Does anyone else feel like 5by5 is going through a second golden age lately?

5by5 completely stole me away from TWiT in 2011 with shows like Build and Analize, Hypercritical, and The Talk Show completely stealing my podcast-listening time. But it felt like the network fell on some hard times when all 3 of those shows ended close together and upstart networks like 70Decibels were putting out more interesting shows with new, previously unknown hosts. I would say I was a fan, but I wasn't a passionate fan anymore. Shows were either ending or leaving the network quicker than new shows were being added. And those new shows weren't as good as the ones leaving. It wasn't a great time.

I think Dan Benjamin made a great move when he acquired the 70Decibels network and took on all of their shows. It also got him Myke Hurley who, despite his humble personality, is a great podcast host. This meant that all of the shows I was already listening to were now technically 5by5 shows, but it also spurred a wave of new shows on the network. Since the merger of the two networks, these new shows have popped up and have quickly become some of my favorite podcasts:

The Prompt - The self-professed "World's Greatest Podcast" is right up there with Accidental Tech Podcast as required listening for anyone who likes tech.

The News - A daily 5 minute podcast where Myke Hurley runs down the most interesting news of the day. It's great for your drive home when you want to get a quick update on what happened in the tech world today.

DLC - Jeff Cannata and Christian Spicer are awesome in this video game podcast. They manage a great mixture of comedy and analysis of the video game industry. Their daily shows during E3 were the best of any podcast covering the conference.

Directional - This gaming podcast talks more about larger topics of video games. They've dived deep into themes in the industry and gone way in depth into certain things like Nintendo's epic 2004 E3 press conference and a deep dive into what makes The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds such a great game.

Overtired - This one is only 2 weeks old, but I can already tell it's going to be a keeper. Brett Terpstra and Christina Warren discuss all matter of geekery.

That's a lot to listen to, and I'm happy to be in the situation of having too much good stuff in my podcast queue each week. I also have a renewed sense of confidence in 5by5. I like everyone involved at 5by5 and am happy to see them doing well.