I’m a big fan of The Moth podcast, stories of real-life experiences recorded live and without notes, but self-promotion by the show’s host – which is always nestled among his closing-show commentary, and voiced by an unnamed woman (so we’ll think it is she who is imploring us to buy the book, therefore it’s not self-promotion, right?) played at the end of every single show and without variation – has become a major irritant and motive for me to skip the conclusion. It goes like this – though I’ve blanked the relevant details, to avoid offering my own promotion:
Our podcast host, *** *******, is author of the book **** **: ** ****** ***** ******. Learn more at *************.com.
I tend to listen to the shows in bulk, i.e., five or six in a row, and this sensitizes me somewhat, but I’m sure my listening patterns are not unusual.
What I don’t understand is why the The Moth’s podcast producer Jay Allison lets this go on, show after show. It hurts the podcast’s integrity, making it appear to be a vehicle for the author/host and stealing some of the spotlight from the performers. Not only that, the author should be heedful of promotion fatigue. When I first started listening to the postcasts I thought I might visit the website to find out about the book. Now I zealously avoid the site for fear that the blip of my visit on his stats might further encourage him.