Hyperfixed

Crown emojis for some, miniature American flags for all

I've had it. This week alone, my podcast feed has been flooded with "You might also like" episodes—none of which I subscribed to, asked for, or have any interest in. It’s intrusive, it's disrespectful, and frankly, it's a complete abuse of the trust podcast listeners place in creators and platforms. When I subscribe to a show, I'm subscribing to that show—not to some network's marketing scheme or cross-promotional garbage. Sneaking unrelated content into my feed is deceptive. It's spam, plain and simple.

I am nosy, full stop. Hyperfixed gives me information about little bits of life that would otherwise remain mostly hidden. It’s like getting a peek into relatively unexciting info that instantly becomes interesting when Alex and team set up the premise (Canadian icing label warning). The show reminds me of some of the best parts of Reply All, and it’s wonderful to have Alex telling stories again.

Reply All was, and still is, my favorite podcast of all time. Super Tech Support, in particular, perfectly matched with my propensity for rabbit hole-ing down weird niche topics. Hyperfixed on paper seems like a perfect replacement, but there’s just something missing. The questions/problems Alex seeks to solve are either vapid and empty or simple to answer. Without a foil to bounce off of, Alex seems to fumble through solving the question, leaving the episodes without a coherent storyline. I love Alex Goldman as a podcaster and host, and I want this podcast to succeed, but it’s just not doing it right now.