Every podcast is better at 2.0 speed! Feat Ira Glass and Apple Podcasts
Summary
Ira Glass thinks speeding up podcasts is the equivalent of saying "I'm going to fast forward through this." Kareem disagrees. He argues that Michael Barbaro "sounds like he's talking at normal pacing" at 2.0 speed, and even The Daily's music is better sped up. Glass pushes back as someone who's created an hour of content every week for 30 years. The conversation spirals into Glass's subway habits: he doesn't use his phone on the train out of vanity, worried about unflattering photos people might take of him hunched over his screen. He also fears getting robbed or punched. Kareem points out the absurdity. Everyone's on their phones except the one guy stealing them.
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Full Transcript
So, what's your take? Every podcast is better at 2.0 speed.
100% disagree. I can't get behind that.
What are you talking about?
I don't understand why you would want to listen to it faster.
You can listen to more podcasts.
I guess.
And also, some podcasts are actually better at the faster speed. There are some podcasts with slow talkers. That's true. There's a podcast that I love listen to every day, The Daily. Michael Barbaro, that guy's good, but he's better at 1.7 or 2.0.
You think Barbaro is a slow talker? I think he's a fast talker.
He's a talker in clumps.
It's it's a clump of
Michael Barbaro
and then pause
is The Daily.
Yeah, exactly. And but like when you speed up the double speed, he sounds like he's talking at normal pacing and it makes the show better.
I even the music of The Daily is better at 2.0 and once you hear it, you can't go back.
It does not emulate real life.
Well, there are people who talk at 1.7. There are people who talk fast.
Do you talk at 1.7?
Yeah, I talk fast.
We're both fast guys. I think it's fascinating as a person who creates an hour of content every single week for the past 30 years. Literally, it's the equivalent of I'm going to fast forward through this.
That is no, no, it is. I'm going to fast forward through this episode. What about music?
No, not music.
What about movies?
Movies? Yes. Some movies? Well, like I don't know. I've never done it with a movie, but I have done it with TV shows.
You should try it. You'll see.
I'm an active listener and watcher.
Me too. If I'm listening, I'm listening.
I can't even do it on a sub. You can't listen to a podcast like on a subway when you're
I get distracted. There's so many lights and sounds and people and and I'm serious.
What do you do on the subway?
I get to sit here like this.
Is that true?
Yeah. I used to look at my phone, but then people started taking pictures of me and all the pictures were so disgusting of me being like,
Are you saying that you don't enjoy your phone on the train out of vanity?
Yes.
Now I feel bad for you. Like your phone is there for you to enjoy. [laughter]
I also don't want to get like robbed. I feel like if you're looking at your phone or reading, that's when people steal stuff from you or punch you in the head.
Everybody is on their phone on the train except for the one guy stealing phones. [laughter]