“The host asks too many loaded and leading questions to his guests. There’s not enough genuine interrogation of the arguments on both sides of the debate and properly playing devil’s advocate. Often the other point of view is presented in paraphrased and straw manned fashion, to the point of it being completely unrecognisable, rather than honestly put forward in good faith.
For example, one podcast begins with the host vaguely talking about ‘the activists…who do not wish the United Kingdom to do well’. Which begs the question, who are the people being referred to here? Could it in fact be other people who want the country to ‘do well’, but just have different ideas (sincerely held) of how we might get there? Is the host not also a type of ‘activist’ himself, just of a different type? Although he talks about how he wants a more nuanced, ‘reasoned’ debate, the framing of his conversation often slips into quite unhelpful and convenient ‘them’ and ‘us’ narratives which serve his own points of view.”
the-finche via Apple Podcasts ·
Great Britain ·
08/11/22