I want to like this podcast, but they make it hard.
It's the epitome of "friends-drinking-together-decide-to-start-a-podcast" without knowing anything about making podcasts.
The episodes are poorly produced. Some hosts sound like they have decent mics, while others sound like they're using a laptop mic on the other end of the room. You can hear room tone from different mics cutting in and out randomly throughout the episodes. I also had to keep adjusting the volume because the hosts apparently have never heard of audio normalization.
That becomes even more annoying once you realize how disrespectful the hosts are of your time. Episodes are wickedly unfocused. Even when they are on-topic, it seems poorly researched or highly opinionated (again, drinking and talking with friends vibes).
For being a bunch of researchers, they're terrible at presenting their work or showing they have any knowledge of the topics they're covering. I never learn anything other than the hosts' options on a given topic by the end of an episode. (The exception being part 2 of the FC5 episodes).
I don't know who the show hosts are, and maybe the last thing would bother me less if I did. But they don't put any information on how to find them in their show notes. Which, at the risk of sounding a little too cynical, makes it seem like they rather you didn't see their other work because it isn't that good either.
I'll say the inconsistent release schedule is super annoying as well. I know they don't have a sponsor for the show to justify putting more time into it yet, but I doubt they'll be able to get one with a podcast this poorly slapped together.
I want to end this on a positive note because I don't want this to get written off as someone just being bitter.
I truly want to like this podcast. I think the idea behind it is interesting, and the latest episode (Ep 04) was their strongest yet. I know making a podcast isn't easy and finding the right pacing/tone takes time. I hope that it continues to improve.
