Faithful or traitor? A tale of two 'podcasts'

Having thoroughly enjoyed the first UK version of The Celebrity Traitors I was hungry to digest analysis of the dramatic finale and the series as a whole. My choice for analysis is always a podcast, as I like to drive and listen, where I can really concentrate on what is being said. So I rushed to my BBC Sounds and Spotify apps on the morning after the last show was aired.

My first choice was the official BBC show, The Traitors: Uncloaked, which is made by Listen (part of Platform Media) and presented by the excellent Ed Gamble. Within 30 seconds though there were visual references that excluded me as the listener. They continued throughout the episode, with nods to clothes and looks on faces and people in the audience. Uncloaked is an excellent product. But it is a TV show with microphones you can see. It is a video that is turned into audio for wider consumption. Brilliant as it is. It is not a podcast.

Despite a very entertaining 30 or so minutes of Ed with his guests my appetite was still unsatisfied and I wanted more analysis. This time I headed to The Rest is Entertainment spin-off pod, that has apparently been hugely popular during this run of The Traitors. I lasted no more than 43 seconds of Celebrity Traitors however, mainly because it appeared Marina Hyde was sat in her toilet. And because they had recorded it remotely, there was a delay between her and Richard Osman, who therefore kept crashing all over her answers.

If you are going to make a podcast I suggest the first thing you do is make sure the sound is good. A live You Tube reaction is perfectly fine for those that want to consume it. And sounding like you're sat in a loo is fine in that case, as we can see why it sounds odd. However, if you do make that content, it is a video not a podcast.

Yes, this may sound like a grumpy 'older' person complaining about visualisation in podcasting, but the fact is a podcast is something made for the ear. And that matters. It has to sound good, and you have to ensure you do not exclude your audio audience by making visual references (something that has always been a basic of good radio presenting). Right now the industry seems very confused about what it is doing. In the chase for clicks through social media, video is clouding decision making and compromising production values.

If your first priority is how it looks and therefore less bothered by the sound, then it is video. With The Traitors: Uncloaked there is this weird middle ground where everyone thinks they are making a podcast whilst completely aware it is being filmed. It is the first time I have consumed it as a podcast, having previously just watched the TV version, and I won't be doing it again. Imagine a TV show made with a podcast audience in mind where the camera cuts from people talking or has random shots that make no sense. No one would watch it. So, my choice will always be to listen to something made for that medium and not a half-hearted attempt.