I'm with you there. However, it's important to remember how fluid and dynamic verbal discussion can be. It's a great format for creation, even if it's lacking in consumption.
Luckily- my startup; Spreza, transcribes podcasts. We've talked to Kat about providing transcripts for this upcoming series.
A good conversation is different from an essay, it would be great if there were transcripts of the podcasts, isn't any YC company working on speech-to-text?
You can try the 1.5 or 2x speeds. It was odd for me in the begining but after listening for a while at 2x speed hearing adapted pretty well. One caveat, it may make one speak a bit faster.
* I can scan quickly.
* I can search for things.
* It's easier for me to read things than listen. I don't drive much, so don't have dead time when I can only listen.