In 2018 I was subscribed to like 20+ podcasts. Most of these were either tech news or "popular" podcasts. Lots of once or twice a week in that group and it really felt like a chore to keep up with them. I also felt that there was dwindling actual information or entertainment that I was getting out of them so by 2019 I had already unsubscribed from about 1/3rd of them. The pandemic hit and I no longer had a 30-45 minute commute so I stopped listening to most of my podcasts. I unsubscribed to the rest and only listen to 2 regularly (while running) and have a few others that I listen to if the topic/guest is intriguing. All of this is to say that most podcasts seem to exist in an effort to make podcasts rather than having anything worthwhile or entertaining to say. Also, none of the podcasts I am still subscribed to are tech related.
I personally never really got into podcasts. I just get bits here and there from them. They remind me of the old AM late night radio shows. There are a tons of interesting items out there. Sometimes they get someone who is actually interesting to listen to. But many I see they are talking to themselves and/or reading tweets/blogs/other articles then reacting to that. There is an audience for both types. But I am not sure it is that big. Big enough for a small production crew to care about, but not big enough for any meaningful sized audience. There are of course exceptions out there of the 'big names' but most are very small audiences that enjoy that niche content.
