On July 20, 2026, the podcasting world lost a legend. John C. Dvorak, former cohost of This Week in Tech, longtime columnist at PC Magazine, and the cohost I knew him best as, on the No Agenda Show with Adam Curry, the guy who created podcasting.
What followed in episodes 1,888 and 1,889 was an outpouring of love and support from the audience that I think every podcaster should notice. So I didn't outline this one. It didn't feel like the right subject to structure and script. This isn't a weeping, moaning episode either. It's about something you're building right now whether you realize it or not: parasocial relationships.
Understand the power of parasocial relationships
A parasocial relationship is a deep emotional connection with someone you don't personally know. It's one-sided. You feel like you know them. They may not know you exist.
Yes, parasocial relationships can go bad when they slide into something more like stalking. But most of the time, they're good things, and they're a big part of what makes podcasting matter.
For a lot of No Agenda listeners, that's exactly the relationship they had with John. They never met him. Many never even interacted with him on social media. But they'd heard him episode after episode for almost 20 years, about six hours of content every week across two episodes.
If you want to see this for yourself, sample episodes 1888 and 1889, the two memorial episodes for John. It took two episodes to get through the bulk of the love, and even at high speed you'd have a hard time finishing them both in a day. That's how much was poured out for a man who didn't know most of the people who loved him.
And it's okay to laugh in the middle of that. In the note I sent in for episode 1889, I even got Mimi Dvorak, John's wife, to laugh at something I mentioned. Laughing is part of healing for a lot of people, and it's part of remembering the fun.
Here's the part I want you to sit with: podcasters often never get to understand the impact they're having. Think about that as a listener, and think about it as a podcaster.
See why podcasting feels personal
People build parasocial relationships with all kinds of celebrities, so what makes podcasting different?
When you watch a TV show, you're looking at a fictional character. You might feel connected to the actor, but do you actually know that person? They're paid to perform. Even how they behave in front of fans could be part of the act. I'm not saying it always is. I'm saying it could be, because these are professionals.
Podcasting doesn't work that way as often. Yes, some podcasters have learned to project or present a slightly bigger version of themselves, and I do that too. That's not inauthentic. It's like public speaking. Speakers talk about an imaginary box in front of you, about the width of your shoulders, where most of your hand motions live in private conversation. On stage, your gestures need to reach outside that box, because you're one small person in front of a big audience. Being bigger isn't being fake.
So while there are voice actors, newscasters, and script readers in podcasting, most podcasters are still communicating authentically.
Let passion and authenticity build the bond
Most of us are fueled by a word that's practically a buzzword in podcasting because we say it so much, and it's still true: passion.
People start podcasts because they're excited about a thing. That's why I started. My clean comedy podcast came from wanting to make people laugh. The Audacity to Podcast came from passions I genuinely wanted to share. And along the way, your audience hears you love something, or hate something, and they hear how strongly you feel. That's where the bond starts.
Transparency levels vary, and that's fine. I keep my professional life fairly separate from my personal life, so there's a lot I simply don't share. When I have shared personal things, like the divorce I went through and the pain I didn't ask for, part of me still wonders whether my audience needs to know that.
But those personal touch points are often exactly what deepens the relationship. That's why I'm trying to be a bit more open lately, not by revisiting the darkness, but by letting more of my personality come through. It's also why I recently stopped reading a script and went back to talking off an outline, with occasional episodes like this one where I have no outline at all. Those choices are little pieces of authenticity you hand to your audience.
Meet listeners in the intimate moments of their lives
Then there's where people listen.
People fall asleep to podcasts. I listen in the shower. I listen in the car, while I'm working, doing chores, taking care of the yard. These are places where other conversations often aren't welcome, aren't possible, or wouldn't feel respectful. Imagine telling a friend you plan to listen to them while you fall asleep. In person, that's rude. With a podcast, it's normal.
Combine open, personal content with those intimate contexts, episode after episode, and listeners start to feel like I know this person. Then one or two small interactions online, a reply, a mention, and it flips: they know me. They've seen me.
That's what I talk about constantly with engagement, and it's what I covered in my previous episode about bringing your audience into your podcast. Whatever involving them looks like for you, it helps them feel seen, and it deepens the relationship.
Recognize how podcasts can carry people through darkness
So as podcasters, we have more parasocial relationships than we realize, and that comes with responsibility. What you recommend and advise carries more weight than you think, so be careful with it.
But that's the caution angle. The bigger opportunity is beautiful: you get to speak truth into people's lives, inspire them, and make them laugh, which can be more powerful than we give it credit for.
During the first two years of my divorce, a long, stretched-out process, this podcast went dark with no announcement because I was blindsided. It was just me and my son, who was about a year old, and I was crying multiple times a day. Podcasts were there. My audience was there too, because of the parasocial relationships they felt they had with me, and that's what moved them to send love, encouragement, and support I desperately needed. Maybe you were one of those people. Thank you.
