The Talk Show With John Gruber Daring Fireball / John Gruber

This was my favorite podcast for a long time, even after the transition from 5by5.

But in recent years it just seems like Gruber is coasting. Episodes are released infrequently and erratically. Weeks will go by without an episode, and then right before WWDC, two episodes will come out back to back, with no time to listen before the event. In the case of this year, there was an episode all about Play Date, an independent hand held video game console, right before the keynote. I just don’t get it...

I have always loved Gruber’s personality and don’t mind the meandering topics, but there are some problems recently. The guest list is increasingly less diverse and insightful (some exceptions include Joanna Stern and Ben Thompson). Gruber repeats off topic anecdotes from week to week, and has a lot of holes in his knowledge about modern Apple, particularly the intricacies of iOS, tvOS, the iPad, and Apple Watch. He is extremely knowledgeable about the Mac and iPhone, but he seems perfectly happy leaving it at that. As time progresses, this perspective is becoming more and more limited in relevance.

In a time where we have consistent and quality shows like ATP, Upgrade, and Connected, I wonder where The Talk Show really fits in.

At the end of the day, Gruber will do Gruber. And good for him. But this isn’t a show that has the same appeal that it used to.

It's not The Talk Show without Dan.

John Gruber is the #1 Apple blogger on the internet, lets just get that out of the way. He is also dour, unfocused, mumbles and in general doesn't come across as an engaging personality when speaking live on a podcast… UNLESS he has the right co-host or host. The "Talk Show" produced by 5by5 and Dan Benjamin was outstanding. With the radio ready voice and steady guide in Dan it helped Gruber come alive and created an entertaining and informative 60-90 minutes. Now John Gruber has apparently, and without warning to listeners OR his long time partner Dan Benjamin, taken the title and whole show away to another Podcasting company and produced this new "Talk Show." He is acting as the primary host with guests. Its about as big a disaster as you would expect. This show was terribly unfocused, unentertaining, and frankly unprofessional.

While you can be certain I will continue to follow John Gruber on his excellent website I no longer want to listen to this, the magic is gone and sadly this appears to be the kind of move (and way it was handled) that Gruber has spent years railing against on his website.

I'm not angry, I'm just sad.