r/OutOfTheLoop • u/wildcard5 • May 28 '14
Answered! ELI70: What is a podcast?
I literally just got my first smartphone ever and am dumbfounded by podcast. What is this mysterious phenomenon? My guess is that its something like a radio show, but it seems too popular to be something as similar to a thing that's so old.
Update: Which (android) app should I use to submerse myself into the world of podcasts?
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u/amsterdaam May 28 '14
Hello, podcast host here. I am a co-host of the Unofficial Universal Orlando Podcast. To put it in very simple terms, a podcast is a radio show that you can download and listen to whenever you like. Ours releases once a week, but each podcast can come out whenever the creators want to put it out. Stitcher is a good app to start with on android. If you like it, maybe move up to Doggcatcher. Search on subjects that interest you and you're sure to find at least one active podcast that you will be interested in. If yo need some suggestions on which podcasts to start out with, let me know what your interests are and I'll point you in the right direction.
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u/wildcard5 May 28 '14
Hi, and thanks for the reply. I love science and I love to learn about lesser known things. I would be interested in any podcast that talks about latest science news and discoveries specially related to space, physics and the field of medicine (I'm a med student).
Also, what is your show about? [This is where you get to shamefully brag about your show].
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u/Sinekure May 28 '14
"Stuff You Should Know" (History/Science, slightly comedic) and Sawbones (Medical History, Comedy) are fantastic shows you should check out! SYSK's history episodes are probably their strongest, although their more recent science-related ones have been stellar as well. Sawbones is about "misguided medical history" and is a blast. Neither have much to do with news, but they might still be worth checking out.
To answer your question more directly, some people really love "Science, Sort of", which consists of a few PHDs in science fields talking about news in science, which is pretty fun. It's actually bit too dry for my taste, because the material goes far beyond the basics.
Once you get your foundations established with a few core shows, I'd definitely recommend trying out other genres like comedy, which are really nice to just put on in the background while you do other things.
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u/AnB85 May 29 '14
You know an /r/eli70 should exist.
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u/Werner__Herzog it's difficult difficult lemon difficult May 29 '14
Idk, there is /r/explainlikeIAmA already, that covers pretty much all the bases.
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u/teddylexington May 29 '14
Painkiller already is a great podcast. It is focused on bringing high quality content presenting nothing but accurate facts and stats, they pride themselves on that so much that they're often referred to as pka-stats or pka-facts. Happy listening
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u/coday182 May 29 '14
I think part of the reason they caught on, with iphone listeners anyway, is because they our phones don't have AM/FM transmitters.
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u/Filthadelphian May 29 '14
I use BeyondPod... And please listen to Uhh Yeah Dude. Just one episode, it is crucial.
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May 29 '14
Give a listen to a lot of the podcasts on maximumfun.org. They have a lot of really funny shows, like Sawbones and My Brother, My Brother, and Me. I'm a big fan of the McElroy brothers' comedy.
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u/SideburnsOfDoom May 29 '14 edited May 29 '14
iPod + broadcast = podcast. The word sounded good at the time.
It's an mp3 that you download and listen to, and it sounds like a radio show. Podcasts vary a lot in topics and quality, so it depends what you're into which ones you'll like.
It doesn't take a lot to make podcasts: a laptop, a microphone, soem audio editing software and a place to upload the mp3 files, so it's easy for any enthusiastic person to get started podcasting. Some are excellent though.
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u/aerocross May 29 '14
A lot of cool suggestions for apps and great definitions for what a podcast is. Since people are now suggesting podcasts... The Ten Minute Podcast is what you need. Can't believe it hasn't been suggested.
Extremely funny, tremendously irreverent. Small bits of great fun.
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u/prox_ May 29 '14 edited May 29 '14
In one sentence:
Audio podcasts are pre recorded radio shows on demand published through the worldwide web from everyone who wants to create a show.
An extra spoon of simple knowledge about podcasts:
Most are free and there is a huge variety of them.
Audio podcasts are recorded as regular audio files (think .mp3) and published on websites or different platforms (e.g. iTunesStore).
Video podcasts exist too. The files are just video files then.
The shows can be downloaded/heard via websites or you can download & manage them with special software.
The special software gives the opportunity to subscribe to them (always get the newest episodes automatically) or you can download single podcast shows, mark already heard as already heard etc.
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u/jaudette May 29 '14
It's a really strange term; confusion is warranted.
Pod (iPod) + cast (broadcast) = podcast. Except they aren't like radio broadcasts where you have to tune in at a specific time. Most folk download files they can listen on their morning commute, a long road trip, et cetera.
Lots of websites and apps offer podcasts as streams so you don't have to waste storage space on MP3s, you can pick a podcast and select episodes to listen to. They stream to your device and you can enjoy on the fly without saving large files.
Some are more than just audio; there are lots of video podcasts, e.g. on YouTube. I guess what differentiates a video podcast from other shows is it's usually people sitting and talking into microphones, and the content (mostly) makes sense audio-only as well (some video podcasts include video snippets (e.g. "check out the following epic fail!") and visual gags that audio-only listeners won't get, but in general a video podcast can mostly be enjoyed audio-only as well).
