The word comes up at work, on YouTube and from friends planning their own show. This guide explains what a podcast is and how a new episode ends up on your phone.
Updated · 6 min read
Short answer
A podcast is a series of audio or video episodes on one subject, published online for you to play whenever you like, usually free of charge. You follow (subscribe to) a show once, and new episodes then turn up in your app by themselves. Apps such as Spotify and Apple Podcasts pick up the episodes through an RSS feed, and video podcasts also appear on YouTube. The name blends iPod and broadcast.
What it is
A series of audio or video episodes that you play on demand
Where the word comes from
iPod plus broadcast, in use since 2004
How it reaches you
Through an RSS feed that podcast apps read
Cost to listen
Usually free; some shows sell paid episodes
Who makes it
A podcaster, the host, often with guests
What is a podcast, in simple terms?
A podcast is a show split into episodes. Each episode is recorded in advance and published online, and you play it when it suits you: on the bus, on a run or while you cook.
Say a business show releases a 40-minute conversation every Tuesday. You follow it once in a podcast app, and from then on each new episode appears in your list without you having to look for it.
Three things separate a podcast from a single recording posted online:
it is a series, with new episodes over time;
you can follow or subscribe to it;
you play it whenever you like, instead of at a set hour.
The person who makes and hosts the show is a podcaster. Many podcasters invite guests, and some share the microphone with a regular co-host. Anyone can publish a podcast: no licence or broadcaster is involved.
A podcast can be audio only or filmed as video. With most shows you can start at any episode, although a story told across a whole series is best heard from the beginning.
Why is it called a podcast?
The word blends iPod and broadcast. It appeared in 2004, when people downloaded shows to portable music players to listen on the move. You never needed an iPod to listen, but the name stuck.
How does a podcast work?
An episode reaches you in five steps:
The creator records and edits the episode.
They upload it to a podcast host, a service that stores the files.
The host publishes an RSS feed: a list of all the episodes that updates itself whenever a new one is added.
Apps such as Spotify and Apple Podcasts read the feed and list the show.
You follow the show, and new episodes appear in your app, ready to stream or download.
Because every app reads the same feed, one show turns up in Spotify, Apple Podcasts and elsewhere at once, and a new episode reaches all of them without the creator uploading it again.
Listening to podcasts on your phone
iPhones come with a Podcasts app built in, and on any phone Spotify and the YouTube app play podcasts too. Search for the show by name and tap Follow or Subscribe; new episodes will then be waiting each time you open the app.
YouTube works a little differently. Shows usually upload each episode there as a video, separately from the feed that the podcast apps read, and many shows publish in both places.
What kinds of podcasts are there?
The first split is between audio and video. An audio podcast is sound only. A video podcast also films the conversation: the full episode goes to YouTube, and the same recording comes out as audio in the podcast apps. Some video podcasts are filmed on a single camera; others cut between several angles, often one per speaker plus a wide shot. If you want to see what that involves, read how a video podcast is filmed.
ECLECTIE Talks, recorded at Baltic Podcast Studio in Riga, is one example: the episodes are on YouTube as video and on Apple Podcasts as audio.
Within audio and video alike, most shows follow one of a handful of formats:
Common podcast formats
Format
How it sounds
Typical example
Solo
One host shares expertise or a story
A coach answering one listener's question per episode
Conversation or co-hosts
Two or three regulars discuss a topic
Two colleagues going through the week's news in their field
Interview
A host and a new guest each episode
A founder explaining how they built their company
Panel or roundtable
Several guests on one theme
Three experts debating a single question
Narrative or documentary
A scripted story with sound design
A series that tells one real event over several episodes
Podcast, radio or YouTube video: what is the difference?
All three can carry the same conversation. They differ in when you listen and how you find it:
Podcast, radio and YouTube compared
Feature
Podcast
Radio
YouTube video
When you listen
Whenever you like
At broadcast time, or later on catch-up
Whenever you like
Live or recorded
Recorded
Mostly live
Recorded
How you find it
Podcast apps and search
Through a station
YouTube search and recommendations
Length
From a few minutes to several hours
Set by the schedule
Any length
How you keep up
Follow or subscribe
Tune in
Subscribe to the channel
In practice the lines blur. Many radio programmes are also published as podcasts, and video podcasts live on YouTube, often alongside short clips from podcasts. Whatever the platform, a show counts as a podcast when it is a series you can follow and play on demand.
Why do people listen to and make podcasts?
Listeners like the way a podcast fits around something else: the commute, a workout, the washing-up. A show can also spend an hour on a niche subject, and over many episodes you get to know the hosts.
People make podcasts for different reasons:
to show what they know;
to build a brand or a community;
to talk with people they find interesting;
and, for companies, to reach clients and future employees.
Finding podcasts in your language
In Riga people listen in Latvian, Russian and English. A show usually picks one language, and some publish a separate version for each. To find shows in your language, search the app in Latvian or Russian, or type the topic followed by the language you want. Browsing an app's categories also helps when you know the subject but not yet a show.
When you are ready to make a show yourself, how to start a podcast goes from the first idea to the first published episode.
Frequently asked questions
Are podcasts free?
Most are. Some shows sell bonus episodes or a paid membership.
Do I need an app to listen to a podcast?
No. Many shows play in a web browser, but an app makes it easier to follow shows and download episodes.
Is an audiobook a podcast?
No. An audiobook is one finished book, while a podcast is a series that keeps adding episodes.
Is a video podcast the same as a vlog?
Not quite. A vlog is a personal video diary. A video podcast is a show, usually a conversation, released as both video and audio.
Can I listen to podcasts offline?
Yes. Download the episode in the app while you are online, and you can play it later without a connection.
