It's not hard to see the echo of the web in podcasts: Balkanization and commoditization. I think Econtalk was my first podcast, back in 2007 or so. It was not a crowded space, and the one show I listened to seemed interesting and well-made. More importantly, the guests were not on stop 62 of their 100 podcast marathon, so everything seemed fresher.

By comparison, just about every podcast is produced better now than back then (though I doubt the necessity of 100MB file sizes for an hour of talk) and I can listen to 5 separate podcasts that have weekly content, all of which is more tightly tailored to me than my favorite 5 episodes of a year's worth of my favorite show in the old times. But that means there's too much stuff to meander through, plus I'll end up hearing the same person interviewed on all 5 shows.

And, advertising everywhere. Most podcasts aren't the handsfree experience they used to be, now that I have to seek past ads every 15 minutes.