This Makes No Sense
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“The Talk Show, in its current incarnation, makes almost no sense. The original show worked because of its format. As many have pointed out, Dan Benjamin helped keep the show (and John Gruber) focused. But perhaps more important than anything unique to Mr. Benjamin was his role. While he wasn't billed explicitly as such, Dan was very much the host. People tuned in to hear John—one of the foremost authorities on Apple—hold forth on the tech news of the day. Mr. Gruber did have a tendency to be short, surly, and even uncooperative but we all listened because he's also smart, circumspect, and ultimately, the smartest person in the room when it comes to anything Apple. And Dan, both through his skill as a host, and his rapport with his guest, kept everything flowing and largely on point.
Compared to this, the current show is just a mess. Ostensibly, John Gruber is the "host" and in the first episode, his guest is someone named John Moltz. Despite that stated structure, it's clear that the setup is to just have John and his "guest" banter about… whatever. There are some shows where this can work. My favorite example of this is 5by5's Back To Work. But that works largely because of the incredible charisma of its star (and also its "guest"), the incomparable Merlin Mann. On this show, though, that "banter" format fails. John Gruber's core competency is being an expert on Apple, not being an interesting and engaging speaker. Without someone like Dan to keep the focus on him and to provide support, this just doesn't work. Who is John Moltz anyway? What's his purpose on this first episode? I'm sure he's a smart guy, but a lot of my friends are smart too, and that doesn't mean they belong on a podcast . I expect something more in a podcast as high profile as The Talk Show.
And the reading of those sponsorship spots? Oy. It reminded me of when terrorists or kidnappers force their hostage to read some prepared statement for the media or their family. It made me wince, and I really feel for Rogue Amoeba and wonder if they'll ask for their money back.
All this said, I also believe the slew of one star ratings is an overreaction, and probably based on emotion rather than the actual quality of the podcast. This is definitely not The (real) Talk Show. But it's not one star bad. Unfortunately, though, I have little enough time in my life for podcasts to listen to anything that isn't four or five stars. If John & co. can't rework this quickly, I fear I won't be listening a month from now.”Read full review »
tobogranyte via Apple Podcasts ·
United States of America ·
05/21/12
More reviews of The Talk Show With John Gruber
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“The thing with "the old" Talk Show was that Dan Benjamin was able to keep Gruber on track. Benjamin was the moderator, the host of the show, and Gruber the sidekick.
Well, Gruber decided to be the host on the new The Talk Show, and the result is unfortunately not very flattering for Mr....”Read full review »
z80 via Apple Podcasts ·
Sweden ·
05/19/12
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“At 5by5 Gruber had Dan Benjamin as a knowledgeable and professional guidance counselor. It's early but without Benjamin's subtle set of guard rails, Gruber is already drifting off into the weeds.
I'll try and listen but this is a less interesting show...”Read full review »
wmsey via Apple Podcasts ·
United States of America ·
05/19/12
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