The Totally Phony, Overhyped, Artificial, Counterfeit YouTube Video Podcasting Revolution

When the YouTube CEO trashes audio podcasting in favor of a video-only fantasy.

“People actually don’t want to just listen to podcasts, they want to watch podcasts, they want to watch this conversation happening… Video was a really big bet, that turned out to be true.”

This bombastic, nonsensical, absolutely false, and self-congratulatory statement was uttered by YouTube CEO Neal Mohan, who spoke with The Ankler CEO and Editor-in-Chief Janice Min to an invitation-only crowd at Cannes Lions on June 17, 2025.

Mr Mohan was not done with his hyperbole, adding, “Having podcasts hosted on YouTube and having the algorithm find new audiences for you every single day turns out to be really, really powerful, no matter how big of a podcaster you are.”

Now, I am sure that Mr. Mohan is quite skilled at what he does for YouTube. After all, while YouTube is raking in money from ad-supported clips of dogs sniffing their own butts, Jeff Bezos of Amazon spent $465 million on just the first season of its Lord Of The Rings series.

Despite the frenetic hype of Mr. Mohan, video podcasts are the latest — Latest what? 3D TV? Virtual Reality? Google Glass? Pepsi Clear? It may surprise Mr. Mohan to know that labeling something “can’t miss” does not necessarily make it so.

Let’s take a moment to cool down the room and look at video versus audio podcasts more objectively. That does not imply that the two formats cannot coexist. They can, quite amicably, like Home Depot and Lowe’s, ketchup and mustard, and Trump and Musk. Upon further reflection, nix that last example.

The Advantages of Video Podcasting

In a spirit of fairness, let’s assess the benefits of video in podcasting. Despite Mr. Mohan’s self-aggrandizing, video-centric, and swaggering comments, video indeed has benefits in podcasting.

First, you might have noticed that YouTube content frequently appears at the top of Google search results. The reason for this is that YouTube is owned by Google, and Google tends to prioritize YouTube videos in search results when users search for specific topics covered in those videos. Therefore, video podcasts on YouTube might receive preferential SEO.

Second, monetization of audio-only podcasts presents significant challenges for podcasters, especially independent podcasters. Audio podcasters cope by joining ad networks, utilizing platforms like Patreon, or affiliate programs, scheduling live events, and selling merchandise. On the other hand, YouTube natively offers several direct ways to monetize a YouTube podcast uploaded on a YouTube channel, including YouTube ad revenue, Channel memberships, Super Chat, Merchandising, and YouTube Premium revenue.

Third, you can Livestream on YouTube and get real-time interactions.

I assume that, at this point, Mr. Mohan is happy that I included the advantages of video podcasting, yet sad that I did not include the full range of benefits he has conceptualized, somewhat like an imaginary friend whose existence becomes so real that the line between fantasy and reality is blurred.

The Advantages of Audio Podcasting

I am not sure how or why, but audio podcasters are being pushed to include video because the non-podcasting media keeps droning on that they will be left behind if they do not.

If you read legitimate and well-researched podcasting publications like Podnews or Sounds Profitable, you will discover a more nuanced and data-driven approach to video podcasting. It is sufficient to say that these legacy podcasting publications recognize the potential of video podcasting, but do not consider it the dominant approach within the industry. To summarize, these publications approach video podcasting as another means of accessing the audience.

In a July 20 New York Times article, writer Joseph Bernstein asks, “Who is watching all these podcasts?” Bernstein explains to his readers that, according to Signal Hill, 30 percent of people supposedly viewing video podcasts actually minimize the video on their device or play it in the background.

Those two techniques essentially “MacGyver” video podcasts into audio podcasts.

Let me quote Joe Casabona of the Streamlined Solopreneur. Mr. Casabona is a podcaster, podcast consultant, expert, tech wizard, pundit, and all-around podcasting sensei.

“YouTube can help with discovery…but not in the way I initially thought.YouTube’s official guidance is that you should probably have a separate channel for your podcast, with a podcast playlist that exactly mirrors your podcast’s audio feed.

