Perhaps the most popular type of podcast is the interview.

While there are many styles and approaches, interview podcasts typically fall into two categories:

The first is where the guest speaks from tried and tested principles,  methods and opinions. They’ve built these up over the time. They sound smart, succinct, solid.

Most interview podcasts are like this.

The second category is almost the opposite.

It’s a slice of life - full of fluid ideas and thoughts. These don’t always age well, but they certainly reflect where the person is at that moment in time. It’s in this category that vulnerability, insight and meaning appears - almost unfolding in real time. This category of podcast most definitely has a higher risk of noise, yet also a higher chance of real, human, signal.

As for the sweet spot? Perhaps it’s this second category, where the guest is guided by an expert interviewer.

A secret skill set, then, is the ability to curate both guests and episodes where you’re working in category 1, but the listener feels like they’re living in category 2.