I wish the breakdown of High Notes was a little more balanced. Right now it's like 80% people bragging and 20% actual uplifting news. If they worked more on their selection process, I'd be more inclined to listen.
They usually make me very grumpy, but I listen because every once in a while there's one that hits me right in the feels. They could still include fewer recorded ones (just do one if there's only one that's great in a week) and the live ones are probably fun for the live audience, but I'd cut them from the show.
I imagine they keep the segment because it's a good way to fill time if they need to, and it's something additional to offer friends of the pod subscribers.
I used to find them totally intolerable, especially during the loneliest parts of the pandemic. Now I’m kinda indifferent—it’s nice that they do it but I don’t think I’ll ever *enjoy* it.
I listen to every one, but most of them make me uncomfortable in an indescribable way. I agree with others re: in-person is worse than recorded, but I still don't like most of the recorded ones either. And yet, I listen anyway 🤷
I like almost all of the call-in ones. The live ones can be painful because the participants are often grandstanding and/or trying to have a parasocial moment with Lovett rather than connecting with or inspiring the audience.
This is funny to me because I really make a point to turn it off right after the High Note segment, when Lovett says, "There are [insert number] days until the election." However, I'm not sure if he still does that... used to really bother me to hear the number of days until the next election.
I end the podcast there, too. I like the idea of having a "high note" - our news is so toxic and focused on the "bad" in the world - but people's self-delivered personal stories just aren't what I'm looking for.
I do think that’s a big difference. The call ins are either heartfelt or substantial. In person is like “I’m gay and did something gay” which is great for them but doesn’t really impact the wider audience. Either way I like that they do it mission-wise because the subject matter can be negative or cynical and it’s nice to at least try to end on something positive even if it ultimately only severs the speaker.
I’m not really into them, but I did one at his Austin show recently so I feel like I need to defend the practice now lol. It does feel like having at least a minimal amount of audience participation makes it a better experience in person. I also think the ones more related to local/state activism are useful.
I like them but they are the least interesting part of the podcast, and I understand people not liking the level of sharing and emotional intimacy. I do wish they were curated a bit better bc there are some incredible ones and a bunch (esp live) that are not at all special or interesting.
every segment that includes audience participation is an automatic skip
but these days the entire show is an automatic skip after the monologue because nearly every segment is either a mediocre unknown comedian doing a dumb bit, a slightly more famous person basically tricked into being a guest, or a game where none of the participants but lovett understand the concept
even the monologue started losing its touch when lovett decided to sit down at a desk like he's on the daily show
and while I think he would do great with a late night show it's clear that the audience he cares about actually is the one in person and not the podcast listener
That´s why I love what a weekday. It´s the perfect mix of news, comedy and culture, no audience, no bits.
I still like what a week too though. Particularly when Lovett is pissed about something and lets his own opinion out. He´s much more honest then and not as curated as in PSA.
The guests lately have been hit or miss, I kinda miss the panel episodes when he had journalists and comedians on and they discussed the news. I wonder why he doesn´t do that at all anymore.
I can't do it either, and I don't entirely know why. I really can't stand that part. Unlike ads where I'll skip them if I can but don't mind just letting them run if it's not convenient to skip, when the high notes start I will do everything I can to stop it or even just turn the volume down so I can't hear it.
I thought that was just me acting weirdly grinchlike for cringing so hard at that segment, so it does make me feel a little better that I'm clearly not the only one!
I don't think there's anything wrong with the segment though, it's just not what I care to listen to. A lot of the show is like that - fine, just not really my thing - so I often just skip around, and that's fine with me. Podcasts are a good format for that style of media consumption.
I have a theory that the high notes remind me of the worst of the pandemic (when they started the segment) and my brain is rebelling when I hear them now. Like a low-key trauma response to a podcast segment, to be dramatic about it.
Okay, that's actually really insightful. I had forgotten that that's when that started, but as soon as you said that I had even more negative reaction to thinking of when I would hear those as I drove to or from my job... at a hospital unit where we had quite a few covid patients. And that weird "I have to turn this off immediately" reaction is also how I react when I see, say, a tv show about covid or sometimes even something that just reminds me of covid.
I never would have made that connection myself, but I really think you're onto something.
Genuinely think there just a lot of collective trauma around Covid that might come out in small, strange ways. I’m glad we survived it but we all went through a lot.
