I was a big fan of the show when it would air in seasons. Annabelle was a great host and the former of rotating guest hosts kept it fun and brought in funny, interesting, and diverse opinions. I was really excited when it was announced the show would be going weekly. But since it aired it has been noticeably different - and in my opinion, worse. Louis as a permanent co-host has ruined the dynamic. He was wonderful as a guest from time to time, but now the hosts spend so much time laughing and yelling about inside jokes, accidental verbal slip ups, or other nonsensical thing that it has become a real chore to listen to. There is so much preamble that it takes forever to get to the secret. And when we do get there, it is often interrupted inappropriately with giggles and comments. And now the opinions are always the same. It’s not fun or interesting anymore for me. I also find it incredibly annoying in an audio medium to have people speak when they have nothing to say. In the most recent episode, Ruby said “yeah” about a thousand times while the guest and Louis were speaking. It adds nothing but irritating and grating noise. It’s the same when on the main pod there are active listening noises like “mmmm” interrupting speakers. I’d love it for it to go back to the original version but that is unlikely to happen. I might continue to listen only for the secrets but we’ll see.