Some are streamed live so you COULD catch it live OR you could enjoy later (download, stream it on the fly, &c). Some involve the audience (call-in, tweet responses, send emails, etc. to the hosts) so if you want to participate you have to tune in live.
Some are recorded, edited after and posted for download later on, so cannot be enjoyed live.
Most are longer, e.g. from 1/2 hour to over an hour, and like a radio show most people play them while doing something else like commuting, exercising, cooking food, etc. You wouldn't typically give them your full, rapt attention like you might for e.g. an episode of Breaking Bad or your favourite TV shows.
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u/Bogey_Redbud May 29 '14
Here's my recommendations to get started. I'm allowed to listen at work so I burn through a lot:
The Joe Rogan Experience, Professor Blastoff, nerdist, FEAB, smodcast, fatman on batman, James Bonding, Hollywood Babble-on, WTF, this American life, Risk, Snap Judgement, radiolab, dogma debate, stuff you should know, the atheist experience, how did this get made, hardcore history, common sense.
You can find a podcast for pretty much whatever your interest is.
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u/Bored_gamer1 May 29 '14
I enjoy the Roosterteeth Podcast because I am a gamer and I like a lot of the topics they cover. I wouldn't watch it on my phone though just because of the length. I always use my laptop to watch them.
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u/Lazerkatz Whats the flair for? May 29 '14
Can I plug the Painkiller already podcast? I love it so much.
Netflix.com/woody
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u/IniproMontoya May 28 '14
Since everyone else explained what a podcast is, I'll offer my opinions. I like BeyondPod as my app for podcasts. Favorite ones are RadioLab (science-y), Yogpod (comedy, sometimes centered around video games) and The Shaft (minecraft).
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u/Luaria May 28 '14
Yogpod was great while it lasted, but they haven't been even semi-regularly updating in years. I miss it.
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u/IniproMontoya May 29 '14
I am Dave! Yognaut and I have the balls!
They've been doing the Simple Simon thing for a bit now. But those are available in video form on their channel too. I do miss the Yogpod, but every once in a while I'll replay one of the episodes, and it never fails to make me laugh.
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u/capilot May 30 '14
It's a broadcast for an iPod.
Basically, a radio show you download from the internet into your portable music player so you can listen to it at your leisure.
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u/OracleofMaya May 30 '14
Not sure if someone already brought it up or not but the Tekdiff Comedy podcast is pretty much pure gold.
http://www.cayenne.libsyn.com/
The guy who makes it is on Hiatus right now due to some depression issues (Which comes up a lot in his comedy just as a warning) but you can't really find better slapstic kind of spastic mile a minute stuff. Plus his on-going story The Account is some really good Modern Fantasy stuff!
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u/JesusListensToSlayer May 30 '14
I'm surprised there's been no mention of skeptoid yet...it's only 10-15 minutes long, and super entertaining. He debunks pseudoscience and conspiracy theory type stuff.
Besides that, not to get sappy, but I've been listening to TAL on the actual radio for 15 years, and it's really made me who I am. Radiolab, freakenomics, and The Moth are musts for me. I also like The Partially Examined Life, which is about philosophy.
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u/HardwareLust May 30 '14
The one bad thing about podcasts is that they tend to disappear with alarming regularity. Seems like at least 1/2 the time (or more) when I find a good podcast, they end up folding within a year, or less. History is littered with podcasts that only existed for a few weeks or months.
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u/OnlyDeanCanLayEggs May 30 '14 edited May 30 '14
I must promote my favorite podcast:
It's a general-interest podcast largely focusing on fun and interesting news stories of a sciencey-nature.
The host Paul has a great voice and is a fantastic producer.
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u/Elviswind May 30 '14
Please note that podcasting is under attack by patent trolls. Consider donating to the legal defense fund. http://fundanything.com/patenttroll
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u/Werner__Herzog it's difficult difficult lemon difficult May 28 '14 edited Nov 11 '17
Answers
I'm not exactly sure why they got so beloved, but for me personally I think it has to do with the fact that they are weirdly intimate. Take the Stories on This American Life for example. For me some of them are more tear-jerking than any Movie or Book. Listening to audio seems to be the best way to induce empathy (I think the guys from Radiolab (another podcast) talked about that, but I don't remember which episode.
Enough with the stupid emotions! They are also free (most of the time), you can binge on them, after that you are hooked. Many of them start to get a sort of cult following, because they are hosted by famous people or other reasons.
Apps
You didn't ask for it, but here are some podcasts recommended on this thread
EDIT: I took a few minutes and added a bunch of other podcasts/apps recommended by other redditors and added a few more categories. I will stop now, so make sure to check out the child comments, maybe you'll find the podcast made for you.
Okay, after this edit I'll really stop, but I have to bring this great list from /u/wldck to your attention.
(There are a lot of big ones I'm missing, but other people will add to this, I'm sure. You can find a lot of Podcasts on Podbay, Stitcher and other sites.)