narrating

I'm also a fan of option #1. I have often heard podcast hosts say that they try to make their ads entertaining, and unfortunately those attempts usually result in the longer, rambling ads you describe. I don't need the ads to be entertaining; I just need them to be functional. My preference is also for ads to be at the beginning of the podcast, but of course I understand why they're often sandwiched in the middle.

I am so appreciative of this thread for introducing me to new podcasts, especially My Dad Wrote a Porno (which returns July 4!). A couple on my roster I don't think have been mentioned are The West Wing Weekly (hosted by Joshua Malina and Hrishikesh Hirway) and Dear Book Nerd. Neither is exactly a personal favorite of mine. TWWW hasn't quite hit its stride yet, IMO, although it's still early days. It's a bit sterile for my TV recap podcast tastes. My favorite, favorite podcast (and piece of media overall right now?) is Gilmore Guys, which is diametrically opposed to TWWW in terms of style. On yesterday's episode of Gilmore Guys, guest Matt Mira (of Nerdist and James Bonding podcast fame) made a funny but excellent point about east coast versus west coast podcasts--i.e., heavily edited, NPR-style versus the loose, improvisational, listening in on friends having fun quality that Gilmore Guys, for a prime example, has. West Wing Weekly is a west coast podcast with an east coast sensibility, I think, and that's why I have a hard time being terribly excited about it. (I love NPR-style podcasts! Just not for this particular kind of recapping.) I like both Hirway and Malina, though--and Malina's involvement gives the show an undeniably interesting twist--so I plan to stick with it. Dear Book Nerd is a literature advice podcast from Book Riot. I love the show and the purpose it serves, but I feel like they spend too long on each question. I felt the same way with Dear Sugar Radio, which I unsubscribed from a few months ago. I love advice columns in print, but for some reason they make me very impatient in podcast form. I tend to let a few episodes of this one pile up and then play them while I'm cleaning, doing laundry, or drifting off to sleep (regular host Rita Meade has a very soothing voice). My commitment to Gilmore Guys limits my overall podcast listening time, because the reality is they're releasing around six hours' worth of content most weeks. I think I could do with even more, though! I'm going to miss it terribly when it's over. Other favorites are Serial (or, well, one and a half seasons of Serial) and Pop Culture Happy Hour, which were my gateway podcasts, as they were for quite a few people I know.