I didn't get this because I necessarily need a podium, per se. I actually got this because I'm putting together a "Magneto room". Magneto, as in the guy from the Marvel comics. And later X-men films. If you recall, they built a "plastic prison" with all acrylic furniture for him. I always found that to be extremely cool, and so I have been collecting...or perhaps "curating" is a more apt term...it sure sounds classier, anyway...as much acrylic furniture as I possibly can. So far, I have this podium, plus an end table, a small folding table, a rotating bookshelf, a coffee table, and 4 matching chairs. Around 10 items so far. It's starting to be a pretty sweet collection of acrylic furniture.My only regret is that this has a metal base. Only from a "Magneto room" aspect. Those of you that aren't trying for an all-acrylic room will NOT care that it has a metal base. At all. In fact, you'll probably appreciate it. But because I'm a "special case", I'll probably end up replacing the base with a piece of 3/4" thick plexiglass or polycarbonate...something nice and thick and heavy, but clear. And the shelf. That needs to be polycarbonate.Just ignore me on the obsession with getting rid of the metal bits. It's actually really nice. And there are benefits to having a transparent podium, too. You can tape notes and things underneath so you can read them, but you won't risk knocking them off or not being able to find them in the pile. I will caution to avoid cleaning this with paper towels. This is one place where you REALLY want to use one of those microfiber cloths to avoid scratching. Acrylic is a fairly hard plastic, but it will scratch without too much effort.Overall, I really like it. It'll fit into my motif, and that's the most important thing to me. It's a nice acrylic podium if you're trying to encourage transparency at your organization. *wink*. 5 stars.