A Conversation With... Review
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“A Conversation With… is a brand-new podcast by award-winning Philip DeFranco, host of The Philip DeFranco Show – which is a five-days-a-week news and culture show on YouTube. Philip DeFranco was one of the original YouTubers, joining in 2006 – only one year after YouTube was founded. DeFranco also created SourceFed, another wildly popular media outlet. There are only 8 episodes of A Conversation With… (the first episode airing December 3, 2018), but considering his 6.4 million YouTube Subscribers, it’s only a matter of time before it gains momentum.
A Conversation With… takes on a very unstructured, laid-back approach to interviewing well-known vloggers and notable figures, specifically within tech and creative industries. The back-and-forth interviewing style in each episode makes you feel like you are right there with DeFranco - sitting in the room, laughing along, and taking in a conversation with everyone involved.
In the two most recent episodes, “Blackmailing Steve Zaragoza, Rebooting SourceFed, & More (Ep. 7 A Conversation With)” and “Casey Neistat on Abandoning Social Media, Using Anger, & More (Ep. 8 A Conversation With)”, DeFranco sets up the tone of the show by keeping raw moments – like the aftermath of spilling a drink with Zaragoza, joking the podcast is a front for a blackmail reality show, adding in a forgotten intro, and testing Neistat’s on-air adaptability (by not explaining that the recording has already begun). Unstructured moments like these create an inside joke feeling, adding to the show’s purity.
This informal tone is intensified by hilarious guest introductions, like when DeFranco introduces Steve Zaragoza by saying, “former employee – person I can no longer fire,” or when he downplays Casey Neistat’s success and exaggerates his recent departure from New York and YouTube, introducing him as “a guy who used to do stuff, coming on this show, begging me.”
In the eighth episode, guest Casey Neistat explains exactly why a more casual tone is highly appealing to an audience, “I think it shows an appetite – to hear the people that you’re interested in talk in a way where you actually get to know them.”
You hear that in this podcast. You get a taste of each guests’ emotions and personality by hearing things like the humbleness in Zaragoza’s laugh, the curiosity in DeFranco’s questions, or the serious tone Neistat takes when talking about fear for his child.
“You never got to see me be straight and sort of vulnerable in a traditional vlog, and this enables that,” Neistat says.
Despite the lighthearted tone, the show is not afraid to discuss more serious ideas. In the episode, “Casey Neistat on Abandoning Social Media, Using Anger, & More (Ep. 8 A Conversation With)”, DeFranco and Neistat discuss the implications and responsibilities of posting their opinions and personal lives online. They talk about safety issues, how impressionable kids are, and bring up the concept of young children being unable to comprehend repercussions of the internet and “putting yourself out there.”
Neistat shares a personal story about his wife getting into a taxi late night one night, alone, and how the driver recognized her, then confronted her with their child’s name - which he knew from Neistat’s vlog.
DeFranco knows how to pull a conversation to interesting points based on his guests’ personalities. He knows exactly how to bring out Steve Zaragoza’s exuberant energy through jokes and encouragement, allowing the conversation to flow naturally. With guests like Casey Neistat, he chooses to guide the conversation towards relevant topics regarding creative industry and family (which was the reason Neistat chose to step back from YouTube and leave New York).
As someone aiming towards a future career within the creative industry, I found A Conversation With… not only an enjoyable listen, but also an incredibly useful example of brilliant interviewing sounds like. 5/5”
Ginaya Jesmer via Apple Podcasts ·
Canada ·
09/18/19
More reviews of A Conversation With...
“Would be helpful if at the beginning the guest was introduced. Podcast jumps right into mid conversation then the intro Other than that great podcast”
KG1428 via Apple Podcasts ·
United States of America ·
11/15/19
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“This podcast is really one of my absolute favorites!! I really love getting to here every guests different perspectives on life, and learn more about Phil in the process.”
nattific via Apple Podcasts ·
United States of America ·
10/27/19
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“I listen to a ton of podcasts by youtubers and this one is hands down the best. Its so real and nice and a perfect distraction on the tube in the mornings. Highly recommend even if you aren't a huge PDS fan!”Read full review »
RyannnH via Apple Podcasts ·
United States of America ·
11/07/19
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