Why is Hollywood creating podcast production companies to make "real talk" podcasts?

I read in @Podnews about Bradley Cooper's movie production company—Lea Pictures—teaming up with iHeart for a slate of new podcasts. Quoting from the press release:

“Our shows will feature real people telling real stories, and we knew iHeart was the perfect partner to reach as many people as possible. I look forward to dreaming up more extraordinary stories together.”

You, too, likely see the disconnect between the first sentence and the last sentence. Regardless, their efforts do seem—for now, at least—to be focused on creating new "talk" shows or docuseries. Which is fine.

But why not put their efforts into "dreaming up more extraordinary stories" and making those into podcast fiction? (Spoiler: it's money)

Thoughts?