Yesterday's post grew from an observation that many podcasts start by following the same terrible script - a spoken intro, then a grating theme song, and finally some "how are you" banter among the hosts before settling into the main program. In the worst-case scenario, an advertisement fights its way into the mix.
But as I wrote the post, I understood that the podcast is a great example of when cold opens aren't appropriate. Podcasts are a passive medium so there is no need to "grab" the audience - a creator can assume the listener will commit at least half an hour to a new show, and judge the entirety of the experience to assess the episode. This doesn't mean there's no room for improvement at the start, but it's just not as important for a podcast to take advantage of the cold open.
