Marvel’s Spider-Man 2: Crime-Fighting vs. Podcast Listening

Players exploring New York in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 can miss entire sections of in-game podcasts simply by responding to a crime. Both J. Jonah Jameson’s Just the Facts and Danika Hart’s The Danikast can stop playing when combat or another activity begins, leaving players without a way to replay the interrupted episode from the game’s menus.

The problem was documented shortly after launch, with an October 2023 GameRevolution report confirming that neither podcast could be replayed through the Collections menu.

J. Jonah Jameson and Danika Hart offer contrasting perspectives on Peter Parker and Miles Morales as events unfold across the city.

Jameson’s Just the Facts regularly criticises Spider-Man, while Danika’s broadcasts provide a more sympathetic perspective on the heroes and the people they protect.

Their commentary also responds to developments in the main storyline, including Peter’s increasingly aggressive behaviour while wearing the symbiote.

That contrast makes the podcasts more than background entertainment. They reveal how New Yorkers interpret events that players experience directly, sometimes without understanding the circumstances behind Spider-Man’s actions.

The problem arises when players encounter one of the randomly generated crimes marked on the map.

Entering combat can interrupt an ongoing podcast, and the episode does not automatically resume once the encounter ends. Unlike Marvel’s Spider-Man and Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, the sequel does not provide a collection of previously heard broadcasts for players to revisit.

I find this particularly frustrating because the broadcasts are designed to enrich the open world, yet engaging with that same world can prevent players from hearing them. Stopping a crime should not mean sacrificing part of the narrative commentary.

The practical workaround is to avoid starting crimes, missions or other activities while a broadcast is playing. Players can continue exploring without engaging enemies until the episode finishes.

At launch, Insomniac had also announced plans for New Game Plus and Mission Replay, although neither feature was available in the initial release.

These additions offered the possibility of revisiting story content, but Insomniac had not confirmed that they would restore the missing podcast archive.

Later Update: Insomniac released update 1.002, introducing New Game Plus and Mission Replay. However, the published update details did not include a dedicated replay archive for Just the Facts or The Danikast, meaning the original podcast accessibility concern was not addressed by either announced feature.