I’ve been listening to podcasts for almost 20 years. In that time, I’ve grown to a certain level of comfort with the shows and hosts I listen to. They are now part of my life in a way.
One combination of hosts I’ve listened to for almost all of that time are Carl Franklin and (later) Richard Campbell of .NET Rocks fame. I don’t exactly remember when I started listening to .NET Rocks, but I do remember that podcast players were NOT even a thing at the time. Much less players on mobile phones. In fact, I think I used to listen to that podcast on my computer at work, which was my office at GTRI at the time.
As things have become more mobile with the advent of the iPod and iPhone, my library has only grown. I’d estimate I’m up to about 30-40 distinct podcasts that I listen to on a regular basis. Not that they all are “new” at the same time. In fact, some of them only release quarterly at this point. But some of them are weekly. And some are even every other day.
All of that to say I am really close to some of these hosts. I know, it’s weird to say that. They don’t know me at all. I am a listener, and that’s really it. Which is perfectly fine with me (and them). Still, if you think about it, they have been with me for longer than some of the people I talk with everyday.
- The aforementioned Carl Franklin
- Jason Snell
- Myke Hurley
- Merlin Mann
- John Gruber
- Dan Benjamin
- Marco Arment
- John Siracusa
- Casey Liss
- Dan Moren
- Leo Laporte
- Alex Lindsey
I can go on and on. But I won’t bore you with shout-outs.
My main point is this, and not to get too morbid (sorry): What happens when these people are gone?
As I grow older, I continue to see people of my childhood and youth start to succumb to disease and old age. Granted, some of above that I listen to are younger than I am (a constant reminder of your own age and place in this world). But you get my point.
It’s a surreal feeling. What happens when Jason and Myke are no longer keeping me up-to-date on the Apple news of the day? What happens when John and Merlin are not trying to reconcile their differences? What happens when Leo is no longer there to push the idea of “net-casts”?
This will sound cliche, but I don’t care. These people are my (virtual) companions through life at this point. I know their voice like I know my own children’s voices. It’s going to be devastating (to a degree) when they are no longer there. It’s like the first time I heard Peter Jennings had passed away. Part of my childhood died with that man.
I guess this is my opportunity to thank each and every one of the people I listed above. You don’t do what you do to be a part of my life, necessarily. But part of my life, you are. And I appreciate it.
