The Diggnation podcast is back

After a 12-year hiatus, Kevin Rose and Alex Albrecht are bringing back the Diggnation podcast.

If you worked in tech in the 2000s, you likely listened to or watched the weekly show. I still remember syncing Diggnation video episodes to my iPod back in 2007. Yep, that was the show that pulled me into podcasting!

I'm delighted to announce that Diggnation v2.0 is being hosted and distributed through Transistor.

A Brief History of Diggnation

Diggnation was a popular weekly podcast that ran from 2005 to 2011, hosted by Kevin Rose and Alex Albrecht. The show's format centered around discussing and commenting on the top stories from Digg (a competitor to Reddit) co-founded by Rose.

Each episode typically featured Kevin and Alex sitting on a couch, often drinking beer, as they casually talked about technology news, internet culture, and other topics that were trending on Digg.

But as a fan, what drew me to the show was Rose and Albrecht's humor, chemistry, and hijinks. Each episode felt like you were a friend joining them for drinks on the couch, to talk tech and joke around.

I always wanted to go to a Diggnation Live event, where they would take the show on the road, and pack out live events at CES and SXSW with thousands of fans.

They also had high-profile guests like Jimmy Fallon (who appeared twice), Adam Savage, and John Hodgman. The show won several awards, including iTunes' "Best of 2007" for podcasts.

Jimmy Fallon had them as guests on the Late Night show, in 2010:

After 340 episodes, Diggnation aired its finale on December 30, 2011, and was reported about in the New York Times.

Why Diggnation Matters

It's hard to overstate Diggnation's impact on the podcasting world.

They were able to attract a large, engaged fanbase of viewers and listeners by producing both a video and audio version of the show. In fact, their network (Revision3) was very much video first and called themselves a "web video network."

In today's industry, "video podcasts" are considered a new phenomena (with YouTube and Spotify both releasing sections for video podcasts), but Diggnation helped pioneer the format in the mid-2000s.

At it's peak, Diggnation was getting 250,000 views each week (a big number for the time!). Many fans would download weekly episodes as video, through iTunes and sync it with their iPods.

They were among the first to successfully monetize through sponsorships, attracting big advertisers like Ford, GoDaddy, Netflix, and Microsoft.

Beyond the industry impact, Diggnation meant something personal to many of its fans. For many of us, it was our connection to the tech scene.

The Reboot

Now, in 2024, Kevin and Alex are bringing Diggnation back. After a reunion episode on The Kevin Rose Show in July, they decided to launch "Diggnation v2.0" in September.

I'm thrilled that they've chosen Transistor as their hosting platform.

Across social media, long-time fans are sharing what Diggnation meant to them:

Jeremy Goldman, who works for Tesla AI, tweeted:

Spent years listening to Diggnation in the burbs of Chicago wishing I could be in the Bay to build shit - finally made it happen, and now I get to relive those memories while watching the guys get back to it. Feeling nostalgic and excited for the future all at once.

Ryan Jones, Founder & CEO of Flighty, shared:

Diggnation made me feel connected to tech/sv when I knew absolutely zero about tech/apps/sf and was in the oil industry in Houston.

And Dave Thackery commented:

You know [who] the oldest people on the internet based on whether they watched Diggnation. Alex Albrecht and Kevin Rose were the funniest guys around. And now they're back for a reunion.

On Reddit, a fan described their feelings about the reboot:

Watching the first two episodes it seems like nothing has changed and its 14 years ago. I love how cool their friendship is and they can talk to each other non stop forever and still have witty banter.

Looking Forward

As we welcome Diggnation to Transistor, I can't help but feel we've come full circle. The show that helped Jon and I fall in love with podcasts is now part of the platform we've built to support the next generation of podcasters.

To Kevin, Alex, and the entire Diggnation team: welcome! We're looking forward to all the new episodes.

Listen to Diggnation v2.0 wherever you get your podcasts.