I started a thread on this a while back, the gist of which was that too many podcasts are heavy on banter and light on the actual topic. Or just take too long before they get on with it.
But done well, I love them during a long drive.
I’m another who can’t deal with audio for fiction or gathering info.
If it’s a podcast, it ain’t gonna happen unless they transcript it. I’ve tried them while driving, I’ve tried them while doing laundry or cleaning - no deal. I just wander off mentally and 5 or so minutes later, someone will say something that grabs my attention again and I have no clue what just happened.
Audio books are like slow torture. Just shut up and gimme the damn book so I can read it properly already! Between pronouncing names differently than I imagine them, to pronouncing words incorrectly (rare, but it happens), to just the difference between speaking speed and my reading speed - Gah. Hate.
I feel the same general way about videos as you do about podcasts. 
Seriously, I can’t fucking stand when I’m looking for, say, a tutorial or a review of something and I keep finding video tutorials/reviews. Goddammit, let me fucking read it instead of wasting my time taking foreeeeeever to get to the point. Times this by 10000000 when assholes apparently don’t plan out what they’ll say, fill tons of time with “uhhhhhhhhhhhh… So yeah…” Etc and don’t edit that shit out.
With that being said, podcasts are a different beast for me. I generally listen to them when I’m driving or when I’m moving around doing some housecleaning or whatnot. I wouldn’t really set out to listen to a podcast for a specific thing to learn about. I like podcasts that are generally interesting and cover a wide array of topics within a larger subject area I’m interested in.
There definitely are podcasts that sound good on paper but I can’t stand for various reasons, but I like the medium itself.
I used to subscribe to podcasts and listen to them while walking. I’ve gotten out of the habit of that.
Generally, I agree with most who have posted. For entertainment, audio is okay, but if I want the information, then I’d much rather read a transcript or even an article. I can get the info much faster that way.
I have the same problem when I click on an interesting link and find that it’s to a video. I don’t have the patience to watch a video (especially with a 30-second commercial at the beginning :rolleyes: ) when I just want to KNOW the thing that the video is about.
I sometimes like audio books. I used to have a very long drive to work (45 minutes each way on open highway with no traffic) and I would often listen to my book club books. One time I listened to All the King’s Men, and it was a profoundly engrossing experience. It was a 22-hour recording, beautifully read by some guy-- don’t know his name. But by the end of it, I was totally in love with his voice. And thanks to the slow pace of listening, I really **got **that book in a way that I likely wouldn’t have if I had read it (with the inevitable skimming). Now my drive is only 15 minutes through city traffic, so I’ve abandoned audio books. One of our book club members makes jewelry and she listens while she works.
I am a huge fan of David Rakoff (of blessed memory). Listening to his books was 1,000 times funnier than reading them myself, or even reading them out loud to myself. I used to walk in the park about 6 am listening to him and I’m sure the other walkers wondered about me when I’d stop and double over with hysterical laughter just as the sun was coming up. That was one funny man. 
I don’t see why that’s odd.
I do enjoy audiobooks, but mostly when driving long distances.
Although my mother and I have listened to a few together while crafting.
I’ve never really tried podcasts.
I do spend a lot of time knitting or spinning in front of my computer-- and maybe part of my distaste for audio accompaniment is fear of disturbing other people in the house.
(And the fact that the computer’s always there to tempt me to read one more thread, or one more post, or see if anyone has responded to my last brilliant post . . .)
But I’ll happily turn on a TV show on Hulu or CBS, and then about half tune it out and focus on other stuff, but if there isn’t a visual, I tend to lose interest quickly.
I don’t mind listening to (select) sporting events on the radio, or watching them on the TV, as long as I’m not alone-- but I’m perfectly content to “watch” a football game while the radio plays something unrelated, and I’ve got a book open on my kindle app, a spindle or a knitting project on my lap, and sixteen threads in different tabs which I’m not paying attention to.
Of course, I probably don’t remember the score or any particular plays, unless someone else was present and commented so I watch the replay.
Sorry, TLDR-- I don’t think you are weird for finding visual more attention holding than audio-- it’s just part of the human spectrum.
If I’m looking for information I completely agree.
I even hate reading articles because so much is spent describing and it seems like extra words and time.
My ideal way to get info would be hierarchical bullet points, for example:
Topic X
Sub topic X.1
Point 1
Point 2
Point 3
Sub topic X.2
Point 1
Point 2
etc.
Like others here, I find it much more efficient to read than to listen to an audio of someone talking. Nonetheless, I do enjoy certain podcasts when I’m in the car driving (and can’t be reading for obvious reasons). That actually adds up to a considerable amount of time, since I’m an on-the-road salesman. What I find most irritating is when someone has about three paragraphs of information to offer but insists on making a 10-minute YouTube video of it.
Podcast are no different from radio commentary broadcasts. I can’t see any reason to hate the format, since it’s been around 90 years.
