Over the last 4 years or so, Gruber has lost focus on this show. All episodes are at the end of the month just to meet his Squarespace sales quota. Used to be fun and engaging but he’s made this a mailed in afterthought.

Literally the worst and most boring tech podcast on Earth.

When Gruber started off with a solo podcast the results were sometimes scattershot and unfocused, but as of 2024 he and the show are firing on all cylinders. Topical tech subjects and good guests.

This is a program where John talks about Apple tech, sports, and politics mostly with other white men and the very occasional woman. Interesting perspective but mostly a monoculture of talking heads.

The host, Mr. Gruber, is an aging Apple Mac reviewer that’s no longer relevant in today’s complex tech world and seems lost a lot.

Just take a visit to his website to review his response to the attempted assassination on July 13th. Completely myopic in his obsessiveness towards politics. Take a breath for one minute and either say nothing or just thank God that our nation didn’t have to live through something that horrific before instantly jumping into the political angle. I listened to his show here and there for his perspective on Apple but couldn’t with his relentless focus on his political opinions. I visited his site to see if he had an opinion today and wished I hadn’t.

Congrats! Keep up the great work.

Got into this show from Stratechery plus and devouring Dithering (check them out if not aware). Love John going deep with all kinds of tech, developer, and Apple guests. Keep up the good work.

There’s some good content in here, but Gruber doesn’t do a great job staying on topic. His slightly unhinged ramble in his interview with Niley Patel about how the fallout of 9/11 might have been different had Al Gore been President was just completely unnecessary, and really detracted from the interesting discussions that might have been had. Please stay on topic!

I checked the RSS feeds. 92% of guest appearances are men. 97% are white. Truly a single appearance from a woman of color, and she was an Apple executive (Lisa Jackson in 2017). He and I emailed about it years ago, he knows it’s an issue, said he wanted to do better, but very-much has not. 😑

Arrogant Fan Boy Hot Takes

Indispensable for me.

The Elon Musk whinging has ruined this show. The podcast was best when Gruber does what he does best: Carrying Tim Cook’s water.

John is arguably the premier Apple blogger, but his seething hatred towards those who don’t agree with him politically can be felt more and more with each passing year. Additionally, he seems to flip flop and base these opinions on loose/poor info. If he’s going to mess up his show with poorly researched politics, he could take a lesson from Lex Fridman and listen to/have on those in tech that don’t just echo chamber his own opinion back at him. John’s voice, knowledge of Apple, and gravitas used to be compelling (and can still be) when he’s not on a political soapbox or personal vendetta, but these things are ruining his blog and his podcast. It’s truly a shame.

John obviously has a lot of friends who make a living using social media sites where they pay nothing or very little to turn around and receive money. So when these companies are shutting those APIs down his friends come on the show to complain. The best example is Craig Hockenberry who uses extreme profanity against Twitter without offering any ideas on improving the product.

There’s only a handful of podcasts I can stomach for more than a few episodes. However, Gruber’s “The Talk Show” is one I never tire of. The casual conversational format, mixed with the informational current events of the tech industry is a blend that keeps me listening and returning. Easily in my top 5.

If you want pure Tech news, reviews and opinions - go to Marques Brownlee (16 Millions YouTube Subscribers) John Grumbler lets personal politics and views gets in the way.

I find The Talk Show to be always worth a listen. Excellent chat. Good banter. The fiery, chaotic yin to Daring Fireball’s well-considered yang.

Coming soon: The use of the word “fascist” in every episode!

Gruber should stick to discussing technology and stay out of politics since he appears clueless.

John can talk about himself for 3 hrs. I gave this show a try many times separately but the most recent one with Nilay is the last straw for me. Don’t waste your time with this podcast.

Same 6 or so people show up in more than 80% of the episodes. John shines when he’s engaging with people whom he doesn’t think he knows more than-which is clearly how he feels about the same cast of 6 people. But when he brings on subject matter experts* to talk about something happening he’s more quiet and lets people talk. *rarely that’s Nilay, although that’s his usual go-to. Update late 2022: he’s gotten better about guests overall but I’ve given up listening. The episodes are too long and rambling. He probably puts his real effort into his paid show. But I don’t care enough about his opinion to bother.

Other than John over talking his guests and not letting them get a word in edgewise.. on occasion. This is still one of my favorites podcast out there.

I used to listen for Gruber’s tech insights, which are good, but tire of the constant political commentary. He should separate and do a political commentary show if he wants, but I’ve stopped listening. I also agree with other reviews about the rambling — especially the first 5-10 minutes with it nothing but chit chat having nothing to do with tech or Apple.

