Why not listen to podcasts at 2x speed?

Why not listen to podcasts at 2x speed? Picture 1

Why shouldn't you listen to podcasts at 2x speed?

There are many reasons why speeding up podcast listening is pointless. Notably, they tell you that by listening to podcasts at 2x speed, you're doing yourself and the podcaster a disservice.

You will not understand or remember the information.

The most obvious reason why you shouldn't listen to podcasts at 2x speed is because it prevents you from actually absorbing what's being said. You might think that your brain is capable of not only understanding, but also storing information from the podcast you're listening to for later recall. But that's completely wrong.

Based on scientific experiments and real-life examples, it is not easy for our brains to process information when we speak at super-fast speeds. Nature has determined that there is an optimal speed at which our brains can receive and process information. And it is not twice the normal speaking speed.

You will miss important emotions or nuances.

Even if you think you're capable of absorbing the information presented in a podcast, listening faster means you'll miss any emotion or nuance that comes across in the content.

If you like listening to true crime podcasts, the serious tone of someone's voice, like the rest of the podcast, will morph into someone who sounds more like Mickey Mouse. This, while slightly amusing, is extremely inappropriate.

If you like comedy podcasts that just make you laugh, then by listening at double speed you're ruining the pacing and wordplay. In essence, no genre benefits from being listened to at double the normal speed.

Unable to fully enjoy podcast

If a podcast is worth listening to, it's worth fully enjoying. Why do podcasts seem to be singled out for this treatment? Some people claim they can skim through books and still enjoy them, but that can't be said for other forms of media?

For example, you can fast-forward through the 11-hour extended edition of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but why would you do that? Would you actually watch the movies? Of course not.

With a good podcast, you should listen to it at normal speed to fully enjoy the content inside.

You're disrespecting responsible podcasters.

Even if you don't mind the effects of listening to podcasts at 2x speed, spare a thought for the podcasters responsible for the content you're consuming. Do they really deserve to be so despised that their content can be listened to in ways they never intended?

Sure, most podcasts these days are sponsored or paid for in some way. But so are other forms of entertainment that no one has ever thought about speeding up. Podcasters spend time and energy writing and recording podcasts for you to enjoy, so the least you can do is listen to them at normal speed.

Marvin Fry

Update 04 September 2024