What’s going on?
Mitch from Modern Family runs Dinner’s On Me, where he interviews people slightly more (or at least differently) famous than him – like comedian Jake Shane (who in turn interviews other celebs like Kaia Gerber?)
Anti-bullying advocate Monica Lewinsky features people like Miley Cyrus on Reclaiming with Monica.
Charlotte from Sex and the City asks her guests (including Sarah Jessica Parker) Are You a Charlotte? (AND she was featured on Jesse Tyler Ferguson’s podcast)
Hasan Minhaj has guests like – Ta-Nehisi Coates? (And with his Daily Show background, he’s probably closest to an actual journalist from anyone on this list.)
Basically: if you’re a B/C-list celebrity and you’re NOT interviewing other famous people on your little online micro talkshow – what are you even doing? (And that’s not even getting into the celebrities who basically became famous FOR interviewing people.)
What’s driving it?
“We don’t create anything new!” “Nostalgia!” “They can’t get jobs!” “They need more revenue streams!”
Maybe (except for nostalgia, because nostalgia is never the real answer), but that’s just part of it. In a sense, it’s the 2026 version of an established format: the celebrity-hosted chat show. Basically: famous host x famous guest x personal stories = success, and video podcasting (which has pretty much no barrier to entry) lets anyone try their hand at being Kelly Clarkson and / or Drew Barrymore.
PLUS it’s an economies of scale thing: one conversation yields steady content to feed the beast of the social algorithm – full episodes for YouTube and Spotify; weeks of clips for TikTok and Instagram.
And not to get too WE’RE IN THE AGE OF INFLUENCER BACKLASH (more on that here though), but inviting established guests automatically gives the content more credibility and worth than another Get Ready With Me. (YOU only have the resources film a Get Ready With Me – KRISTIN can interview her good friend Kyle MacLachlan. )
What does it mean?
Despite all the ongoing conversations about recognizing the value of friction, the celebrity-on-celebrity interview tends to be a frictionless space. It’s basically an ecosystem of tiny talk shows built around comfort: famous people interviewing famous people who like them and want the conversation to go well.
So yes, the celebrities bring access to other celebrities – but it’s access without scrutiny. The conversations might be it’s relaxed – but they’re also superficial, without awkward question that might make that access meaningful. They excoriate others, but rarely introspect.
Final takeaway
Maybe it isn’t that deep: celebrity-on-celebrity podcasts tend to offer light entertainment without spreading misinformation or causing other harm. But it’s unfortunate that they’re becoming more popular at a time when real journalism is in a state of flux.
This kind of content is the real slop. There is new stuff being created esp at this platform that gets ignored because the collective wants to play in the trash.