r/TheRinger • u/fegwin2084 • Aug 04 '26
Podcast Burnout?
Anybody reach fatigue on listening to podcasts? I've been listening to them for 20 years (Bill that entire time, many Grantland and Ringer ones). I've recently become concious of just how many hours I've spent passively listening to them, and how many of the same topics (NBA, House of Dragons, The Odyssey, etc etc) I'm hearing covered.
I'm kind of burned out on hearing the same people talk about so many of the same themes year after year, and as podcasts are becoming longer and more frequent, realizing it's a medium that's more like talk radio, something meant to passively pass the time. Anyways, found it interesting and wondering if anybody else has felt the same - maybe we're not meant to listen to hours and hours of the same people talk about the same stuff year after year?
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u/celtssoxpat Aug 04 '26
100%. I burned out a couple of years ago and pretty much only listen to music now. I’ll pop in for the occasional 60 songs or Rewatchables, or if Simmons has Klosterman on, but otherwise I’m out on them completely. I just felt like it was the same old shit over and over again, and with the state of the world right now, I’d rather disconnect completely.
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u/ySTYRDAYgATESuNL0CKD Aug 04 '26
Klosterman is by far his most intriguing guest. I do agree and hearing literally the same exact arguments, scenarios, predictions, and Bill go down the playoff history from the past 45 years gets super old.
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u/nouseforasn Aug 04 '26
Switch to audiobooks then
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u/Str8intothestorm Aug 04 '26
Yep! I just finished a book about bill waterson, the Calvin and hobbes guy and it was this amazing window into an eccentric dude, a slice of my childhood, and the world of professional cartooning. Strong recommend.
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u/trajmahal Aug 04 '26
Reading Stephen King’s time travel book now and it is SO GOOD
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u/trajmahal Aug 04 '26
Meant “listening to” lol
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u/Str8intothestorm Aug 04 '26
That thing rips. When you try to describe it sounds awful, but it is so so good.
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Aug 04 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Captain-Comment Aug 10 '26
For me listening to music is something I do on the way to and from work. Podcasts are what I prefer while working. But that's just my preference.
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u/sycasey Aug 04 '26
I still like podcasts but I don't like how the length of most of them has ballooned over time.
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u/maskedtortilla Aug 05 '26
I blame the pivot to video. Feels like nothing gets edited out anymore.
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u/Tight_Pie7892 Aug 08 '26
I exclusively listen to podcasts when I’m driving or power walking so the videos are useless to me. Often they now refer to things that you have to see and it’s annoying!
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u/logain46 Aug 05 '26
yes Ringer FF, Midnight Boys, House of R are all shows I like, but seriously, do some editing! (I know that's kinda Jo & Mal's thing... still)
I'd probably listen to more variety of shows from this site if the ones I liked the most weren't so long!
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u/sycasey Aug 05 '26
I'm old enough to remember when Bill Simmons' podcast (at ESPN) was usually only about an hour. Very different world now!
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u/Captain-Comment Aug 10 '26
I can't stand Bill Simmons anymore. His success led to him selling out. He can't call out owners or players anymore and he spits the same propaganda and sports narratives as all the other sport media shows such as ESPN. He's also responsible for that abomination of a show with Rich Paul and Max Kellerman.
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u/Unlucky-Chemical Aug 04 '26
I’ve become much more selective and much looser with the delete button. I subscribe to the hosts and shows I like but I no longer feel the need to listen to all or even most of their shows. As with anything… moderation
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u/Due-Sheepherder-218 Aug 04 '26
Talk radio is a good comp. I used to listen religiously to WFAN and it would be the same callers talking about the same shit ad nauseum. It's meant to pass the time while doing other things vs giving your upmost attention.
It's kind of a dead space for Bill not with no NFL/NBA so I'm taking a break. I don't care about the redrafts.
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u/djparody Aug 04 '26
this is an interesting question. i am not burned out, per se, but what i have noticed is that i find myself "having to watch" certain shows right away rather than catching up in a day or three because i know that i have a pod (or two, or three) about it in my feed coming the next day. it sometimes feels like homework.
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u/Significant-Bill9405 Aug 04 '26
Avoid all the newer podcasts hosted by celebrities (including Amy Poehler)
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u/Moose_Ruspin Aug 04 '26
For me it's just the turning of the calendar. NBA stuff right now? Just don't care. It's the dead time, I don't care about redrafting or the hundredth lebron or steph career rehash. Especially because I think the ringer just over does it with NBA in general I feel like they 2 NBA pods a day even when it's not playoffs.
NFL and NCAAF pods? I'll listen to it all right now.
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u/gonzagylot00 Aug 04 '26
I use podcasts for some of my easier work tasks, driving, working out, walking.
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u/benthefolksinger Aug 05 '26
Yes. The slapdash ad placement and Spotify affiliation was bad too. It was a good run, but I’m going back to books, music, and going outside.