I'll say this unapologetically: I believe God used podcasts to help save my life more than once. And one of the most powerful things podcasts did during those dark seasons was help me laugh. Maybe not out loud, but internally. Something that lifted my spirit a little.
Stop saying “just”
So if you're out there thinking you're just telling jokes, or just talking about a TV show, or just covering technology, drop the word “just.” You're not just doing that.
You're connecting with people. They may be building a relationship with you, feeling like you understand them and you're talking straight into their ears, in places where no other conversation happens.
Some people simply need that connection. They need someone to listen to, something to help them through the day, something to look forward to.
During one of my dark seasons, some guys invited me into their Friday night video gaming squad on Xbox. Years later, one of those guys went through his own hard time, and I was able to be there for him. He hugged me in tears and said, “Thank you for being here for me. I'm sorry I wasn't there for you when you were going through your hardship.”
I told him he was there. Every Friday night. Even though we were just playing video games, he gave me something to look forward to, someone to talk to, someone I could be silly with and laugh with. He was there for me in a way nobody else was.
You can be that for your audience no matter what you talk about. You don't need serious subjects to build a meaningful connection. You don't need to expose every flaw and be totally transparent. You connect simply by being there.
Make intimacy a practice, not a format
Several years ago I published episode 279 on what makes podcasting more intimate than other media. Here was that outline:
- Being authentic
- Speaking directly to individuals
- Building relationships
- Publishing consistently
- Taking content everywhere
- Engaging with real people
- Connecting through social media
- Focusing on the niches
Notice what's not on that list. Audio or video. How much you edit. Background music. Loudness levels. Whether you interview guests. Set all the form, format, and technical details aside. Being there for someone episode after episode is what builds this kind of relationship.
Use your influence for good
So what are you going to do with that?
I hope you use it for good, and I think most of you already are. But I'm not saying you now carry a massive responsibility to spread a certain message because you have an audience. Having an audience doesn't obligate you to preach anything.
It is an opportunity, though. Listen to your audience. Do what you can to make it not parasocial. Get to know them.
Deepen audience relationships with Podgagement
Here's how I describe Podgagement to people. There are plenty of tools, including inside your podcast hosting provider, that measure the breadth of your audience. I'm trying to measure and increase the depth of your relationship with them.
That means collecting voicemail feedback, seeing every review people write so you learn what they're actually getting from your show, and watching your charts. Charts aren't just a metric. They're a reflection of what's working with your audience.
That's why I rebuilt the tool. I realized engagement matters far more than simply collecting ratings and reviews, because of the relationship you're building.
Honor the relationships listeners build with you
So when someone takes the time to send you a message or a voicemail or something of value, accept it and cherish it. Adam Curry describes it as time, talent, and treasure: doing something for you, making something for you, or giving something of value to you.
But don't let that be the end. Try to turn those parasocial relationships into actual relationships, because the relationships are what really matter to most of us.
The numbers are nice. It's fun to watch your show grow, and if you're monetizing, the dollars matter for that goal. But for a lot of us independent podcasters, what we want most is the relationships, because it circles back to passion. We're talking about something we love, hoping to connect with people who love it too.
That's also why it's okay to mourn podcasters you never met. John C. Dvorak this year. Todd Cochrane last year. Charlie Kirk. And others who may mean more to you in your corner of the industry. Of those three, Todd was the only one I had an actual relationship with, which is why I devoted a whole episode to his memory after he died. But all of them influenced me in different ways.
Grieving someone who never knew you existed doesn't make you weird or a stalker. They showed up for you episode after episode, and those episodes met you where you were.
Now flip it around. Think about your favorite podcasters. What if one of them died? What would you feel? What if I died? (I hope you're not sitting there thinking you'd feel relief.) Whatever those feelings are, turn them toward your own audience, because some of them feel that way about you.
How can you honor those people? How can you influence them for good, inspire them, make them laugh, improve their day, help them through a dead-end job, give them something to look forward to?
Be someone's light, one episode at a time
I once had a job that started as a dream and became a living hell for reasons I won't get into. Podcasts gave me something to look forward to. I knew a certain show released on a certain day, and I needed to make it to that day so I could hear that episode. Just like those Friday nights with the guys, it pulled me forward.
You might be that for someone. You might be the one light in an otherwise dark life. You might be the thing helping someone get from week to week.
I'm not saying your podcast is a life-or-death situation and people will collapse if you skip an episode. I am saying that no matter what you talk about, you could be someone's light for the day or the week.
If you love The Audacity to Podcast and value the podcasting inspiration and education I provide, would you please consider giving back what it's worth to you?
Supercharge your podcast engagement and grow your podcast!
Do you ever feel like your podcast is stuck? Like you're pouring your heart into your podcast but it seems like no one is listening?
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Disclosure
This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship. I may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.
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