Podcasts come roaring back in 2017

When podcasts were introduced by Apple as part of iTunes in 2005, there was some mild interest. The medium simmered along gently, buoyed by personalities without a frequency on the radio dial and content marketers looking to promote their communications or coaching firms.

Fast forward to 2014 and Serial, a 12-episode podcast that told the story of the 1999 murder of a high school student and questioned the guilt of Adnan Syed, who was sentenced to life in prison in 2000. By February 2016, the episodes had been downloaded more than 80 million times.  

In 2017, Edison Research reported that 40 percent of Americans (an estimated 112 million) 12 and older have listened to a podcast, compared to just 13% 10 years ago.

Why the increase in interest? A wider range of podcasts is available, with Amazon, Google, Spotify and Tidal launching podcast networks. Advertisers, including many national brands, are finding podcasts attractive because listeners tend to be younger, have a higher level of education, and they follow companies and brands on social media. In addition, phone and wireless connections in vehicles now make listening to podcasts easier than ever.

Podcasts also have become fascinating listening, with so many genres emerging. Here are some of my favorites:

Media and Marketing
On the Media
Duct Tape Marketing
The GaryVee Audio Experience

True Crime
Serial
S-Town
Up and Vanished

News Digests
New York Times The Daily

Stories
Lore
Homecoming
Bronzeville

Science and facts
The Hidden Brain by Shankar Vedantam
Ted Radio Hour
Freakonomics Radio

Lifestyle and Work
Art of Charm
Unthinkable

Do you have a favorite podcast? Let us know!