Trustworthiness in Podcasts

How I Figure Out What Podcasts to Trust: A Quick Media Literacy Guide

I have noticed the word “media literacy” is a trigger point right now. With social media, we’re swarmed with trying to figure out the truth from what seems like the truth. Podcasts feel like they’ve been at the center of this conversation for a long time. 

I’ve thought about how to talk about trusting media for a while. I’m not trained as a journalist, but this topic is important to me because "podcasts" aren't the problem. It's the fact that it's easier to be captured by ideas and people who are really, really, good at communicating misleading information.

As we go through the world, not being able to take the time to verify and vet every news organization, source, and story is a real thing. We have jobs, family, chores, and we want to rest. We also want to feel informed and like we’re not just believing things to believe them. 

These three questions are the quick way I orient myself as to whether or not a podcast is going to be worth it for me to listen to. I share it, hoping it might help listeners find anchors in this wild world.

#1 Who is Speaking? 

Do we remember that episode of The West Wing that goes around social media on occasion? The one where Jed Bartlett goes off on a woman in a green jacket with specific Bible versus because the woman was a radio host using her position to cherry pick bigoted views from the Bible? 

Part of that scene is that the woman in question was the host of an advice radio show. She oriented herself as a doctor, which she was titled as. However, she held a doctorate in Literature. In this scenario, her being “Doctor” was misleading, because people might just assume her doctorate was in a field more appropriate for giving life advice than a literature degree is. Everyone who gets a doctorate works very hard to do so, but that doesn’t mean certain fields are appropriate for them to work on with their doctorate being front and center.

This is an important thing to figure out. Is the person speaking on a topic someone who has studied it, hopefully directly, for years, and has been peer reviewed? Peer reviewed meaning - have other experts in the field responded to it? Is the topic a special interest of a non-expert, are we able to find multiple ways to back up the claims from multiple sources? What are the other sources saying about the claims? Can these things be found in the show notes of the podcast, or on their website?

We need to navigate levels of expertise, and how we want to relate to them. It might be okay for someone super interested in a topic to not be an expert, especially if they’re bringing in the experts. If they don't bring in experts and live on a "trust me, bro" mentality - are you okay with that?

#2 What is Our Depth?  

This question is related the previous one. It’s not an identical twin, maybe it's fraternal. Definitely giving sibling vibes.

Media has a range of use. Some can be to primarily entertain, while educating on a surface level, others do deep dives on a topic by and with experts.

When you’re listening to a podcast, you have to understand the depth the hosts are coming from. Do they want to be reading and bantering off of surface level research, or are they doing more intense, thoughtful research and writing about it? Is it one, masquerading as the other?

This is important because it’s reflecting your relationship to the topic.

How do we figure out depth, though? Depth is often detailed by source material. If the piece doesn’t give sources, how can they be verified? If the source material is an expert, where can you find their work? Is it easy to find, or is it hard to find? Again, is it peer reviewed? 

There are levels and layers to this, but it’s important to consider your personal relationships with depth. The most important thing I learned through learning a language, is that Spanish 1 in middle school is so simple that it’s basically a lie. Meaning, if we get too simple on a lot of topics, we can run into really big misunderstandings, and possibly create misinformation. 

Figure out your relationship between entertainment and information, and how much you want to know, and how much your podcast knows. Know where you, and the podcast stand. Use that to be aware of how you’re sharing the information you learn. 

#3 What Are They Selling? 

All podcasts sell things. They have literal ads, sometimes they are spin-offs of a business. Oftentimes, they’re selling an idea. 

This relationship is a huge reason why I’m hesitant to listen to a lot of chat casts, and a lot of self help podcasts. There is a difference between someone talking about a topic because they’re exploring it with genuine curiosity, or because they want to use it to sell something or an idea. This question for the sake of really thinking about it, breaks down into further questions:

• Is the podcast or podcast guest selling something physical? 
• What is the point of the sale? 
• Is the product going to change your life? 
• Will it be a one time purchase, or an ongoing commitment? 

If the sale is “to help people” that’s a pretty broad subject. How narrow can it get, and does it align with something you’re okay with? 

Especially with ideas. Does the idea that the podcast is selling seem like it’s going to solve all of your problems with one change, or a simple change? Or a change so drastic that it’s unsustainable?

As an example: There are lifestyle studies that say that journaling can help mental health, but does your journaling podcast make you feel like everything will be derailed if you don’t journal every day? 

Open that frame of a question up, and see what you can find. 

Easy Peasy, Right? 

I frame these questions because the answers can reveal a lot about any piece of media. It also is important for the listener to understand where they sit, and where they want to sit.

Experts can make podcasts, but so can grifters. Orienting yourself with these thoughts as you’re listening is a great way to start pushing through the iffy and grifty to good, thought-provoking content.

If you want to learn more about this, I suggest NAMLE - the National Association of Media Literacy Education. Or head to your local library, they’re usually a really great place to start. 

I've written over one hundred podcast reviews in the last five years of doing this. Every single review is free, and nearly every podcast I review is free. If you like what I do, consider throwing me a tip on my Support Page so I can keep doing this.

Subscribe below for monthly updates on my writing, and my view of podcasting from my corner of the world.