The Constant Listener is you.
The idea behind this site is simple. We want to provide a home for thoughtful, long-form critical writing about the podcast medium.
It seems everywhere one goes online there is a surfeit of writing focused on film and television, but podcasts don’t enjoy such deep coverage. Outside of the occasional article highlighting tentpole programs, there is an overall dearth of writing on the subject. This despite recent polling—conducted by Edison Research—showing that nearly half of America has listened to a podcast, with around a quarter of the country listening at least monthly. In order for this is vibrant, kaleidoscopic medium to continue growing artistically as well as in volume it will benefit greatly from increased coverage and examination. At its heart, the role of the critic is to illuminate; not simply seeking to appraise works, but to teach audiences how to listen more completely and engagedly.
A constant listener is someone who experiences the world auditorily, or at least seeks to do so. There is no real metric for its measurement, it’s really a state of mind. As I see it they likely came of age with the blossoming of public media and the birth of the podcast, they are those who fill their commutes, workdays, and idle moments with long-form narrative works, or comedy, or discussion, or really quite honestly anything. With this site we’ll aim listeners towards shows that are worthy of their time and exploration, as well as attempting to chart the history of the medium and draw points between influences, schools of thought, and use that to forecast the future of podcasting as well.