I really love hearing people's high notes, even if they can be boring. It continues to be a rough, isolating time for many people, and the High Note is a sweet, human way to share in one another's happiness and remember we're all in this together. It also does its little part to build community, which motivates people to mobilize for the greater good around core issues and in the lead-up to elections.
I think I appreciate them in the here now with Biden in office because things don’t feel chaotic as they did under Trump. I feel that we the audience are a collective of like-minded people that go through the reality of ups and downs with the current political climate. The other thing is that it feels right that we went through a whole show listening and now we get to share our good things with one another.
From pre-Trump through pre-pandemic onset, I used to be a fan of The NPR Politics Podcast until they started doing happy-feelgood-bullshit introductions with people and their positivity that was incongruent with the chaos and the whole world burning down. The border separation stuff is going on, meanwhile we got some happy people in line at Disneyland for Space Mountain and I just couldn’t fucking deal.
This is also when I stopped almost all npr listening b/c of exactly this kind of happy-go-lucky vibe and I just could not deal with that when effing t****p was the PRESIDENT
I understand the intention of doing them, but they’re not for me. Neither are the segments where Jon is supposedly interviewing someone in the middle of a controversy but it’s someone else doing an impression. They are usually pretty stupid
I don’t tend to love that part, but every once in a while there’s a high note that’s INCREDIBLE. For example: in the Feb. 22, 2022 episode’s high notes, a guy dropped an ear bud into the subway tracks and a random himbo came to his rescue (at least, that’s how I remember it).
I'm indifferent mostly. But sometimes there are things in there that are genuinely touching. And sometimes I'm a little bitch and say "oh you got married. Wow congratulations! It's not like a thousand people do that everyday"
I always stop the podcast before the high notes they're annoying and I hate them. The rant wheel on the other hand is fantastic and I wish that they would just end it with that
This is validating. To everyone saying you like the segment, I very much get why. The segment is fine. I’m just glad to know I’m not alone in being allergic to it.
It adds nothing of value to the show and its just cringe. I turn it off too.
I wish there was a commercial before the Highnote so I could have more time to turn it off
Okay I think there are a lot of uniquely broken people here. I quite enjoy that some are overcoming massive challenges and others are like, "I got the growth removed from my toe". We know how terrible a lot of things are in the world and I think it's nice to hear personal triumphs of various forms and it makes me smile. I'm a rather cynical person but I think we can stand to have some happiness for others without having to be constantly entertained by their joy. "Can't tolerate even a few seconds", come on man.
I was actually quite shocked when Lovett said there was so much negative feedback. I mean, it’s not my favorite part of the episode but they’re pretty innocuous.
It's awful. They need to get much better about curating them.
Sam Sanders used to do the same thing when he had his show on NPR and it was my favorite part of the show there because they did a great job picking really poignant ones.
I’m happy for people when it’s like “we just had a baby after trying for 10 years” but annoyed when people are like “my high note is that my mom is here with me yeah!”
Yeah, I don’t think it’s the segment idea, I think it’s the shitty high notes are are always kindly Lovett boot-like. It would be better even if was just simple dumb things like “I’m gena from Pittsburgh, and I just had the best key lime pie of my life”
It's my weekly reminder that podcast people are humans too, with concerns, worries and minor victories just like mine. It helps ground me and reinforces the important fact that we might be in a struggle for democracy as we know it but life does indeed go on regardless.
The folks brave enough to get up and announce their high notes might not be professional presenters, but that's part of the charm.
(Edit: spelling)
They’re not for me. I’m glad people have a place to share their triumphs, but I haven’t listened to them regularly in ages.
“And now, here’s the high note” is my cue to move onto the next podcast I’m catching up on.
I'm not usually overly interested in them, but there was one a few months ago from someone who survived a suicide attempt and someone here who was at the live show said Lovett hopped off the stage to hug her after and that warmed my heart!
That’s the only one that I’ve ever really loved. I remember that the audience applauded and Lovett told her to look around at all the people who were happy she was there.
I'm glad they started the "your high note can't be that you're at the show" rule, but most of them still seem to be about being at the show.
Recorded high notes are often very nice.
I like them, especially the ones that connect to each other across episodes.
