Only seeing the first two paragraphs is irksome at best.

February 9, 2024 12:03 PM

Some search results for me lead to what seem to be podcast stubs on WashintonPost.com, which have 1-3 opening paragraphs and then stop. Apparently they are podcast teasers. I do not like them. I would strongly prefer to see the entire article or column in text, so I can skim it quickly. Example

Some Googling says there should be an "options" button or sometimes a transcript link, but I don't see either. I am considering just blocking the Washington Post entirely because this is maddening. No, I do not want to sit still for your entire podcast.

How can I just _see the entire article_ (so I can quickly skim for the "punchline").

Dear Washington Post: stop it. Display something that is clearly "Description: Astor Podcastor examines playing pinochle with his aunt, and other options for family game connection." Don't drop readers into an article and then end abruptly mid- or pre- content. Thank you.

posted by amtho to Computers & Internet (10 answers total)

"I would strongly prefer to see the entire article or column in text, so I can skim it quickly. "

I'm sure a lot of people would, but The Washington Post requires a subscription to access most content.

That link you sent isn't a podcast, it's a regular article that requires a Washington Post account/subscription. If you just sign up without paying, you'll get access to a few free articles per month.

if you're using Safari, sometimes you can read an entire article by clicking the ""Reader View" button.

You might want to post a new link to a podcast so we can see what you're seeing, but chances are, there's not going to be a link to a freely available transcript, because that's not what the Washing Post does.
posted by jonathanhughes at 12:13 PM on February 9 [12 favorites]

Yes, you are getting paywalled out. I have a log-in and see an entire column in text.
posted by quadrilaterals at 12:21 PM on February 9 [3 favorites]

Two options:
• https://1ft.io/ will get around most paywalls for most pasted in URLs.
• Look for it archived at https://archive.ph/
posted by ShooBoo at 1:04 PM on February 9 [4 favorites]

previously on metafilter
posted by oceano at 1:05 PM on February 9

For the sake of comparison, here is a gift link to that same article so you can see what you would see if you were a subscriber. “Listen to this” doesn’t mean it’s a podcast with no transcript, it just means it’s an article with an audio version for accessibility.
posted by Stacey at 1:57 PM on February 9 [3 favorites]

Response by poster: uggggh That's what I thought it was at _first_, but the lack of a prominent [enough] "Subscribe to see the rest..." notice had me going in circles. I just... yuck. Done.
posted by amtho at 3:35 PM on February 9

Do you run some sort of popup blocker? That would explain why you’re missing the ‘subscribe’ notice if so.
posted by lokta at 3:41 PM on February 9

Yeah, you probably have some kind of popup blocker going. I do, too, but I still see a GIANT white banner thing that comes up and says "Treat yourself to unlimited access and save over 75%" along with 2 options to subscribe at different levels and also the option to give them your email address which presumably opens up access to a few more free articles per month, or visit the WP subscription page with tons of print & online subscription options.

Anyway it is indeed annoying but understandable that publications need people to pay for their content and can't just give it away for free in unlimited amounts.
posted by flug at 3:57 PM on February 9 [10 favorites]

Mod note: One removed. Just a quick reminder: Ask Metafilter is for finding solutions for specific problems, not for general discussion of the topic. Thanks.
posted by taz (staff) at 10:18 PM on February 9 [3 favorites]

Please add the tag "wapo" to this thread, and optionally "paywall" (not sure if you can do that after the fact).
posted by intermod at 7:36 AM on February 10