Joe Rogan has the largest podcast audience in America. Sometimes, he casts his pod for two hours or even four. The longest Rogan podcast so far, a 5-hour, 19-minute banter marathon with actor and comedian Duncan Trussell, is longer than the 1962 movie The Longest Day, which reconstructed the D-Day landings in a mere three hours. If The Longest Day were remade now, it would be much longer. Perhaps we would watch it in real time just like we listen to people think in real time on podcasts. 

We are told that we want “immersive” entertainment, but even whales cannot stay underwater for more than an hour. What we really want is distraction. Rogan’s ramblings are the heir to talk radio. Unless you’re listening to a lunatic, you tune in and out of the radio as you do other things. You even turn it on and off as you go from room to room or car to office. These analog habits make you an unproductive member of the digital “attention economy,” in which your engagement depends upon your interest.