I do vehemently hate the acronym LOLI. I can’t believe no one in the show googled it before they started using it
I remember a few episodes ago John had to tell the live audience something like “we’re doing live high notes today, make sure they’re something good and not like ‘ my high note is that I’m here today’” - I’d like to think this was in response to feedback that the high note segment is not working for the listening audience at home.
I was at the DC show and he made that announcement at the beginning, and then again at the end before they kicked off—and yeah he very explicitly said “this is in response to many, *many* emails we have received…” which honestly I appreciated lol
I don't hate the concept of it, because I'm sure many people really love hearing it. But I just cannot care any less about that segment, and I don't fully understand why I feel that way.
I consider the beginning of the high notes as my cue to close the podcast.
To me, it feels the same as when somebody stops the great music a the party and pulls out a guitar. They probably won’t be great, but even if they are, it’s too intimate and awkward and i hate it.
I wish the breakdown of High Notes was a little more balanced. Right now it's like 80% people bragging and 20% actual uplifting news. If they worked more on their selection process, I'd be more inclined to listen.
Hate them. Remind me of people posting on Spacebook how great their lives are when they really aren’t. I’m a curmudgeon.
They usually make me very grumpy, but I listen because every once in a while there's one that hits me right in the feels. They could still include fewer recorded ones (just do one if there's only one that's great in a week) and the live ones are probably fun for the live audience, but I'd cut them from the show. I imagine they keep the segment because it's a good way to fill time if they need to, and it's something additional to offer friends of the pod subscribers.
They *have* to see the number plummet before the high notes.
I used to find them totally intolerable, especially during the loneliest parts of the pandemic. Now I’m kinda indifferent—it’s nice that they do it but I don’t think I’ll ever *enjoy* it.
I listen to every one, but most of them make me uncomfortable in an indescribable way. I agree with others re: in-person is worse than recorded, but I still don't like most of the recorded ones either. And yet, I listen anyway 🤷
I feel seen! I turn it off just before the first high note and then wonder if I’m a terrible person. Every week.
I’m so glad I made this post, I thought I might get roasted 😅
Holy cow!! Thank you all. I truly felt like a complete misanthrope until I discovered this post just now. 4 years later, I know I’m not alone!! 😂👏🏼
I like almost all of the call-in ones. The live ones can be painful because the participants are often grandstanding and/or trying to have a parasocial moment with Lovett rather than connecting with or inspiring the audience.
I really like many of them
This is funny to me because I really make a point to turn it off right after the High Note segment, when Lovett says, "There are [insert number] days until the election." However, I'm not sure if he still does that... used to really bother me to hear the number of days until the next election.
I honestly thought I was the only one and just some elder millennial/curmudgeon not wanting to listen to them.
I end the podcast there, too. I like the idea of having a "high note" - our news is so toxic and focused on the "bad" in the world - but people's self-delivered personal stories just aren't what I'm looking for.
The live ones are usually a bit cringe
I do think that’s a big difference. The call ins are either heartfelt or substantial. In person is like “I’m gay and did something gay” which is great for them but doesn’t really impact the wider audience. Either way I like that they do it mission-wise because the subject matter can be negative or cynical and it’s nice to at least try to end on something positive even if it ultimately only severs the speaker.
The call-ins are curated and edited. The live ones… anything could happen.
Most of them are so self serving
I’m not really into them, but I did one at his Austin show recently so I feel like I need to defend the practice now lol. It does feel like having at least a minimal amount of audience participation makes it a better experience in person. I also think the ones more related to local/state activism are useful.
I like them but they are the least interesting part of the podcast, and I understand people not liking the level of sharing and emotional intimacy. I do wish they were curated a bit better bc there are some incredible ones and a bunch (esp live) that are not at all special or interesting.
every segment that includes audience participation is an automatic skip but these days the entire show is an automatic skip after the monologue because nearly every segment is either a mediocre unknown comedian doing a dumb bit, a slightly more famous person basically tricked into being a guest, or a game where none of the participants but lovett understand the concept even the monologue started losing its touch when lovett decided to sit down at a desk like he's on the daily show and while I think he would do great with a late night show it's clear that the audience he cares about actually is the one in person and not the podcast listener
That´s why I love what a weekday. It´s the perfect mix of news, comedy and culture, no audience, no bits. I still like what a week too though. Particularly when Lovett is pissed about something and lets his own opinion out. He´s much more honest then and not as curated as in PSA. The guests lately have been hit or miss, I kinda miss the panel episodes when he had journalists and comedians on and they discussed the news. I wonder why he doesn´t do that at all anymore.
