Discovering Podcasts: Part 1
2015 is the year podcasts went mainstream. Verbal storytelling goes back millenia. So the technical transaction taking place in a podcast — sharing stories, exploring questions, and communicating thoughts — isn’t new. But the platform of podcasting itself is only as old as portable digital media devices (like iPods and smartphones), which are about ten years old. Fast forward to late 2014, a new podcast called Serial exploded into popular culture in a way no other podcast had done before. It even made it’s way onto SNL. But before I get ahead of myself…
If you’re new to the concept of podcasts, you’re probably hoping for a definition. So what’s a podcast? Even as Serial was became so clearly popular, it simultaneously had to explain to the masses what a podcast is and how you “get a podcast.” From their website:
A podcast is essentially a radio show that you can get on the internet, so you can listen any time you want. You have two options: you can listen to a podcast through a website (this is called streaming). Or, you can download a podcast, which means you’re saving it on your phone, or tablet, or computer, and you can listen to it anytime, even without an internet connection.
I’ve been listening to podcasts for around seven years. It started out as a way to fill my hour-long commute each way to work. From iTunes, I downloaded podcasts to my iPod Touch and largely listened to radio shows that had been repackaged into podcast form.
Here’s a key distinction that is increasingly true about podcasts: a podcast doesn’t have to be an actual radio show. In fact, the vast majority of the best podcasts created will never play on an actual radio station. With the independent networks and distribution channels that exist now (through smartphones, social media, etc.), someone creating great content and able to leverage social media and other networks doesn’t need a radio network to reach their audience. In many ways, being part of a radio station would make it impossible for some of the best podcasts to even exist.
(Sidebar: defining podcasts by comparison to radio shows is something, I think, will become less and less effective — because do any teens or even young twentysomethings listen to the radio? Maybe it’s more effective to call a podcast “TV for the mind.”)
For me, podcasts are a source of learning, growth, entertainment, inspiration, thoughtfulness, and generosity. I’m listening to them in the car, while making dinner, going for a run, mowing the yard, and even in the background while I’m working at times. In this series of posts, I want to share with you the podcasts I love and the ones I am just discovering. I’d also love to hear what you listen to and how you use podcasts in your life.
In the next post, I will share my favorite podcast of all-time. Start with the best, right? I’m pulling together a list of my favorite episodes and recommended listens if you’re just getting started. After that, I’ll share the rest of my Top 5, talk about how to find new podcasts, and explore a list of my most recent podcast subscriptions.