Podcasts keep me sane during 10 hours a week of public transit commuting; I can’t read on trains because I get motion sick. Same goes for long flights, though motion sickness isn’t an issue for me there. I like listening to music, too, but sometimes I want to engage other parts of my brain.
I drift off to sleep almost every night listening to one podcast or another. For whatever reason I find the low-volume droning of voices even better than white noise.
It sounds like crux of the OP’s problem is expecting podcasts to be a suitable substitute for other things. Yes, listening to someone stiffly reading news off a script or reading out of a book is tedious and annoying. IMHO, podcasts like that are doing it all wrong.
I find that podcasts are at their best when it is a conversation, a discussion, when the content is actively being created rather than read off a script. A podcast like Good Job, Brain! or the Adam Carolla Show, or a pre-recorded radio show like Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me, is engaging because the people are actually interacting with each other. A podcast is not a good substitute for a book or newspaper; it shouldn’t be something you really want to pay close attention to. There are only limited circumstances when I can listen to an audiobook; I’d rather just read the book. But a good podcast, IMO, is like sitting in a room with friends, or at least people you’re familiar with, and just listening to them talk.
This one you know. The H.P. Lovecraft Literary Podcast - The read the books off-line then discuss them online. Quite a few guests as well.
Miskatonic University Pocast - Mostly about RPGs mainly, The Call of Cthulhu. Also good guests.
Skype of Cthulhu - Another RPG
Cthulhu - Readings and discussions also stuff in the same genre.
There’s also one called The Lovecraft Geek which I haven’t started listening to yet.
Perhaps I just don’t know enough about podcasting, but how is this thread not equivalent to “does anyone else find non-music radio programming as irritating as all heck”?
ETA: Basically what post 28 says, which leads me to think I’m not missing or misinterpreting anything.
This, I have a 3 hour round trip commute every day. A bit of freakonomics etc lightens the mood.
I love listening to podcasts. I have specific areas of interest, speakers I like to listen to, and find it a great way to work the info in while I am doing other things. Everything downloads automatically. for me, I click, and listen while I work, drive, clean, or wait for appointments etc.
But if you rant into it, I wouldn’t force it. Do what works for you. With FB, twitter, and the never ending supply of articles online, the sky’s the limit.
I don’t “hate” the format, I have absolutely nothing against other people enjoying it, I’m just saying I, personally, find it annoying as hell for whatever reason. It’s rather how my spouse reads only out of necessity and never for enjoyment. He doesn’t enjoy reading, no problem, that’s why we have an extensive video library.
The other thing is that just because something has been around a long time doesn’t mean everyone will enjoy it. On a certain level I find it baffling that there are people who don’t “get” music and don’t derive enjoyment form it, but we had at least one thread on that awhile back. Well, OK, it’s not their thing, I don’t interpret that as “hate”, I interpret that as “not entertained”.
Here’s the thing - if I’m with someone or a group of people who want to listen to a podcast or talk radio fine, but don’t expect me to get involved or follow the thing because I just can’t seem to focus on them for longer than a few minutes.
Wow. I listen to podcasts while driving, shopping, hiking with our dogs, doing barn work, winemaking, etc. when background noise makes listening difficult (lawn mowing, chainsawing) I switch to music.
I love podcasts. Three days a week I have a 2.5 hour round trip commute. I also take 3 hour-long walks each week. I listen to podcasts during the drives and walks. I use an app called Podcasts to manage them. I subscribe to:
[ul]
[li]Only A Game[/li][li]Fresh Air[/li][li]The Splendid Table[/li][li]Philosophize This![/li][li]Radio Lab[/li][li]Freakonomics Radio[/li][li]This American Life[/li][li]TED Radio Hour[/li][li]Planet Money[/li][li]WTF with Mark Maron[/li][li]Marketplace[/li][/ul]
I occasionally have the problem of drifting off into my own thoughts on an entirely different subject while listening to one. That means it’s time to stop listening, to either spend some time thinking or to find another podcast to listen to.
For me, it really depends on the Podcast. Some are extremely well done and there are a lot that just are not. If I’m going to enjoy it, it needs to have a format, an arc, or a logical beginning and end. The Moth, This American Life and other NPR shows are really good at that. There’s a beat and a pattern that I can find the rhythm to and that makes it enjoyable.
When I started getting into board games, there was (well, still is) the big monolithic podcast brand called The Dice Tower. The lengthy podcast would be filled with great info but there was so little structure and so much back and forth endless talking that it drove me nuts. Compare that to The Game Night Guys podcast where they play a game once a week, it’s usually a horrible game, but the structure is solid. I can sense when the episode is arcing.
I think podcasts have their place, and that’s in situations where you can’t read because you’re busy doing something else- driving, cooking, etc…
But yeah, if I’m not driving somewhere or doing something else, I’d much rather read a transcript for a few minutes than listen to half an hour of someone talking.