I Like Numbers

I started keeping track of Digg's top 20 podcasts a couple months ago when my favorite podcast nudged its way in to this illustrious group. Here's a graph of those podcasts ranked #16 - 37 according to the number of Diggs they've received. See if you can spot the runaway:

Looks like one little podcast isn't content in staying with the rest of the herd. This podcast is called The Skeptic's Guide to the Universe and is one of the best out there.

Word is starting to get around and skeptics are on the march. It's hard to find any forum or newsgroup on woo that doesn't have a few rational thinkers presenting truth. Although still only a small fraction of the community, their voice is steadily growing. Whereas woo is persuasion through stories, lies, and testimonials, these skeptics have a consistency in their message founded on scientific truths. All the psychics, ghost hunters, bigfoot trackers, intelligent design proponents, young earth creationists, and thirsty homeopaths look silly in comparison. And no one wants to look silly, do they?


Notes on the chart:
1. Tracking of podcasts ranked >20 started only a couple weeks ago
2. The top podcasts are not shown. Diggnation (23697 Diggs) and This Week in Tech (16922). Those numbers are astronomical, and I really don't understand why. There's only so much "Dude this" and "Dude that" I can take. Nor can I figure out why TWiT is so popular - must be a huge California techie audience.
3. Only one other podcast in the top 20 grew faster than SGU and that's The Totally Rad Show. This is basically a spinoff from Diggnation so the built in audience is already there. The following graphs put this in perspective. The first shows % Growth since March 2007. The second starts in March 2008.
Like I said...I like numbers.
Congrats to Dr. N and the Rogues.