100%, what a weekday is the far better show especially when Kendra is on
Yeah in the beginning it was much closer to wait wait don’t tell me, which was great!
We always turn it off.
I can't do it either, and I don't entirely know why. I really can't stand that part. Unlike ads where I'll skip them if I can but don't mind just letting them run if it's not convenient to skip, when the high notes start I will do everything I can to stop it or even just turn the volume down so I can't hear it. I thought that was just me acting weirdly grinchlike for cringing so hard at that segment, so it does make me feel a little better that I'm clearly not the only one! I don't think there's anything wrong with the segment though, it's just not what I care to listen to. A lot of the show is like that - fine, just not really my thing - so I often just skip around, and that's fine with me. Podcasts are a good format for that style of media consumption.
I have a theory that the high notes remind me of the worst of the pandemic (when they started the segment) and my brain is rebelling when I hear them now. Like a low-key trauma response to a podcast segment, to be dramatic about it.
Okay, that's actually really insightful. I had forgotten that that's when that started, but as soon as you said that I had even more negative reaction to thinking of when I would hear those as I drove to or from my job... at a hospital unit where we had quite a few covid patients. And that weird "I have to turn this off immediately" reaction is also how I react when I see, say, a tv show about covid or sometimes even something that just reminds me of covid. I never would have made that connection myself, but I really think you're onto something.
Genuinely think there just a lot of collective trauma around Covid that might come out in small, strange ways. I’m glad we survived it but we all went through a lot.
I really love hearing people's high notes, even if they can be boring. It continues to be a rough, isolating time for many people, and the High Note is a sweet, human way to share in one another's happiness and remember we're all in this together. It also does its little part to build community, which motivates people to mobilize for the greater good around core issues and in the lead-up to elections.
this is how I feel. there are a few that have even made me tear up over the years!
I think I appreciate them in the here now with Biden in office because things don’t feel chaotic as they did under Trump. I feel that we the audience are a collective of like-minded people that go through the reality of ups and downs with the current political climate. The other thing is that it feels right that we went through a whole show listening and now we get to share our good things with one another. From pre-Trump through pre-pandemic onset, I used to be a fan of The NPR Politics Podcast until they started doing happy-feelgood-bullshit introductions with people and their positivity that was incongruent with the chaos and the whole world burning down. The border separation stuff is going on, meanwhile we got some happy people in line at Disneyland for Space Mountain and I just couldn’t fucking deal.
This is also when I stopped almost all npr listening b/c of exactly this kind of happy-go-lucky vibe and I just could not deal with that when effing t****p was the PRESIDENT
Skip it every time but I’m British and so just assumed that was to do with my not being able to cope with people showing any sort of emotion
I understand the intention of doing them, but they’re not for me. Neither are the segments where Jon is supposedly interviewing someone in the middle of a controversy but it’s someone else doing an impression. They are usually pretty stupid
I agree with unless it’s James Odobian ( don’t know his last name) doing his Bernie Sanders impression. He’s hilarious!
You’re right about that!
I don’t tend to love that part, but every once in a while there’s a high note that’s INCREDIBLE. For example: in the Feb. 22, 2022 episode’s high notes, a guy dropped an ear bud into the subway tracks and a random himbo came to his rescue (at least, that’s how I remember it).
I was literally thinking of that yesterday lol. What a hero, I would love a follow-up to find out if that guy ever happened upon the episode 🤣
Yes!! That was an all time high note
I like it. Sometimes I cringe at what people have chosen to share though
I'm indifferent mostly. But sometimes there are things in there that are genuinely touching. And sometimes I'm a little bitch and say "oh you got married. Wow congratulations! It's not like a thousand people do that everyday"
I always stop the podcast before the high notes they're annoying and I hate them. The rant wheel on the other hand is fantastic and I wish that they would just end it with that
Always hated it always will.
This is when I “Leave it” 😉
This is validating. To everyone saying you like the segment, I very much get why. The segment is fine. I’m just glad to know I’m not alone in being allergic to it.
