I think the show is actually more intellectual, sticking to the facts, and not digressing into politics and so forth.
A couple of questions:
How has the Paracast become "more intellectual" since Biedny left?
Does "sticking to the facts" include just letting some guests rattle off whatever stories they have without providing a strong evidence?
How can a show that often talks about the government's role in the paranormal field not address politics? It seems a little naive to think that the extent of the political content of the show should be confined to the X-Files. Such a shortsighted view could be one of the reasons this field has gone nowhere in the past six or seven decades. (And, it's funny you haven't noticed Gene's little alm to Genesis with the "increasing government spending" comments he's made a couple of times since the changeover. Maybe Biedny's politics just weren't in line with yours, huh?)
if I were a guest and I thought the host was simply going to "drill" me then I'd find another show.
Speaking of problems with the paranormal field...
This sort of attitude is one reason why the field has gone nowhere. People can write a book or throw up a website (or, these days, they don't even have to do that) and then expect to choose where they are interviewed based on how friendly the show will be. If the guests are so sure of their material, why would they be worried about getting drilled by a show?
Being nice and patting each other on the back with a wink isn't always the best way to move forward. Mixing it up now and then only ups the quality of the show, because it tells would-be hucksters (or honest people with lackluster evidence) that they're going to be put to the test.
Sure, I understand the primary thrust of the show is to sell the guests' works. But we're not talking about the latest movie or mystery novel, here. We're talking about works that we are urged to take as fact. And, I think the more dangerous, anything-can-happen quality that the Paracast once had is a more appropriate arena for such works. Otherwise, we're just creating yet another belief system. (We've got enough of those--and they're taking over the planet, right, Kimball?)
And, frankly, I think that dangerous quality is missing from the show since Biedny left. Yes, he sometimes went overboard. Sometimes, he just checked out entirely (which is the worst possible response to an interview). But, for the most part, I think the "harshness and combativeness" you're referring to actually translated to a higher caliber of guests most of the time.
To be perfectly clear, I'm still on board as a Paracast listener. I still find something useful in every episode of the show--even the ones with guests who might be telling tall tales. It's still a great show. It's just different tonally.
As far as commercials and sound quality go, I expected those changes before they happened. Honestly, I check out during the commercials if I'm not in a position to scrub through them, and I use something called a volume button to combat the sound quality issue.
