Howzat? 1.2 / 6

TL:DR – if you’re not into either Caroline Hirons or SJP, don’t waste your time.  

Longer review:

There has been much debate in podcasting land about ‘the charts’. Some people swear by them and a place in the overall top 10 is often hailed as the Mecca for audio producers, “look mum, I did it!” (they probably say to justify poor career choices).

But the reality is that the Apple podcast charts only really tell half the story because those standings are based on secretive algorithms hidden from view, which include – amongst other things – new subscriptions versus historic download numbers, geographic fluctuations, and possibly frequency of listener reviews. 

And why is this worth mentioning? Because at time of writing, this show sits at *no.6* in the main Apple chart. So, it’s a homerun, right?

Well, no.

This podcast is so bad, it exposes the whole podcast chart thing as the exemplar of gaslighting fraud that it actually is.     

In this episode we welcome New York City “it girl”, Sarah Jessica Parker who opens up about her personal make up routine, family life, and general career vibzzzz. Despite Caroline’s interviewer-incompetencies (I’ve never heard anyone as bad at the art of interviewing – she constantly talks over Parker, trampling over her anecdotes like an elephant stomping on a porcelain figurine), the episode does have some redeeming qualities.    

Probably due to her vast experience with these kinds of chats, Parker is a competent guest and opens up about her early memories, especially about her mother, which occasionally provides a lovely listen (if only they had better microphones, gah!). 

But the motivation fuelling this chat is painfully clear – this is just another promotional opportunity for Parker. She is an astute businesswoman afterall. Yes, she does warm to Hirons but nowhere near as much as Hirons fangirls after her, which all adds up to make for uncomfortable listening. 

Caveated opinion:

This podcast is also available to watch – an in-person affair at a swanky London hotel – on YouTube and that’s where this show makes much more sense. 

And to continue with the elephant analogies, this is the elephant in the podcast room – there is a lot of chat at the moment that podcasters also need to be vod-casters and visualise their content. 

However, both platforms are not created equally. When you can see these two chatting, the elements that make this show crap, suddenly don’t matter because as much. 

AM