This elementary query that has been challenged and even abused: what is a podcast anymore? There’s loads of misinformation and disinformation on the market about what a podcast is. My efforts to assist set the definition straight could also be fruitless, however there’s extra to contemplate right here than solely the that means of the phrase.
That is my four-hundredth episode of The Audacity to Podcast, to to commemorate this milestone, I wish to bounce again to this elementary query as a result of how we reply it can have an effect on the way forward for our content material and even of the entire podcasting {industry}.
/definition
The definition of a “podcast”
First, there are a number of makes use of for the phrase “podcast.” It is each a noun and a verb. However we’ll deal with the noun.
For an up-to-date definition, have a look at WhatsAPodcast.com, which is a collaboration I began with Todd Cochrane and another podcasting-industry consultants. Here is that defintion as of July 27, 2025:
A sequence of episodic audio or video content material that’s downloadable on-demand through an RSS (“actually easy syndication”) feed.
That has been worded barely in another way over time, however that is the core of the definition. A “podcast” is mostly a label for content material distributed in a selected approach. Adam Curry, the co-creator of podcasting, even just lately mentioned that he could be superb if we outlined podcasts as solely audio. I’d settle for that within the definition, too, since YouTube just about killed video podcasting (the “why” and “how” are subjects for a distinct dialogue).
And as a noun, some folks even use “podcast” to discuss with particular person episodes of a podcast, nearly like an abbreviation, albeit considerably ambiguous. For instance, somebody would possibly say, “In my final podcast …,” “Take heed to this week’s podcast …,” or “On this podcast …,” referring to particular episodes, however not fully separate podcasts (a sequence of episodic content material). However for readability, I like to recommend utilizing “podcast” to refer solely to the collective sequence and to not the person episodes.
Different tried definitions of a “podcast”
Ask common folks to outline a podcast and you will get a wide range of responses, often much like one of many following:
- An interview present
- Any audio on the Web
- Solely audio exhibits
- Any independently created audio or video content material not syndicated by way of terrestrial broadcasting or paid streaming platforms
- Or, my favourite to snort at: something on YouTube the place you’ll be able to see a number of folks speaking into seen microphones
At Podcast Motion Evolutions 2025, Dan Granger, together with Veritone One and Oxford Street performed some analysis surveys of audiences after which got here up with the next definition:
An audio-driven, on-demand program rooted within the spoken phrase. Sometimes episodic and conversational, podcasts cowl wide-ranging themes and codecs. They’re accessed through open RSS feeds or different distribution platforms and infrequently supplemented by video.
And for “video podcast”:
An episodic on-demand program rooted within the spoken phrase, the place synchronized visuals meaningfully form the expertise.
It is that “different distribution platforms” that really undermines the definition as a result of “different” can imply “any.” By their definition (and a few derivatives I’ve seen), audiobooks at the moment are podcasts. YouTube is now podcasts. Netflix/Hulu/Disney+/Apple TV+/Amazon Prime at the moment are podcasts. Random apps with audio at the moment are podcasts. It is sort of the Oprah of definitions: “YOU are a podcast, and YOU are a podcast!
What’s flawed with redefining what a “podcast” is?
By trying to redefine “podcast,” Veritone One is definitely (maybe unintentionally) erasing what a podcast is. With their definition, nearly something may very well be a podcast now, which implies nothing is particularly a podcast!
Thus, with a extra “inclusive” definition, what makes one YouTube video a “podcast” however not one other one?
Or think about a world the place “podcast” was universally redefined to incorporate all some of these audio and video content material on the Web, then we would want a new time period to label the exhibits which might be distributed solely through RSS (which, by nature, is open). I’ve heard some folks say “open podcasting” and “RSS podcasting,” however these sound redundant to me. Podcasting is by nature, open and primarily based on RSS. So there’s not a lot totally different about these redundant phrases from saying “ATM machine” (“automated teller machine machine”), “PIN quantity” (“private identification quantity quantity”), and “please RSVP” (“RSVP” is brief for répondez s’il vous plaît, so this phrase interprets to “please please reply” or “please response please”).
(Enjoyable apart: I generally wish to make enjoyable of those sorts of redundancies by jokingly saying issues like, “as ASAP as doable” and “in your FYI.”)
True podcast distribution and consumption are distinctive
The distribution and consumption types for podcasts is radically totally different from different media. Almost all different content material is constructed round centralized consumption from centralized distribution. For instance, you’ll be able to solely stream Stranger Issues on Netflix. Most content material on YouTube is out there solely by way of YouTube. And different film and present licensing offers restrict how one can watch or purchase them.
Whereas your podcast will get centrally distributed by way of your RSS feed, you’ll be able to take that content material to nearly any internet hosting supplier. You can even obtain the RSS feed code as an XML file and host it on any web- or file-serving service (despite the fact that that is often not a good suggestion). So the distribution is totally transportable and invisible to your viewers!
However consumption is the place podcasts excel. There are tons of of podcast apps, practically all providing the identical catalog of podcasts. And even when a podcast is not searchable inside that app, practically all podcast apps assist you to manually observe an RSS feed—typically bypassing any sort of company or authorities management of the podcast-consumption expertise (there are some exceptions, although).