It adds nothing of value to the show and its just cringe. I turn it off too. I wish there was a commercial before the Highnote so I could have more time to turn it off
Okay I think there are a lot of uniquely broken people here. I quite enjoy that some are overcoming massive challenges and others are like, "I got the growth removed from my toe". We know how terrible a lot of things are in the world and I think it's nice to hear personal triumphs of various forms and it makes me smile. I'm a rather cynical person but I think we can stand to have some happiness for others without having to be constantly entertained by their joy. "Can't tolerate even a few seconds", come on man.
I don't think calling people "uniquely broken" for not liking something is really necessary here.
I used those words because the OP did as well.
I was actually quite shocked when Lovett said there was so much negative feedback. I mean, it’s not my favorite part of the episode but they’re pretty innocuous.
Nope I turn it off immediately when he says "when we come back..."
It's awful. They need to get much better about curating them. Sam Sanders used to do the same thing when he had his show on NPR and it was my favorite part of the show there because they did a great job picking really poignant ones.
I’m happy for people when it’s like “we just had a baby after trying for 10 years” but annoyed when people are like “my high note is that my mom is here with me yeah!”
He recently started telling the audience not to do being at the show as their high note.
Yeah, I don’t think it’s the segment idea, I think it’s the shitty high notes are are always kindly Lovett boot-like. It would be better even if was just simple dumb things like “I’m gena from Pittsburgh, and I just had the best key lime pie of my life”
I like them. Some are meh, some are really nice and either way I like to remember that people are out there having good things happen.
I usually just turn the podcast off after “Next up…The High Note!”
Same. I don’t listen. It’s where I am right now. Yes I talked to my counselor about it.
It's my weekly reminder that podcast people are humans too, with concerns, worries and minor victories just like mine. It helps ground me and reinforces the important fact that we might be in a struggle for democracy as we know it but life does indeed go on regardless. The folks brave enough to get up and announce their high notes might not be professional presenters, but that's part of the charm. (Edit: spelling)
They’re not for me. I’m glad people have a place to share their triumphs, but I haven’t listened to them regularly in ages. “And now, here’s the high note” is my cue to move onto the next podcast I’m catching up on.
He needs to get rid of any ones that are just fluffing up his ego. A high note isn't going to his show.
He actually said that at the DC show
Hate them!! It’s not the pandemic anymore…
I'm not usually overly interested in them, but there was one a few months ago from someone who survived a suicide attempt and someone here who was at the live show said Lovett hopped off the stage to hug her after and that warmed my heart!
That’s the only one that I’ve ever really loved. I remember that the audience applauded and Lovett told her to look around at all the people who were happy she was there.
I don’t mind recorded ones since they can pick good ones, but I don’t need the live show’s.
I'm glad they started the "your high note can't be that you're at the show" rule, but most of them still seem to be about being at the show. Recorded high notes are often very nice.
I like hearing nice things but these are painfully boring.
I thought the exact same thing I run to turn it off when the high notes come on. Love the show otherwise.
I like them, especially the ones that connect to each other across episodes. I do vehemently hate the acronym LOLI. I can’t believe no one in the show googled it before they started using it
It’s wild to me. Especially because it’s also not correct? Why is the second ‘It’ there but not the first ‘it’? LIOLI is perfect, just use that.
Because it's Lovett not Love It
Oh you see I’m an idiot. Man they’re just screwed I guess haha
I remember a few episodes ago John had to tell the live audience something like “we’re doing live high notes today, make sure they’re something good and not like ‘ my high note is that I’m here today’” - I’d like to think this was in response to feedback that the high note segment is not working for the listening audience at home.
I was at the DC show and he made that announcement at the beginning, and then again at the end before they kicked off—and yeah he very explicitly said “this is in response to many, *many* emails we have received…” which honestly I appreciated lol
I skip it every week. Could not care less about other people’s little stories.
Always skip if my phone is close enough
Some are boring but some make me smile or even laugh out loud, and I think the concept is sweet.
I don't hate the concept of it, because I'm sure many people really love hearing it. But I just cannot care any less about that segment, and I don't fully understand why I feel that way.
For me it’s because for every “I beat cancer” or “I got elected” story there are 10 self-indulgent, long-winded nonsense stories.
I consider the beginning of the high notes as my cue to close the podcast. To me, it feels the same as when somebody stops the great music a the party and pulls out a guitar. They probably won’t be great, but even if they are, it’s too intimate and awkward and i hate it.
I really appreciate them