“But…the YouTube audience is SO different from the podcast audience as far as demographics, psychographics, habits…everything. So while just putting my podcast on YouTube is a tactic, it’s not a strategy.”

Let’s get to the advantages of audio podcasting.

First, audio podcasts present little in the way of sensory disruptions. By contrast, video podcasts on YouTube are often filled with numerous distractions. As Mr. Bernstein eloquently wrote in his New York Times article, “They don’t feature particularly fancy camerawork or flashy graphics.”

At the urging of an independent podcaster that I know and respect, I watched his first foray into video. It was uncomfortable that the camera was so close to his face that I paid too much attention to the crazy dance of his eyebrows, which seemed to be auditioning for Dancing With the Stars.

I don’t listen to or watch Joe Rogan, but documentarian Ken Burns was a guest, so I set aside my values and watched the show. Is it me, or does Joe Rogan have a massive head?

Or there’s the video podcasts with too many poorly lit people all talking into microphones at the same time.

Finally, at the urging of an independent podcaster, I watched a new video podcast on wellness. Perhaps because the podcaster or producer thought themself a budding Spielberg, they had multiple cameras that jumped uncomfortably between the three talking heads on the show. After a few minutes, I required a massive dose of Dramamine.

Second, on video, you are subjected to annoying YouTube ads (no, I don’t want to answer a question before we continue!), recommendations, and captivating thumbnails. It is just so easy to get distracted and click on other videos.

By contrast, audio podcasts offer a unique opportunity for a podcaster to establish trust with their listeners solely through their voice.

In fact, it is counterintuitive that the absence of visuals can create a more personal connection. Listeners often report feeling as though they are having a one-on-one conversation with the podcast host, which fosters a stronger sense of intimacy. That’s why host-read audio ads in podcasting are so effective at selling a podcast or service.

According to Voices, 48 percent of the audience responded that they have purchased at least one product advertised in a podcast from a host-read ad.

Third, audio podcasts offer far more access channels for listeners than the narrow path of YouTube, which limits the places where a podcast can be consumed and distributed. For example, I live in Southern New Jersey and, despite the stereotype, the state has a robust agricultural sector. With so many farms and open areas around me, cell service is spotty. I listen to podcasts every day on my morning walk. With a narrow bandwidth pipe, I can’t get YouTube video podcasts, even if I wanted to. But an audio podcast on Apple or Pocket Casts streams easily to my phone.

One of the significant reasons why audio podcasts are so popular among both creators & listeners is that they can be widely distributed through RSS feeds. To put it in simple terms, when you host your podcast on a hosting platform, a podcast RSS feed containing information about your show and its episodes is generated (irrespective of where you host your podcast). When you release a new podcast episode, it gets distributed to all the podcast platforms and directories where you’ve set up an account and published your RSS feed. This includes platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music, among others.

Fourth, podcasting gained popularity due to its content and technology, but also because listening could be easily integrated into people’s routines. In 2024, 79 percent of surveyed podcast consumers reported listening to podcasts on their smartphones, and according to NuVoodoo’s survey, 26 percent of them consume podcasts while driving. We have enough distractions behind the wheel without drivers trying to catch a glimpse of the video podcast they’re watching while doing their best Brad Pitt impression in F1.

Favorite activities while listening to audio podcasts include the work commute, driving, running, walking, working out at the fitness center, gardening, and household chores, as well as any activity where only the body is engaged, not the mind.

Fifth, from the podcaster’s perspective, audio-only podcasts are easy and inexpensive to start. A microphone, headphones, and a recording system like Riverside can be affordable. Even with improvements in technology, video equipment is expensive and more complex to master.

Moreover, the interview podcast is the most popular format among podcasting formats. If you’re hosting a video podcast, there’s a good chance that the guests you invite might be camera-shy and uncomfortable appearing on camera, and they might decline for this reason.

Not only that, but guests often don’t have the studio setup like podcasters do, so even if they agree to appear on a video podcast, it will end up looking bad on the screen when Zoom calls are used for video podcasts.

In addition, audio podcasting is beginning to do live streaming, potentially limiting one of YouTube’s advantages.