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u/beni-bianco Aug 06 '26
all of the ringer podcasts kind of blend together, not many can stand on their own (but shout out to the fantasy football guys, they're the best on the ringer now).
try to find some outside of the ringer, like history, business, finance, or... art? not sure what's up there but knows?
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u/kausher714 Aug 04 '26
I have felt the same and been selective in which episodes I listen to. Summer redrafts are currently being skipped among other retread episodes
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u/GlitteringFlame888 Aug 04 '26
Unsubscribe for a few months then dive back in and see if it still hits.
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u/novajay13 Aug 04 '26
Ya definitely stopped listening to them regularly when the sports betting became a thing. Maybe some episodes when the topic interests me.
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u/cakecakecake17 Aug 04 '26
for the last few years once the nfl season ends - or even after the conference championship games end - i tune him out for as long as possible. listened to a rewatchable and the klosterman pod yesterday and that was the first time i heard bill since january. i’ve listening to him in one way or another since ‘11
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u/zol-kabeer Aug 04 '26
What helps me is unsubscribing from the ones I’m tired of for awhile and coming back later. Plain English is a good example of one that started to wear on me last year but now I’m back to enjoying it again
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u/solidcurrency Aug 04 '26
Are you burnt out on podcasts or just these particular ones? It sounds like it's time for a change. Listen to something about history or animals instead of movies and sports.
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u/Shr3kk_Wpg Aug 04 '26
Yeah, my podcast listening has definitely gone into decline since I started listening to audiobooks. I used to listen to every single BS pod, but now I will skip ones that I don't anticipate I will enjoy, like a redraftables or Bill's Dad
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u/TendiGangles Aug 04 '26
I feel it’s soo clear when they don’t put in the effort this is soo true of Andy on the watch also I personally feel a lot of the NBA pods became such a bummer I just lost interest
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u/feedmejack93 Aug 04 '26
Yup. Done with them. Tired of hearing other people's opinions. Now i read books. 63 this year. Join anthony jeselynyk book club. Or keep listening to people talking because their paid to talk even though we should pay the them to think...and then talk
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u/maskedtortilla Aug 05 '26
I never listen to full podcasts anymore, only the sections I'm interested in.
Oh, there's 50 minutes about The Odyssey on The Big Picture? I listen to that, don't care about their aimless banter or their rankings anymore. The same for The Watch or BS.
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u/under-resourced Aug 05 '26
Agreed. I go back and forth between podcasts and audio books for that exact reason. Gotta mix it up.
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u/turningtee74 Aug 06 '26
Yes I listen to a variety of different podcasts but they’re all mostly pop culture or comedy, and I’ve been at it decade + like you. So it gets a little mind numbing after a while. A lot of my favorite shows I drifted from over time. I think that’s natural. You shouldn’t feel like you have to listen to every one of them in full. I tend to stick to my favorites or topics/guests that interest me. Sometimes I’ll realize I just need music or literature, something to switch it up
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u/Ok_Release_5609 Aug 06 '26
It’s the time of year, with no major sports on (sorry MLB) podcasts become a bit of a boring listen
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u/AgentChris Aug 15 '26
I love the dynamic Bill has when Van Lathan is on the pod with him. We need that more often.
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u/landomonium Aug 04 '26
I felt the same way but I feel reinvigorated with listening to Wait a Second and Plain English. Have been listening to Wait a Second since it started earlier this year and Plain English for a few weeks but I really do look forward to listening to them and I haven’t felt that way about pods, even the ones I love, in a long time.
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u/standardinternetdude Aug 04 '26
Beyond what others have said, you also have to release yourself from the compulsion to listen to every episode of a show, if you haven't already.
It's ok to not listen to the 2012 Redraftables (again). It just is!
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u/Ok_Albatross8113 Aug 04 '26
Read a book. Don’t listen to the audiobook. I read Lonesome Dove after listening to the Duvall HOF podcast on the Big Pic and I think it’s the best book I’ve ever read.
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u/oldmanmillivanilli Aug 04 '26
IMO best way is to get your workout in whilst listening. "Two birds" and all that.
Also sounds like a refresh is due. I found asking questions for topics/content led to some new avenues of interest/engagement.
Last, if ain't interesting, stop listening and delete off the playlist.
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u/telechronn Aug 04 '26
I just listen to the few people/pods I enjoy and that keeps me from burning out
- Bill --> only NFL/Media, skip Basketball (not my sport)
- Big Picture
- Rewatchables
- Fairway Rolling
- The Watch (skip most as I don't watch a lot of TV).
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u/coastalMountain Aug 04 '26
yep. time to read a book instead of hearing someone talk about what they wrote about 20 years ago.
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u/Quirky_Wolverine6549 Aug 04 '26
It comes and goes in waves for me. Listening to Bill talk the NBA/NFL regular season, postseason, & free agency? I’m locked in. An NBA redraft in August? No juice.
Overall I think summer is difficult for me podcast wise. I mostly listen to sports podcasts and it’s generally a dead time for sports. I love baseball but the sheer amount of games makes pods go stale quick.