We working podcasters have a responsibility to the people who listen to our shows. We have responsibilities when we choose to lend our voices beyond our podcast. And for those of us who help produce podcast content for others, we have responsibilities for the content we helped bring to the world.

Ethics come into play for podcasters who interview guests. Yes, it can be oddly fun and entertaining when guests with kooky ideas come on your show. But where do you draw the line between kooky and offensive or harmful? 

What if you've agreed to appear on someone else’s show only to find out during the interview that the host of that show is a racist, crazy person? If you knew before, would you go on? Even if they had a really, really big audience?

For consultants, would you work for a client -- a paying client -- who was putting out wrong information that could result in serious harm? Are you complicit in that misinformation spread?

Maybe you’re only responsible for audio engineering episodes and you encounter something factually incorrect or unverified that could cause harm. Do you cut it out? 

What if you’re presented with an opportunity to use some grey-hat marketing tactics that border on the darker side. If these slimy-but-effective tactics get results, do the ends justify the means?

Are you working against the cause of “making podcasts better” by letting content out to the world that, if not bad, then certainly is not good? 

What about the ethical decisions around advertising dollars? Big companies have their fingers in lots of different pies. How far down the slippery slope are you willing to go when you vet advertisers?

 As a listener, do you have an ethical responsibility to reach out to the hosts of the shows you listen to, telling them that you like what they have to say, but I just wish they said it better? Does that become easier if it’s less a quality issue and more a question of spreading misinformation? Does your silence make you complicit?

I didn’t give you an answer to any of these on purpose. This show is designed to make you think, and only you can answer these questions of ethics for yourself. I have to answer this question every day for my own work and the work of my agency. I like to think I get it right most of the time. 

Chat with the other working podcasters you communicate with on a regular basis and bring up an ethical dilemma you’re facing and get their opinions. And, of course, tell them it was this episode of Podcast Pontifications that sparked the topic. I can always use a listener or two more, so please spread the good news.

If you want, you can tell me about your thoughts on ethical dilemmas. I'm curious about what do you do? Send me an email at