A certain type of podcast develops a small, devoted following of people who genuinely care about the topic, but it doesn’t follow trends, doesn’t employ a production company, and never quite makes it into the mainstream. That type of podcast was the BacktoFrontShow. From 2013 to 2020, it was hosted by Keir Whitaker and Kieran Masterton and produced 54 episodes with a focus on startup culture, web design, and web development. With some self-awareness, the hosts referred to themselves as “Kings of Silicon Gorge”—a lighthearted jab at the exaggerated mythology of Silicon Valley, delivered by two web veterans who obviously valued content over spectacle.
The hosts themselves acknowledged the use of Blue Yeti microphones for the show’s recording with a sort of joyful transparency, pointing out that it was a part of their “dodgy” but useful setup. It was probably part of the appeal to be honest. The episodes were between 48 and 60 minutes long, which allowed them to go in an intriguing direction without going overboard. Discussions about the future of paid online content, in-depth analyses of startup culture, and interviews with special guests like Craig Lockwood and Marc Thiele in a recurring segment titled “Back Stories” were all topics that flowed naturally across the web industry landscape. It had the feel of a discussion between two individuals who were well-versed in their respective fields but weren’t applying their expertise.
The show was introduced by Whitaker and Masterton in January 2013, and its final episode was released in December 2020. With episodes 46 in 2016, 49 in September 2018, and 50 in December 2020, there was a noticeable increase in the time between them. With every year that went by, the intervals between posts grew longer, implying the kind of gradual winding down that occurs when life and work pull the hosts in different directions. A finale was not announced. The RSS feed simply stopped. That podcast, which maintained its integrity throughout by never complaining about ending, has an almost poignant quality.
Between 2013 and 2020, there was a noticeable shift in the podcast landscape around programs like BacktoFrontShow. Podcasting was still a relatively niche pastime for enthusiasts when the show debuted. Celebrities, media corporations, and venture-backed platforms that spent millions on production and acquisition had taken over the medium by the time it went silent. A very different place in that ecosystem was occupied by a two-person web design show that was recorded with Blue Yetis in what can only be described as home offices somewhere in the UK. From the outside, it is impossible to determine whether that change made it more difficult to continue.
Since then, BacktoFrontShow has taken on a new life in a completely different setting. A platform that currently goes by the same name promotes itself as an audience intelligence and podcast analytics tool that provides geographic analytics, listening behavior tracking, and demographic insights. Plans range in price from basic to enterprise, reflecting the increasing importance of podcasting as a professional medium. It’s an intriguing coincidence, or maybe a purposeful nod, that a name linked to independent, thoughtful podcasting is now attached to the business infrastructure that serious podcasters require more and more.
A third “back to front” is also noteworthy, but it comes from a completely different realm. From 2012 to 2014, Peter Gabriel performed his 1986 album in retrospect during his Back to Front Tour. So, every night, the original band members from that era performed in full sequence. At the Hollywood Bowl performance, John Cusack reenacted his well-known boombox scene from Say Anything. Over 67 performances in North America and Europe, the tour brought in millions of dollars. The same phrase, but on a totally different scale: one is a small-scale web podcast made with consumer microphones, while the other is a stadium event that reunites a generation with an album they had been carrying around for 25 years.
The idea that going back to the beginning of something—going back to the source, revisiting the foundation—tends to reveal more than sometimes moving forward is what loosely ties them together. For seven years, the BacktoFrontShow performed that task for the web industry each week. It is important to keep that in mind.
