Actually, podcasts are neither a good content output format nor a good input format. I heard about this from a former colleague a long time ago who specialized in tracking this sector. He mentioned Big Inside Scoop, Silicon Valley 101, Shengdong Huopo, and so on. That era's Xiaoyuzhou app had this same feeling—content creators don't make money, platforms barely sustain themselves, and after all these years there's been no breakout trend. It feels like people are starting to tell this story again these past two years.

Actually, most podcast listeners are Americans. Windshield time is too high there—people listen to FM radio while driving every day. China's mobile internet developed too fast and directly skipped America's FM era phase, jumping straight into the screen fragmentation time logic where everyone has a phone they can't put down.

From my observation, the important reason why China's middle class now listens to podcasts is that certain specific old-timers/mid-level figures only express their views on podcasts, and we're forced to consume their content. If these people were willing to use Bilibili at all, I estimate hardly anyone would listen to this stuff.