Good on Paper

There’s so much interesting and thoughtful content, but Ms Demsas sounds like she’s on speed. I literally get anxious listening to her. I have to slow down the speed so I can absorb all the valuable insights and data.

She picks excellent guests who are able to summarize the state of the research on issues in an accessible way. I appreciate the pragmatism and focus on evidence. Competing podcasts tend to slide into navel gazing and philosophizing.

I love the topics and most of the guests on the show. The topics are relevant, and the guests mostly have interesting point of view to share. I do think Ms Demsas is smart and bright, but perhaps need more refinement on the podcast platform. Often times I find the conversation similar to scratching an itch that made it itchier but never provide any clarity. The episode on parenthood was literally 2 people using big words talking AROUND the topic but brought not a glimpse of clarity to the topic (did ambivalence kill parenthood? Yes? No? It sounded like it’s not even the right question to ask by the end of the podcast which left me very confused). I felt similar about other episodes, such as the episode on immigration and inflation. I understand these topics can be complicated, and nuance needs to be applied, but I bet listeners do yearn for a bit of takeaway on the topic after spending an hour listening to the show, instead feeling like we are back at square one. Some other reviews also already mentioned the host needs to slow down. The topics can be heavy, deep, and it’s really hard to digest when Ms Demsas try to talk at machine gun speed. I think there’s so much potential to the show, and I hope the feedback is helpful.

Thank you for the great interviews. Please cover on more topics and questions.