A hand full of thoughts – Podcasts

Has everything already been said, every topic discussed, and all subjects covered? This is a question that often crosses my mind and, as far as I can tell, is also reflected in the podcast landscape.

Many topics and focus areas are covered two or three times over, which raises the question of diversity. Whether they are truly different is something I cannot judge—not only because I lack the time but also the motivation. However, I already feel somewhat overwhelmed, if not oversaturated, by the sheer volume, even though I consume very little of it.

Luckily, you can often sort by genre, and when you do, a lot of it feels very similar, if not the same. This is also the reason why my podcast is still just a link in the top menu of this site.

History

My first plan was to create a podcast about Japanology. That plan turned out to be a bit too ambitious and might have gone in the wrong direction, as I now have a rather ambivalent opinion on the subject, which probably doesn’t belong in the public sphere. Not every opinion needs to be broadcast to the world, even if the internet might suggest otherwise. Moreover, I still need to write my bachelor’s thesis, and certain critiques of certain topics could negatively affect my grade. Crazy, right?

I continued to brainstorm, considering video games and classic video games as potential topics. But there are already people who can handle this far better and more thoroughly than I can, and there are already so many podcasts on the subject that I wouldn’t know what I could contribute that would truly add value. It feels like I would just be repeating what’s already been said elsewhere. A friend once told me that it also matters how something is presented and by whom. But that wasn’t a strong enough reason for me to pursue this direction.

Interests

As of today, I’ve landed on the topic of films and TV series, though I would exclude films, since there are countless podcasts on them already. I’m more interested in series, but not in a general sense, because there’s no way I can compete with something like the Serienjunkies podcast. No, I liked the idea of creating a podcast about a specific series, like Der Graue Rat or Sternentor. Perhaps the whole thing could be divided into seasons, where the first season of the podcast covers Series A, and the next season covers Series B, and so on, but always in a summary format rather than an episode-by-episode approach.

However, I also know—this site is the best proof—that my interests won’t remain focused solely on that. This is partly because I have many different hobbies. Today, I want to do something about films and TV series, tomorrow it might be about video games, and a week from now, about something I’m not even thinking about yet. A sort of mixed bag, like the ones you used to get at the kiosk. Great idea, right? Well, unfortunately, that already exists as a podcast, and it’s actually called that.

I’ve also considered turning my articles into some kind of podcast format—not just reading them aloud, but picking out individual aspects and delving deeper into them or analyzing them more closely.

And sometimes, I think I should just hit record, talk freely, and then cut it into separate episodes. That could also turn into an interesting potpourri of topics.

So many possibilities!

Environment

Another point is my surroundings, or rather my environment. I often feel like, from a purely geographical perspective, I’m not really free. Sure, I could just shut everything off and focus on my project, work through the script, and I’d have a podcast episode done. Unfortunately, my brain doesn’t work like that.

In this context, I often wonder whether this is some sort of defense mechanism of my brain or psyche, trying to protect me from doing something foolish. A while ago, when the podcast idea first popped into my head, I listened to a few podcasts and wondered what the point was. With some of them, I didn’t even survive the endless intro. A minute of music, seriously, WHAT IS THAT ABOUT? I’m sure they have their audience, but a lot of content is put out there without a second thought as to whether it’s really suitable for the listener or even this medium. Strangely enough, it seems to work, though. So maybe it’s just me?!

Conclusion

As you can see, the idea of making a podcast is still very much alive. I still like the format, even though it seems oversaturated and overcrowded. But who knows, maybe at the end of the day, I just like to talk and am looking for a way to express that. But would I really be alone in that?