Hey honeys and hustlers,

In my Substack livestream with Bethany yesterday, we discussed the importance of finding your voice as a podcaster. We settled on this topic way before the news story broke about an Ex-Wondery executive who started an AI-generated podcast studio that took the podcast industry by storm. The universe loves dramatic timing. There were several enraging moments in the article, and I would like to elaborate on them here. Not to berate this person, but to add at least 2% more logic and background to what I thought wasn’t a hot take about the positive impact AI could have on the work we do as creators.

I remember reaching out to Bethany as I was finishing up the 4th season of Honey & Hustle. The show had improved significantly since season 1, and yet, I was falling out of love with it. Not because I didn’t have more ideas on how to continue the show and guests I desperately wanted to speak with, but because I was insecure about my voice. I had upped the video production, rented a coworking space for recordings, invested in better audio gear for in-person and remote episodes, hired a production assistant, worked with video editors, bought new editing software specifically for short video captioning, and I felt like I was the last piece of the puzzle. Sure, I’ve become a much better and more confident interviewer. I’m extremely proud of the guests I’ve had on the show, the stories I’ve been privileged to share, and the creators I’ve worked with to make them come to life. But was I someone that people were excited to keep listening to? Excited to share with their friends? Excited to meet in person at a live recording of the show? Was I truly the host that would (or could) take Honey & Hustle to the next level of impact and audience growth? Ooof, a lot of pressure to put on a part of me that I literally CANNOT change: my voice.

When I would meet people in person at events who had listened to the show, or talked with people who responded to my newsletter about podcast episodes, I would informally ask them for feedback. Here’s what they said, and I’ll tell you later what I heard:

These are not inherently bad things. In fact, what they were trying to convey was that they resonated with my calm personality, appreciated the noticeable production quality, enjoyed my witty and quirky humor, and saw me as an authority in the entrepreneurial storytelling space. But that ain’t what I heard, and Bethany had to set me straight.

First, she used some statistics (because facts still matter or something). She asked me to think about the only solo podcast episode I had released up until that point. It had pretty high engagement relative to the other episodes I released around that time. Strange. Pure coincidence. She also reminded me that NPR podcasts have been consistently ranked in the top 5 most-listened to podcasts each year. Would people give that much of their time to a show host who bored them to death? I didn’t think so, but I still wasn’t quite convinced. She then asked me to think of the people I enjoyed watching on YouTube or podcast hosts I consistently and intentionally made time to listen to. Did any of those people have a high-energy, super extroverted presence? …No. And I genuinely enjoy their personalities and perspectives.

Our conversation made me realize that there was no “right” way to be a podcast host. There was only my way, and my willingness to create something I enjoyed long enough for the stories to reach the folks they were meant to reach. Once she talked me off the ledge and I wrapped my head around leaning into my strengths as a creator and podcast host, I went on to plan the next season of the show, starting with a month-long solo podcast challenge. No guests, just me and my somewhat researched thoughts every day for a month. And as difficult as that was, I felt renewed in my love for the audio storytelling medium again.

Wtf does all of this have to do with an army of AI-generated podcasts? And more importantly, what does this have to do with you as a creator? In my opinion, one of the greatest net positive attributes of AI-supported creative work is increased personalization. So why in the world would you use AI to eliminate the personhood in the creative process? AI-generated characters don’t care what you think about their voice or the content of their podcast episodes. There is no room for growth without human experience, feedback, and innovation. There is no nuance or tension in the storytelling because AI-generated characters have no backstory to draw a unique perspective from. There is no person to resonate with because AI cannot emulate a person’s essence; it can only regurgitate the accumulation of what it can gather from data points. Most importantly, AI will never tell you that something sucks or that you shouldn’t be doing something – it will only aim to help you achieve whatever you ask it to do.

And therein lies the problem with the absolute garbage that this podcast company has and will continue to unleash onto audio platforms unchecked by podcast streaming companies. Taste is our most important intellectual property as creators. I have to wonder if she created this company because she believes that people want to hear from AI-generated people, regardless of the topic or quality of the content. By extension, from her time at Wondery, she likely also knew that working with podcast hosts at scale could entail a lot of friction and be very costly. But the very friction she was looking to avoid is what draws people to online creators. It’s the reason you’re still reading this right now (or, at least I hope you’re still reading this).

People may say they don’t love interview-based podcasts, but that’s complete BS. As I type this, at least 30 people are tweeting about who should be the next host of The Daily Show, and another 50 are watching reruns of the Anthony Bourdain show, may he RIP. Give me a break. What audio listeners and video podcast fans are tired of is low effort, clickbait, unedited talk shows that have inconsistent guests and inexperienced hosts hoping to make a quick buck from ad revenue. What people want is quality, curated storytelling formats that feel fresh, fun, and relevant.

This isn’t just limited to podcasts either. I love scrolling through Workspaces or Footer, both curated by Ryan Gilbert, looking for design inspiration. Humans of New York is synonymous with photography that tells the stories of that eclectic city, with The Dogist as almost a sister platform and a close second. I remember when Brandon first started HONY on Tumblr (aging myself, wow). I would do unspeakable things to visit Criterion Closet. All legal things, I promise. I’ve discovered some of my favorite artists on COLORS and NPR Tiny Desk.

TLDR: A community that is compelled to trust a product featured in a podcast ad enough to consider buying it isn’t compatible with brute scale and slop, and she can tell her AI-generated podcast hosts I said it.

🎤🤙🏾