Regarding “Regarding The Talk Show”

I just listened, and then re-listened to Dan Benjamin’s thoughts on The Talk Show, in which he responds to what must be an avalanche of emails, Twitter messages, blog posts, and even a song about John Gruber’s decision to move The Talk Show away from 5by5 to Mule Radio Syndicate.

The whole thing is very tastefully done, and I have buckets of respect for the way Dan did this. He does reveal that the decision was indeed not mutual, and in particular that Gruber continuing the show under the same name at Mule was a surprise to him. But he also gave sincere appreciation and respect to Gruber and his decision, even encouraging everyone to continue listening to The Talk Show on Mule. Kids, this is what it means to be a grown-up. So classy.

The thing that impressed me most, however, was this little story:

Way back when, I used to have a 45-minute commute to a crappy IT job. Every morning on the way to work and every night on the way home, I’d listen to my favourite talk show hosts doing their thing.

And over time, as weird as this might sound, they became my pals — in my head, anyway. And sure, they didn’t know me, but I knew them very well. And I loved hanging out with them.

So when things changed — when a show came to an end or a host left — it affected me. I felt like I’d lost something. Maybe just something small, but something.

Because these were the people I hung out with every day, while traversing a long stretch of road. And they had a place in my life just like my real-life friends.

That is exactly how I feel, and it was a beautiful thing to hear it so perfectly described. That Dan understands and respects this about his listeners is why I listen to 5by5 shows, and why I’m prouder than ever to be a monthly supporter.