The debate is actually broadcast vs narrowcast
Podcasts have been around for quite awhile, I think it would be safe to say at least since 2005. Back then there were maybe two or three hundred podcasts and of that you might have been interested in three or four. But back in 2005 talk radio was everywhere and if you were a fan of spoken word entertainment you probably listened to a lot of talk radio, but were you really enjoying the experience.
You see radio, in general, uses the “broadcast” model. This is where they try to reach as many listens, within the radio station’s geographical broadcast range as possible. Radio had and still has the the technical limitation of reaching only the listeners their radio wave signal can reach. Based on this limitation they need to appeal to as many people as possible to gain as many listeners as possible to increase how much they can charge their advertisers.
The “broadcast model” means the content was not very specifically dialled into you particular interests. An example is the radio program may talk about technology in general but you interest in specifically in Apple technology, or perhaps the radio program did talk about Apple technology but only for a few minutes out of a one hour program, but you would need to listen for the full hours just to catch the few minutes of what you actually wanted.
Podcasts are not limited by geography, the magic of of the internet makes podcasts accessible to everyone everywhere. Because of this significant edge podcasts can adopt a “narrowcast” (yes I think this is a made-up word) model. Podcasts topics can be very specific and still reach a very large audience as they are not limited by geography.
Based on this knowledge you should review your current podcast subscriptions and if you find some that appear to have a very general topic format. You should ask yourself if there might be a more septic podcast out there that would better serve you.
Happy Listening!