As a result of podcasts can mechanically obtain within the background, they are often consumed anyplace you’ll be able to take your podcast app: on a ship, on a prepare, in a automotive, on a aircraft, mowing the yard, doing the dishes, even on the job, or anyplace your viewers needs. Podcasts are the inexperienced eggs and ham of media! Apart from audiobooks, no different media might be consumed so freely and portably!
Strict definition versus utilization description
I bear in mind an episode of Grammar Woman’s Fast & Soiled Tricks to Higher Writing through which Mignon Fogarty interviewed an editor for Dictionary.com. He mentioned that usually instances, their job is to document how individuals are utilizing a phrase, which isn’t at all times its literal that means, in order that different folks can perceive the utilization.
I believed that was profound. Additionally, the meanings of some phrases change over time primarily based on utilization.
Listed below are two examples for instance this.
- Within the first in style English translation of the Bible, the King James Model (KJV), God tells Adam and Eve in Genesis 1:28 to “replenish the earth.” Some folks have tried to make use of that to say Adam and Eve needed to repopulate the earth. Again when the KJV was launched, “replenish” meant “to fill,” nevertheless it now means “to refill.” The that means of the phrase modified.
- After I hosted a podcast in regards to the TV present As soon as Upon a Time, I had a humorous realization about one thing I did not know whereas we have been live-streaming our podcast-recording. One of many characters within the present mentioned a magical city was “awful with magic,” and I took that and the context to imply “horrible with magic.” And I had put together a complete idea and clarification round that line. However that is after I realized that the phrase “awful” may imply “infested.” And that—somewhat to my embarrassment—fully modified the that means of the dialogue and invalidated some extent I used to be attempting to make.
So it’s a honest level that the meanings of phrases change with utilization—generally by irony (for instance, “it was a depraved scrumptious cake,” “the baddest automotive”), and generally by cultural use. However I believe there are some definitions that ought to not be modified as a result of it could muddle the that means, ignore actuality, invalidate and even erase arduous work, and is commonly outright pointless as a result of different phrases exist already to serve these various wants.
We need not redefine “podcast” to incorporate different media as a result of we have already got a superbly good time period: “present.” There are Netflix exhibits, tv exhibits, radio exhibits, stay exhibits, YouTube exhibits, and extra. (However please do not say “podcast present,” as a result of that is redundant besides in alternative-meaning makes use of like “The London Podcast Present,” or you could possibly even say “the The Audacity to Podcast present” if you wish to make your head spin!)
Is the definition a “gatekeeper”?
I’ve heard some folks complain that sustaining a strict definition of “podcast” is introducing a kind of “gatekeeper” in podcasting. They may make the case that it is demeaning or “non-inclusive” to inform somebody they are not creating an actual podcast as a result of their content material is just on YouTube (or no matter proprietary platform). However I do not suppose that is the case in any respect! As a substitute, sustaining clear constraints to the that means can truly be empowering for folks.
Take into account somebody who publishes their content material solely on YouTube and also you inform them about podcasting. You abruptly open a complete new world of alternatives for them! As a substitute of being on just one platform, you are serving to them to see that they are often in tons of of various apps, typically free from distracting algorithms, connectivity necessities, or company and authorities censorship. They’ll attain extra folks with their content material in the event that they distribute it additionally as a podcast (an actual podcast, that’s!).
It is sort of like if all somebody knew of meat was hotdogs and so they thought-about that to be the definition of “meat.” However then you definitely introduce them to juicy hamburgers, crispy bacon, tender steaks, seasoned jerky, smoked brisket, grilled fish, fried rooster, and extra. You are not simply increasing their perceive of a phrase, you are altering their worldview on meat!
Must you actually name your content material a “podcast”?
You may in all probability anticipate the place I’ve going with this. I’ve mentioned for many years (particularly in episode 184 again in 2014) that though I believe we must always preserve the definition of a “podcast” much like what I’ve shared right here, we must always not restrict ourselves and our content material by calling them “podcasts.” As a substitute, use a extra descriptive label, like “discuss present,” “interview present,” “audio drama,” and such. I particularly just like the phrase “present” as a result of it isn’t restricted to any distribution technique. You can have a “present” a YouTube, on a stage in entrance of a stay viewers, broadcast on radio or TV, in paid streaming platforms, burned to CDs, on X or TikTok, stay or time-shifted, and extra—and even, as a podcast!
So if folks ask what you do, I like to recommend you lead with the principle worth first. As a substitute of claiming, “I’ve a movie-review podcast,” you could possibly say, “I’ve a weekly discuss present reviewing motion pictures for households.” You can then add how folks may get it by saying, “You may watch it on YouTube, take heed to it as a podcast, or get it from my web site.”
See? We stay in an unimaginable period the place you’ll be able to—from actually your closet or basement—distribute a message that may be consumed anytime, anyplace, by anybody.
That is the audacity of podcasting!
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Disclosure
This put up might include hyperlinks to services or products with which I’ve an affiliate relationship. I could obtain compensation out of your actions by way of such hyperlinks. Nonetheless, I do not let that corrupt my perspective and I do not advocate solely associates.
