What actually is a podcast?
You probably think you know. You might think you are listening to one right now. But are you actually?
The definition of the word podcast has been changing over the past few years. I’ve been thinking about this a lot recently, especially with platforms like Spotify and YouTube changing how we listen and what podcast means.
Video podcasts, for example, are everywhere now (including Thinking in English) and some podcasts don’t even use the traditional RSS feed anymore. It made me wonder: What actually is a podcast?
In today’s episode, I want to explore this question from different angles. We’ll start with the etymology of the word “podcast“, move on to the technology that made podcasts possible, look at the content that defines them, discuss how definitions are changing today, and finally, consider what the future might hold!
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Vocabulary
- RSS feed (n): A system that automatically delivers new content from a website to a device.
- “I subscribed to my favourite podcast’s RSS feed.”
- on demand (adj): Available whenever the user wants.
- “Streaming services let you watch shows on demand.”
- independent (adj): Not controlled by large organizations; created by individuals or small groups.
- “Many independent podcasters create shows from their own homes.”
- platform (n): A service or website that allows content to be shared or viewed.
- “You can listen to podcasts on platforms like Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube.”
- niche (adj): Targeting a specific, specialized topic or audience.
- “This podcast focuses on a niche topic: medieval history in England.”
- episode (n): A single instalment of a series or program.
- “I just downloaded the latest episode of my favourite podcast.”
- content (n): Information or material produced for an audience.
- “Podcasts offer different types of content, like interviews, stories, or news reports.”
Etymology of the Word Podcast
Let’s start with the word “podcast“. What does it actually mean? Well, the word podcast is a combination of two words: “iPod” and “Broadcast”.
The iPod, Apple’s iconic portable music player was released in 2001 and quickly became one of the most popular ways to listen to music. The term broadcast comes from traditional radio and television, meaning to transmit [00:04:00] content to a wide audience.
So the word podcast literally suggests a way to broadcast audio to portable devices like iPods.
In the early 2000s, this was revolutionary. People were used to scheduled radio programs or CDs you had to carry around with you.
Suddenly, iPods and other similar devices offered the ability to listen to music wherever you wanted, whenever you wanted, and often for free.
It wasn’t just music either. People realized there was an opportunity for other types of content to be put onto portable devices.
The language itself also shaped our definition of a podcast. In the early 2000s, iPods were mostly audio-only devices. Of course there were a few video iPods and also the [00:05:00] iPod Touch, but because iPods were mainly for audio, I think it was often assumed that podcasts would be audio-first.
If they were being broadcast to iPods, hence podcast, that would mean it’s audio like radio.
A podcast was something you could upload to an iPod and then listen to while walking, commuting, or working.
Early podcasts were often informal, personal, and often independent productions,unlike the polished or highly produced programs on traditional radio.
So the word podcast comes from the iPod and the idea of broadcasting audio.
Technological Podcast Definition
You might think then that podcasts really began with the iPod, but actually the technology behind them is much older and different. So let’s [00:06:00] think about a technological definition of a podcast.
Podcasts traditionally rely on something called an RSS feed. RSS, which stands for Really Simple Syndication, is a way to automatically deliver new content from a website to a person’s device, their computer, their iPod, their phone.
In the case of podcasts, this means that every time a new podcast episode is published, that you subscribe to, it appears automatically in your podcast app.
You don’t need to go to my website every week to download the latest episode. Instead, Thinking in English appears on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or CastBox or whatever podcasting platform you listen to, and it does that automatically. You don’t need to go and download [00:07:00] it.
The early days of podcasting, in the mid-2000s, were driven by independent creators experimenting with this RSS technology. These creators were usually hobbyists, so people doing it for fun, or small media companies who wanted to share niche content with a global audience.
Then came Apple Podcasts, which launched a dedicated podcast directory in 2005. Apple Podcasts was on every iPod, and then later every iPhone and every iPod Touch, and every iPad, and it allowed people to access podcasts.
This made it easier for listeners to discover new shows and helped podcasting grow rapidly. Basically, Apple Podcasts made it easy to find different podcast RSS feeds, subscribe to them [00:08:00] and then listen to the shows.
Unlike radio or streaming platforms controlled by a single company, RSS allowed anyone with an internet connection to publish a podcast.
Even today, many people believe that the original RSS model is still the true meaning of podcasting.
Content-Based Podcast Definitions
Now that we’ve looked at the origins of the word “podcast” and the technology behind podcasts, let’s talk about content. What podcasts actually are in terms of what you listen to.
One of the main differences between podcasts and traditional radio is that podcasts are on demand. You can listen whenever you want, not just when a show is broadcast live.
I can see the data behind when you guys listen or download Thinking in English episodes. There is someone listening to one of my episodes [00:09:00] basically every single minute, every single second of the day. And people are listening to both new episodes, this episode when it’s released, and also my old episodes from 2, 3, 4 years ago.
This is different to radio. With traditional radio, you had to be listening to the radio to hear the show. And it wasn’t simple or possible to listen to old episodes again.
Being on demand makes podcasts really flexible for busy listeners. You could start listening to every single Thinking in English episode today, even though I started five years ago.
Podcasts also often focus on niche topics that you wouldn’t normally hear on mainstream radio. There are shows on anything from ancient history to advanced English learning.
