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Your departure from the BBC is news to me but obviously your choice, not theirs, so I can't say I'm sad. As a technologist and IT professional contemporaneously with you, I have found your reporting provides an excellent reflection and independent assessment of the real world of tech. (And that's not just flattery :-). I trust you are not retiring and are seriously considering a podcast.

My two, obsessive (as my wife tells me) tech interests today, are Tesla and SpaceX and I pay for a handful of podcasts as a Patreon; namely, TeslaDaily, Solving the Money Problem (STMP) and Everyday Astronaut. All of these are predominantly funded by Patreon and YouTube advertising. TeslaDaily is now also "supported/employed" by The Street, SMTP includes promotions and STMP & EveryDay Astronaut promote their own merchandise. (I avoid the annoying YouTube Ads by subscribing to YouTube Premuim but I assume creators get a very small cut of that).

I am puzzled why you say, "I can’t see that working for any UK journalist". We have world-leading journalists adept at deep, critical analysis and content creation. I think that would translate very well into a personal podcast, free from institutional editorial control and time constraints.

In short, I would pay a small subscription of £5-10/month for a high-quality, independent and inciteful podcast from you. An in-depth, one-to-one, monthly interview, of a similar style to Lex Freidman, would be of great interest and I would hope, not overly onerous for you.

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Sorry you’re leaving the BBC Rory. I’m a lone and older voice but I don’t think I’d pay for a podcast for the reasons you mention. Also because these days I seem to be overwhelmed with stuff to read while having the attention span of a gnat. But I loved your book and have bought three versions for friends as well as my own Kindle. Best of luck for the future.

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