Then she thinks of all the other pathetic podcasts by and for people like her, with the same tastes and worldview and craving for recognition, and the same impulse to commodify them, varying only in degrees of shamelessness, polish, and reach, the outcome in every case to make their audience even lonelier. Podcast subscriptions are a numerical measure of loneliness, she thinks. Everyone just listens to the voice that makes them feel least alone, and the lonely are the easiest to manipulate.
