Why walking reveals bad podcasts quickly
A Walk Is a Better Podcast Test Than an Algorithm
I can usually tell within ten minutes whether a podcast is worth keeping, but only if I listen while walking.
At home, I forgive a lot. I skip around, check the episode description, and assume the interesting part is probably coming. On a walk, the podcast has to earn my attention without help from a screen. If the host takes five minutes to reach the point, repeats the premise twice, or buries every useful detail under conversational fog, I notice immediately.
San Francisco is helpful here. A decent episode can carry me from a bus stop to the grocery store. A bad one makes a familiar hill feel personally insulting (which may be unfair to the hill).
I still sample shows through recommendations, but the final test is simple: would I choose this over twenty quiet minutes of walking? Not many make it past that screen.