AI Slop Killed The Podcast Star | The Shifting Landscape Of Media

I'm shifting away from listening to podcasts and I'm a blog reader now.

In Episode #508 of 'Meanderings', Juan & I discuss: why our media diets are shifting, how we each consume information across video, audio, books, Substack, X long‑form (even X Spaces), why written digital content is winning more of our attention lately, the flood of AI‑generated media (from YouTube videos to TTS podcasts spun from Reddit threads), the challenge of finding high‑signal sources, fiction vs non‑fiction swings, curation styles (tabs vs phone-first), rising ad density in pods/YouTube to near ad‑free long‑form writing and why subtlety and cadence get lost in AI summaries of long videos.

No support for this week, the beanie remains cold.

Stan Link: https://stan.store/meremortals

Timeline:
(00:00:00) Intro
(00:01:48) How we consume now
(00:04:26) From video rabbit holes to purposeful listening and reading
(00:09:35) Podcasting 2.0 and structuring feeds to handle AI content
(00:12:20) Why digital reading wins for AI and crypto topics
(00:16:30) Finding and filtering digital reading: Substack, X longform, and curation styles
(00:19:37) Longform on X and email newsletters as modern blogs
(00:22:07) One inbox vs many silos: different workflows for discovery
(00:26:21) Timeless vs timely episodes: examples from Rick Rubin, Brian Armstrong, Lex Fridman
(00:29:07) Boostagram Lounge
(00:31:21) Enhancement vs slop: subtle AI in scripts and production
(00:38:20) AI guidance wins and fails: car fixes vs an $800 vet visit
(00:41:03) TTS flooding the podcast indexes: Reddit threads to AI voices
(00:46:28) High signal vs hype: debating Gary Vee and trend timing
(00:52:38) Uniqueness from humans vs AI clones: where interviews still shine
(00:56:37) Superabundance everywhere: YouTube, podcasts, music, and text
(00:59:14) Hard mediums breed quality: from early podcasting to AI curated media
(01:03:00) On demand past, uncertain future: predicting the next media shift
(01:08:51) Follow the money: ads, creators, and why text feels cleaner
(01:10:27) Wrap-up

Connect with Mere Mortals:
Website: https://www.meremortalspodcasts.com/
Discord: https://discord.gg/jjfq9eGReU
Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/meremortalspods
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meremortalspodcasts/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@meremortalspodcasts

Value 4 Value Support:
Boostagram: https://www.meremortalspodcasts.com/support
Paypal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/meremortalspodcast