea of integration — middle class white parents. It’s a provocative assumption, and one that Joffee-Walt teases out through archival research and oral history, making for some riveting storytelling, even if one may question some of the conclusions she draws.
The other big news was the launch of a Spotify exclusive: The Michelle Obama Podcast, which launched on July 28. Designed as a series of intimate conversations between the former US First Lady and those in her circle of friends and family, the series allows Obama to reflect “on life after the White House, finding her truth, and the relationships that have shaped her.” The episodes that have dropped since the launch have featured conversations with former President Barrack Obama and NPR journalist Michele Norris.
In each episode, Obama and her guest engage in a relaxed, free-wheeling exchange that opens up a variety of themes, from individual responsibility to the power of community networks to parenting and — of course — becoming , in the fullest sense of the word.
In the first episode, the Obamas manage to resist nostalgia as they look back on childhood and the influence of parenting styles, while in the second, the two old friends smoothly weave between discussing family routines under the lockdown to the continuing tragedy of racism in American society.
Nurturing & reflective
Given the success of her memoir Becoming , and the Netflix documentary that followed it, Michelle Obama’s saleability as a media presenter was not in much doubt, and Spotify has capitalised on her persona as a nurturing, reflective individual who is much more than a cardboard celebrity figure. While one can be cynical about media packaging and the commodification of personality, there’s much to enjoy about The Michelle Obama Podcast. It’s relaxed and thoughtful — and it’s the ideal soundtrack for dinner prep.
The Hyderabad-based writer and academic is a neatnik fighting a losing battle with the clutter in her head.