AI-generated podcasts cause a punk rebellion

There are a number of things that cheese me off. People playing TikTok videos aloud on the bus, for instance. The Lib Dems have proposed issuing fines of up to £1,000 for "headphone dodgers"; I am more inclined towards a combination of corporal and capital punishment.

The folk at Inception Point AI are not exactly on my Christmas card list, after churning out more than 3,000 "episodes" a week across 5,000 "podcasts", "hosted" entirely by AI-generated "personalities". Yes, I am air quoting as I am typing, much to the confusion and concern of my colleagues at the Manchester Evening News.

And a comment that will cause excessive eye-rolling on my behalf is when podcasts are still referred to as "disruptive". It is a 20-year-old medium that is essentially an evolution or extension of radio, and increasingly, television. A quick look at the set – yes, we have podcast sets now – of the new Harry Hill podcast, and you realise that this would have been on BBC Three a decade ago; now, it’s YouTube, with Apple and Spotify as an afterthought.

But podcasts? Disruptive? You clearly haven’t been paying attention. They are now very much part of the mainstream. For publishers, they have moved from nice-to-have to must-have to what-you-haven’t-got-one-yet?!

The DIY days are over, and we are in an era of glossy, overproduced mini-television shows. I miss the charm of those ramshackle days, and I suspect, in reaction to the centre-of-the-road (dare I say dull?) podcasts being pumped out, there could be a new movement growing.

For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

In 2026, I predict that we will see the emergence of punk podcasts. Now, this doesn't mean we are going to don nose rings, brightly colour our hair, and then sell out by promoting butter.

Punk podcasting will simply be a reaction to these big budget shows. Whilst celebrities chat amongst themselves in expensive studios, normies will find unique locations out and about in the real world, right at the heart of stories in their communities. 

Video-first productions will be paralleled by wildly inventive audio formats that are playful and exciting. 

The chatter of the Westminster bubble will be contrapuntal (thank you, GCSE Music) to the unapologetic local gossip.

They will not be chasing downloads, they will not be pleading for sponsors; the punk podcasters will simply be doing it for the hell of it.

I, for one, welcome the Sex Pistols to the podcasting Ed Sheerans out there.