511 - Why I’m Creating Fewer Podcasts and Writing More

At the beginning of 2026, I committed to publishing a new episode of Podcast Answer Man every Friday morning at 12:01 a.m.

I kept that commitment for months.

Recently, I decided to let it go.

In this episode, I want to take you deeper into the thinking behind that decision because this has become about much more than how frequently I publish a podcast.

I've been asking myself a larger question.

What forms of creation deserve my life energy now?

Audio podcasting has been one of the most important creative mediums of my life. I've produced more than 5,000 podcast episodes across more than 55 shows over the past 20 years. I'm certainly not walking away from audio.

But I no longer want an arbitrary weekly publishing schedule determining where several hours of my creative energy go every week.

Going forward, my commitment to Podcast Answer Man is that there will be at least one new episode every calendar month. There may be many more when I'm inspired. I'm giving myself the freedom to create those episodes when there is something I genuinely want to communicate.

One major reason for this change is that I've rediscovered my identity as a writer.

Before podcasting entered my life in 2005, I had spent years writing online. I recently rebuilt an archive containing hundreds of my old blog posts, and going through that material reminded me how much I used to enjoy writing.

For years, one of the biggest disadvantages of written content was simply the amount of time it required. A long-form article or newsletter could consume anywhere from two to eight hours of my time.