Maybe it's the time of day, but HN is usually good at cutting through the usual politicised stuff, and just discussing the issue at hand.
At the end of the day, Spotify isn't a Podcasts platform, and nobody I know associates Spotify with podcasts. Surely somebody on Rogan's team knew this, but I suspect the money was simply too good to pass up. Imagine starting a FinTech SaaS with the sole purpose of being acquired, and then being offered $100m by a Biotech company. I'd probably take it.
At the end of the day, Spotify isn't a Podcasts platform, and nobody I know associates Spotify with podcasts. Surely somebody on Rogan's team knew this, but I suspect the money was simply too good to pass up. Imagine starting a FinTech SaaS with the sole purpose of being acquired, and then being offered $100m by a Biotech company. I'd probably take it.