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What the heck is a podcast?

Whenever I mention podcasts in a non-internet setting, I inevitably find myself having to explain exactly what podcasts are, in light of its unfortunately non-descriptive and somewhat misleading monkier. “Podcast” sounds more complicated than it is, and you don’t need an iPod.

Short answer: A podcast is like a radio program, except you download each episode off of the internet.

Detailed answer: A podcast is an audio (or video) program, usually created by folks like you and me, where each episode is posted on the internet (usually in mp3 format) and distributed by RSS. Programs that can read those RSS files (AKA “podcatchers”) can download each new show automatically for you as it becomes available. Afterwards you can listen to the episode on your computer, mp3 player (hence the “pod” name), or where ever else you decide to move the file to.

Things you need to listen to a podcasts:

• a computer (If you’re not going anywhere, just listen to it on this)
• a connection to the internet

Things you don’t need to listen to a podcast:

• iPod (an mp3 file can be transferred to any mp3 player, or burned onto a CD)
• a “podcatcher” program (you can download most shows manually by going to the releated web site)

Where to find podcasts:

• Yahoo! Podcasts
• iTunes
• Odeo
• Podcast Alley
• AOL Podcasts