#PodcastHotTake: Podcasters who do not insert chapters into their episodes are lazy.
Yep, I said it.
I mean it, too.
So much so I went on a bit of an audio rant on X. Originally published on x.com
Why are chapters so important? Well clicking play on a podcast episode without chapters is like a book without a table of contents. Could you read the book without a table of contents? Yes, you could. But isn't it nice to have a skimmable way to know what you're getting yourself into?
I get it, but as I tend to listen whilst running I'm not looking at my phone. For long shows it can be handy to find specific sections and ought to be standard.
I know Apple has headed in the direction of automatic chapters. Which is a good start. However, when I use AI to automatically generate chapters, it is far from perfect. I'm old school and would rather make sure that before the episode is released that I've gone through and finalized chapters.
As I was typing this I pictured an old man yelling, "Get off my lawn!" LOL.