#NewsBytesExplainer: Decoding podcasts—history, origin, evolution, prominent examples
You can't stop listening to them, can you? The ever-changing landscape of technology has significantly altered the entertainment world's scenario, and now, movies, series, or music aren't our only sources of entertainment. In recent years, podcasts have grown at a rapid pace, with several speakers inviting guests and experts to speak about their specialized niches. Today, let's dive deep into the phenomenon of podcasts.
How do experts define the term?
As per Nashville Film Institute, "A podcast is an entertaining form of media content delivered in a series of digital audio or video files focused on a specific topic." "The individual audio recordings of a podcast are known as podcast episodes. They are usually stored with a podcast-hosting company that allows listeners to subscribe to the podcast." Spotify is home to thousands of podcasts.
Did you know podcast is a portmanteau?
Speaker and consultant Ben Hammersley is credited with coining the term podcast, a portmanteau of iPod and broadcast. Former MTV video jockey Adam Curry is known for making the medium hugely popular and is also called the "Podfather." In 2005, Curry founded PodShow (later known as Mevio) with his business partner Ron Bloom and has been hosting the No Agenda Show podcast since 2007.
What purpose do they serve?
The most intriguing aspect of a podcast is that it's not limited to any one subject, and everyone can offer their perspective on anything and everything! They entertain and educate listeners, spread awareness, serve as interviews with famous personalities, dig into trivia and interesting facts, tell stories and fables, or provide knowledge about any topic that is in the news at a certain time.
Here are some popular international examples
Speaking of international podcasts, some of the most popular ones include History for Weirdos, The Real People, Crazy Stories, A History of the World in 100 Objects, and Earth to Humans. Others include The Joe Rogan Experience, Crime Junkie, Call Her Daddy, My Favorite Murder, The Ben Shapiro Show, The Daily, Office Ladies, Pod Save America, and Stuff You Should Know, among numerous others.
Which one do you listen to?
Unsurprisingly, India has no dearth of podcast speakers or listeners! Some podcasts that regularly climb the popularity charts are Maed in India, Respectfully Disagree by The Swaddle, The Internet Said So, The Ranveer Show, Indian Noir, Masala Podcast, Finshots Daily, Sleep Podcast by Slow, Sandeep Maheswari's podcast, The Triggered Show, Dhruv Rathee's podcast, Bhagavad Gita (Hindi), and Cinema With Baradwaj Rangan, among others.
