Why Don’t Podcasts Give Me FOMO?

I’ve whined about my backlog before but basically I’ve got dozens if not hundreds of movies, games, links and YouTube videos I’ve wanted to consume. Ever since I’ve started working professionally the time I have to consume all of this content has vanished. This gives me a lot of FOMO as I’m missing out on so much great content and I end up wasting time trying to get through a bunch of it.

Interestingly though this FOMO doesn’t apply to my podcasts. There’s 100 podcast episodes in my Overcast app waiting to be listened to but it doesn’t seem as bad as other media. I only listen to them when I commute to and from work and sometimes when I take a walk. Even with all the unplayed episodes and new additions that overcast keeps notifying me about, it doesn’t feel like an endless firehose. While I’m subscribed to hundreds of podcasts, I only listen to a few of them. I actually get excited when they come through as I can move them up on my queue and have something nice to listen to during my commute.

Given this I’m wondering why I find podcasts a pleasant experience? Do I savor the episodes more since I have a limited time to listen to them? I honestly don’t know. Even if an episode is trash, I can just switch to a better one.

If you have any ideas as to why podcasts don’t give me FOMO let me know. I wonder if I can replicate it on other mediums.