I like Gruber, but it’s hard to listen to this podcast. He’s arguably the greatest long-lasting Apple commentator, and his blog reflects that when he’s not writing an unhinged rant about how half the voting public are bigots. That ironic bigotry occasionally slips into this podcast, but that’s not why The Talk Show is bad. John fancies himself as Johnny Carson, but he’s more Ed McMahon - a functioning alcoholic with meandering topics, repetitive guests, and no direction, who is constantly giggling at nothing. That being said, he’s got a good nugget of commentary or information every now and then, but the mine is just about dry, and it’s getting harder and harder to dig. As long as the unnecessary and polarizing political diatribes continue, I am staying away from his sponsors.

Too many F-bombs in latest episode. Made me not very interested in this show anymore. Unsubscribed.

The host has some great geeky guests on his show and conveniently has show notes.

I don’t subscribe to a tech podcast to hear political talk. In his most recent podcast he disparaged listeners of the Joe Rogan Podcast.

Probably by being a fan boy, should probably learn how to talk at normal speed, great laugh; totally not distracting or weird

He doesn’t respond to anything other people say. He only forms a new thesis and digresses each time he opens his mouth, but never actually responds to what was said to him. In the Dieter interview he was incapable of engaging Dieter on the subject of his documentary without putting everything through an Apple lens. Myopic is an understatement. Also, sometimes he sounds drunk and he breathes heavily into the mic which triggers my misophonia.

I remember when this podcast was THE podcast to listen to each week or every other week. Today I’ve officially unsubscribed. Gruber just doesn’t seem to care anymore, and/or is perfectly comfortable with putting in as little effort as possible. And it amazes me that, from an outsider looking in, it appears his business and influence continues to hold strong, even when he clearly has been phoning it in for years. Say what you want about Rene Ritchie, but that man deserves all of the success that comes his way. He works hard. And I recognize that I’m not a paying customer, but if I’m giving my time and my following, I choose to follow people that still care.

Gruber has great insights, as evidenced by what he writes on his site. The big problem with this podcast is the many insufferable guests. Recently, Merlin Mann and Ben Thompson have stood out in particular as people who talk over him constantly and are neither funny, insightful nor informative on any level. The Ben Thompson “I need to push the metaverse at all cost because I got to interview Zuck, please forget how I pushed Clubhouse a few months ago thx” took the cringe crown. Other guests behave better but have too many axes to grind with Apple, which is not fun to listen to nearly every week. This brings me to how Gruber and others, from 2015-2020 absolutely, positively had to devote about 30 minutes of every single podcast to how bad the butterfly keyboard was. I don’t want to hear the same thing constantly.

Supposed to be a tech podcast and spent two hours talking about steak

I like this show. I’m a “tech enthusiast,” which just means I follow tech through various websites and newspapers, and indulge mostly in Apple products. John is a great host—he’s knowledgable and funny and his personality shines through—and the topics are interesting (if you’re an Apple fan). I do wish for more coverage of the social component of tech. John’s thoughts are always well-researched and, well, thoughtful, so I’d like to hear more about his view on tech’s role and influence in culture-at-large, particularly around issues of equity & equality. To that point, I know the world of Apple/tech writers is small and niche, but I’d love to hear more interactions with a more diverse group of people. As with any tech writing, it often can feel like an echo chamber of mostly straight white men. Nonetheless, a wonderful podcast. Thank you John for putting so much effort into it.

I used to listen to a large number of tech podcasts. Most have a pair or a small group of hosts, and almost invariably I dislike listening to at least one of them, typically the ones not named John. I stick with each podcast for as long as I can to hear what the host named John has to say, but eventually I am driven away by the non-John-named hosts. This show has only a John-named host, and while he talks to non-Johns, most of them are OK and if I don’t like a particular one I just bail and come back for the next episode. Sometimes there are even two Johns on the show, which is pretty close to my ideal. I get that some people don’t like THIS John (everyone likes the other one) but while there are things about him I should dislike (Yankees, etc.) I just find him funny, insightful and informative. So, The Talk Show remains a favorite.

This was my favorite podcast for a long time, even after the transition from 5by5. But in recent years it just seems like Gruber is coasting. Episodes are released infrequently and erratically. Weeks will go by without an episode, and then right before WWDC, two episodes will come out back to back, with no time to listen before the event. In the case of this year, there was an episode all about Play Date, an independent hand held video game console, right before the keynote. I just don’t get it... I have always loved Gruber’s personality and don’t mind the meandering topics, but there are some problems recently. The guest list is increasingly less diverse and insightful (some exceptions include Joanna Stern and Ben Thompson). Gruber repeats off topic anecdotes from week to week, and has a lot of holes in his knowledge about modern Apple, particularly the intricacies of iOS, tvOS, the iPad, and Apple Watch. He is extremely knowledgeable about the Mac and iPhone, but he seems perfectly happy leaving it at that. As time progresses, this perspective is becoming more and more limited in relevance. In a time where we have consistent and quality shows like ATP, Upgrade, and Connected, I wonder where The Talk Show really fits in. At the end of the day, Gruber will do Gruber. And good for him. But this isn’t a show that has the same appeal that it used to.