The Power of Audio

Finally, there is a new indie podcast from The Sound Boutique called The Sound Session, which delves into the creative and critical role sound plays in our lives. Hosted by audio producer and composer Gareth Davies, each episode features conversations with artists, audio professionals, and thinkers who are shaping the future of sound across media.

In the trailer, Gareth Davies asks a series of existential questions about audio: “What happens when sound is the story? When a world comes alive, and you’re in it. When does the silence hit harder than a visual jump cut, and a voice alone can make you cry?”

Here, Gareth Davies reminds us of the sheer power of audio, noting that, “This episode delves into the enchanting world of audio storytelling, exploring how sound can create emotional depth and immerse listeners in ways that leave visuals behind.”

Certainly, sight is our dominant sensory channel, yet the other sensory inputs play key roles in assembling our perceptual reality. It’s no accident that audiobooks, podcasting’s media sibling, are growing at a far faster clip than print or digital books. In a study conducted by the Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, researchers found that our brains are actually more likely to create meaningful imagery when we listen to a story — compared to when it’s read in a traditional format — because it allows more space for our brain’s visual processes to kick into gear. This explains, in part, why so many younger children love it when someone reads to them.

In effect, listening can help our brains better imagine the story than reading or watching a video.

According to podcast consultant George Witt, listening to audiobooks and audio podcasts enables the mind to comprehend phrases at a faster speed. Essentially, listening can spark a more emotional reaction.

According to a study from University College London, people have a more emotional reaction when listening to a novel than they do when watching an adaptation. When we listen to a story, our brain has to create more content, such as imagery, to supplant the words. This helps create a “greater emotional and physiological engagement than watching the scene on a screen, as measured by both heart rate and electrodermal activity,” according to conclusions drawn by Dr. Joseph Levin. The science makes intuitive sense ‒ hearing a story read aloud emulates social tendencies, and humans are conditioned to communicate with each other orally.

This greater emotional and physiological engagement also applies to audio podcasting.

Finally, there is a magic that happens in audio podcasting that is absent from video podcasting. Let’s face it. Talking heads with headphones on and huge microphones in front of their faces isn’t exactly anyone’s idea of a visually immersive experience.

That enchantment, however, is resonant in audio dramas like Silvertongues, Un(con)Trolled, and The Inn At The End Of Things; a narrative podcast such as Floating Space; and interview podcasts like The Art Of Kindness, and 5 Random Questions.

“Sound is touch at a distance,” says Anne Fernald, Professor of Psychology at Stanford University. Researchers at the National Institute for Neuroscience in Turin found that “sensory information — a particular sound — is coupled with emotional information — a memory of fear, for example, — and stored in the auditory cortex as a bundle. This allows the sound to acquire an emotional meaning.”

These sonic signatures resonate with us on a sensory, intellectual, emotional, and visceral level. In the 1975 movie, Jaws, the most prominent instruments are the tuba and the double bass, with the tuba playing the central two-note motif in the opening. We do not need to see the shark to know it’s there. As is often the case, hearing is more potent than seeing.

Helen Keller, upon being asked whether she considered vision or hearing more important, replied: “The problems of deafness are deeper and more complex, if not more important, than those of blindness. Deafness is a much worse misfortune.”

Let me end with Garet Davies from The Sound Session, who asked in his new indie podcast, “What can sounds do that words and visuals can’t? How does sound shape the world, and how can we shape sound?”

Yes, Mr. Neal Mohan, video podcasts will play a significant role in the podcasting industry. But despite your boasts and bloviating, audio podcasts will not be vanquished by YouTube. In fact, the audio podcast industry may eventually provide another avenue for distributing video podcasts beyond YouTube.

Remember Quibi, which was a short-lived mobile-focused streaming service known for its short-form, “quick bites” of content. It launched in April 2020 and shut down in October of the same year, less than six months later. Perhaps Quibi founder Jeffrey Katzenberg and CEO Meg Whitman were ahead of their time. Come on, Jeff and Meg. Try again—this time with video podcasts. Focus on independent podcasts.