I think I've finally worked out what annoys me so much about these 'intellectual podcasts'. Like, sure, they're almost always laundering right-wing politics, but I find them grating in a much more visceral sense than that, and this includes the ones that *aren't* right-wing.

I think it's because of how those shows are almost entirely centered on a few people sitting in a room enthusiastically agreeing with each other. There's a pretense of intellectual debate, but no actual depth of any sort.

There's no room for learning of novel perspectives, of different experiences. It's just two dudes - it's almost always dudes - talking over each other about how right they both are. No genuine reflection or inquiry.