This pod used to be entertaining but Gruber has gone off the rails, finding faux injustice everywhere and the virtue signaling has become nauseating. Also he sounds slightly drunk and slow, almost as if statins are addling his mind. Pity.

Update: 9 years on and I’ve long since gotten over the 5by5 split, so I’m updating my review. I’m low-key tempted to keep my old 2 star review in place because 1) it’s not like Gruber lacks for audience, and 2) he probably finds the whole thing darkly hilarious at this point, but I can’t help but kick this back up to a 5. Great show. I listen every time a new episode is released. It’s notoriously long, but if you’re fine with that you’ll appreciate the depth of what he and his guests bring each week. Only nitpick is that I’d like to see a bit more variety in his guest line-up, but on the whole the formula works and Gruber (a writer by trade) has really settled into his role as a conversational podcaster.

Used to be a great tech podcast. They need to reclassify it as a Political podcast, because that is all it is. Now if you are not a liberal and agree with everything Gruber says, you should just not listen. Sad.

I used to like the long shows. Some years ago. I’ve been listening ever since. Can’t really pinpoint where it started that a new episode feels like the last one. He keeps making the same points with the same guests. I have the feeling he keeps using the same tools/principles no matter the technological underpinnings and isn’t really up-to-date any more with how current Apple technology/offerings work. I think it’s great that he uses his platform to get people thinking outside their (political) bubble. So 3 stars instead of 2

John Gruber know his stuff, and listening to him is great he truly has a great voice for the spoke word. The only issue is that his political leanings tend to leak into the show, it’s not that I agree or disagree with him, but I feel like maybe it should be done on a different show and keep the focus of The Talk Show to be tech news. Ultimately it is his platform so he may choose to do with it as he may!

This podcast and ATP are 2 podcast that I use to love listening to until they decided to use them as a platform for their political views. The Talk Show is a tech podcast that covers almost Apple exclusively. This is what listeners subscribe for but for some reason Gruber wants to take his audience and force them to hear him and his guest rant about his political views. If I wanted to listen to a podcast about politics I wouldn’t have subscribed to a tech podcast.

A bit on the rambling side. Tends to stay focused on technology which is good.

Far too often these conversations can drift way off into the far reaches of ones own understanding of just what the host John & his guest were talking about. It happens to them as well. They just sorta go off on a tangent that can oftentimes be completely unrelated to the subject at hand. It’s good to keep your mind distracted & can really pass the time. But do try to stay with the flow. No telling where you’ll wind up sometimes.

Amazing really

Gruber is far to the left—to the point of political hackery. He really went off the trails during the past four years. If you want far left, reactionary political takes with your Apple discussions, then I guess this guy and this show are for you—blue check marks from Twitter sitting around and smelling each other’s farts in their blue bubble.

But not too well…

I haven’t listened in a while, but just recently thought I would give it another try. It continues to go down hill. John seems to invites guest on the show, talks at them for an hour. He then asks them their opinions, sometimes it seems as though he doesn’t even listen to their opinion, or then tells to explain how their opinion is wrong because it disagrees with his. I debated writing this review, but I hope he listens and improves the show.

I never write reviews, but I couldn’t disagree more with the other reviews here. I love Daring Fireball, The Talk Show and Dithering. If I could have any job in the world, it would be John’s, so I know I’m biased. Love him or hate him, he’s one of the premier voices in the Apple news sphere for a reason. He’s been writing Daring Fireball for 18 years now, and I love his writing, even the politics and sports posts. The Talk Show isn’t your typical quick-hit regularly scheduled podcast. The release schedule is erratic. The guests are usually not a surprise. To me, that makes a new episode of The Talk Show that much more exciting. You know what you’re going to get, for the most part. Do I wish he had more variety in his guests? Sure. More women would always be nice. Do I wish I never heard another Squarespace ad? Sure. Is it worth it, and do I relish every 2 or 3 hour long episode? You bet I do. For me, the motto of “directors commentary track for Daring Fireball” is the perfect description. A lot of people find this show annoying, too long, and frustrating in some way. Not me. I loved the recent show with Nilay Patel, and wish it went on longer than it did. Christina Warren was great, too. John and his guests are frequently funny, and always insightful. I love this show so much. Pro tip for those who find his rate of speaking too slow: Download Overcast and use the Smart Speed setting, or use the speed settings in the Apple Podcasts app. Not only do the long shows go by faster, but I find about 1.5x about right for full enjoyment. Listening at 1x is for rubes. I don’t think my opinions are universal, and judging by the others reviews I may be the only person who feels this way. But John’s writing and unique voice are delightful to me, and I will be listening to every episode as long as he puts them out.

I’m a long time listen and daring fireball reader, but I haven’t enjoyed this podcast in a while. Going to take a break and come back in a few months. There are some many good options for Mac and Apple content.