Think about it. Would Thinking in English be [00:10:00] on a normal TV station or radio station in your country? If you are from Colombia or Mexico or Poland or Italy or Japan, would Thinking in English be on the radio?
Probably not.
But if you work on TV or radio, reach out to me and we can make it happen.
So podcasting has allowed this kind of content. Shows like Thinking in English, shows about history, shows about politics, shows about entertainment, shows about mental health to be spread widely across the world.
And podcasts give a voice to independent creators, not just large media companies. I own 100% of Thinking in English. I don’t work for or with a big English school or someone like the British Council or the BBC learning English. When I started, I made Thinking in [00:11:00] English with free software, a free podcast host, a free website, and an old laptop.
If it required using big media companies, I couldn’t afford to make a podcast, but podcasting doesn’t require lots of equipment or lots of expertise or lots of money. You can make something for free like Thinking in English, and it can eventually become popular.
Podcasts also come in a wide range of formats. Some are interviews where the host talks to a guest about a particular subject. Other shows are storytelling shows, which can be like mini audio dramas or investigative journalism.
There are news podcasts, educational podcasts, entertainment based shows. This variety is part of what makes podcasts so engaging.
Compared to other [00:12:00] forms of media, I think podcasts occupy a unique space. They are different from YouTube videos, which are usually very visual.
They are different from blogs which are written and require reading. They are also different from audio books, which are long and scripted and generally polished in a way podcasts are not.
Podcasts sit somewhere in between. But the definition of podcasting and podcast content is definitely shifting.
For example, Spotify has recently, in the last two years, removed some things from its podcast platforms, like shows which have lots of music, insisting that shows on Spotify have to be podcasts.
This raises an interesting question. What counts as a podcast today?
If a show involves lots of music and then commentary of that music, maybe a [00:13:00] review show, is it a podcast?
Well, it can’t really go on Spotify’s podcast platform anymore, and Spotify won’t define it as a podcast.
If a show is audio only, but highly produced,or video based but distributed like a podcast, does it still count?
Changing Definitions of Podcasts
As podcasts have grown in popularity, the definition of what a podcast actually is has become less clear.
One major change is the rise of video podcasts. Many shows are now released on YouTube where the audience can watch as well as listen.
These shows often follow the same format as a traditional podcast, like interviews or storytelling or discussions. But the visual element, the video, changes how we experience them.
This is the case for Thinking in English. In May this year, I [00:14:00] started filming myself while recording episodes and then making an audio podcast and a video podcast for YouTube.
If you are listening to this episode, this Thinking in English episode, on Apple Podcasts, you are listening to a traditional podcast delivered to Apple via an RSS feed. But on YouTube, it is a video uploaded directly and not connected to my RSS feed. Is this still a podcast?
Another shift in podcasting is how platforms like Spotify and YouTube control content. Traditionally podcasts were distributed via RSS feeds, which allowed creators to reach listeners directly. But now some podcasts are released exclusively on one platform, detached from RSS feeds entirely.
YouTube videos are not part of the same [00:15:00] RSS system as the main podcast for Thinking in English, for example.
This raises a question. If a show doesn’t use RSS, is it still a podcast or is it just a digital show?
Podcasts are no longer just audio on demand. They sometimes involve video. They might have interactive features like a transcript or there might be platform specific tools like Spotify’s comment section and polls.
If you go to Spotify and leave a comment, that is just on Spotify. It’s not on all of the different places people are listening.
Listeners are also changing. Younger audiences often discover podcasts through YouTube or social media clips, not through traditional podcast apps.
I often see podcast clips on YouTube shorts with millions of views. I then check the actual podcast [00:16:00] episodes, which tend to have much fewer, sometimes, basically no viewers.
In fact, I have heard that some podcasts now make it a priority to create short clips for TikTok or YouTube.
As a result, the idea of a podcast as an independent, niche audio-first thing is being challenged.
Future of Podcasting
So what is the future of podcasting?
One big question is whether the RSS model, the independent open distribution system that made podcasts possible, will continue to survive.
Platforms like Spotify and YouTube are attracting huge audiences without really needing the RSS feed. And this centralized approach, uploading directly to Spotify or directly to YouTube, could redefine how people create and listen to [00:17:00] podcasts.
At the same time, there is a strong community of independent creators who value freedom and control over their work. These creators may keep RSS alive.
Hybrid models could also emerge. Combining audio, video, interactive features, and creating new ways for audiences to engage. This is what I’m trying to do with Thinking in English’s video episodes, for example.
Commercialization is another trend. Big companies are investing heavily in professional podcasts and high production. While this can improve quality, it may also make podcasts feel less personal and more like traditional radio.
The future also depends on you guys, the people who listen to podcasts. The people listening to Thinking in English right now.
Will you continue to seek [00:18:00] niche independent shows? Or will most audiences just follow what platforms promote?
And as technology evolves (think AI generated shows) the very definition of a podcast could change again.
In short, podcasts are at an uncertain point. The medium could become more like mainstream media, or it could maintain its independent, on demand spirit.
Final Thought
A podcast can mean different things to different people.
It might be a portable audio show delivered by RSS. A video discussion on YouTube. Or an exclusive series on Spotify.
Some see it as informal and independent while, others think of it as a professional, multimedia, video, [00:19:00] audio experience.
So I want to know your opinion…
What do you think a podcast really is? And what do you think the future of podcasting is? I’d love to hear your definition.
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