Podcast: What is It, How It Works, Who Creates It

Hmm..how would I describe a podcast to someone who has no prior knowledge of it? Probably by breaking it down into something we could relate to that has been around for a while. 

Think of it as a series on Netflix. There are apps and websites like Netflix that cater specifically to podcasts (check out our blog: Best Podcast Listening Apps For iOS and Android to find the best app for you). Apps like Spotify Podcasts, etc. are a huge hub of recordings in a single place that talk about blogs, shows and topics in different genres that might intrigue you.

And similar to Netflix, you can download/browse these podcasts anytime and anywhere!

What is a podcast?

If I was to describe what is a podcast in a couple of words, it would revolve around these common answers:

• On-demand

• Free of charge

• A niche

• A repurposed radio

• Audiobooks for blogs.

• An audio version of a blog that you can listen to anywhere.

Another way to describe a podcast would be to think of it as an online talk show on any topic. If you think of something that fascinates you, there’s probably a podcast you can listen to about it!

Where does it come from? Who creates it?

The word Podcast comes from the blend of the words iPod and Broadcast. 

It’s mostly used by individuals as a means of sharing information/their thoughts in order to bring together people with similar interests.

Podcasts are very economical for its creators when compared to writing/recording audiobooks, creating radio shows, etc. They are very cheap and easy to make as they can be produced from the comfort of your own home without having to rely on radio stations for recording and broadcasting.

Today podcasts are created by many different individuals as well as groups of people. Some podcasts available are from (this is a very small list):

• Companies (big and small)

• Radio Stations 

• TV Networks 

• Comedians

• Art Historians

• Storytellers

• Churches

• Podcast-only Networks

If you need help making your podcast sound amazing, we offer podcast editing, mixing, and mastering services that can elevate your brand and clearly share your message.

Learn more about all of our podcast production services and hear a sample of our work here. We look forward to adding massive value to your podcast development process. Contact us here to get started.

How do they work?

Podcasts aren’t necessarily structured like say a TV show series, with the exception of being divided into episodes to create a sequence that is easy to follow. Pre-production features such as length, style, format, etc. aren’t pre-determined. Some podcasts may be released daily, some weekly or even monthly.

With only the topic decided in advance, they are more freestyle rather than scripted.

Another amazing thing about Podcasts is that you can subscribe to them like you would a newsletter. You can receive notifications for every new upload, never missing an episode!

Conclusion

Podcasts are audio entertainment, anywhere, anytime, about anything. They are a great way of gaining knowledge on interesting topics or even just generally having something to listen to while you’re driving, at the gym, working, etc.

You can choose from thousands of topics and genres made for people of various ages. 

And the best thing about them: they are so easy to listen to and browse through that even the non-tech savvy people can learn how to use it in minutes.

Here are some of my favourite podcasts to get you started:

1. The Joe Rogan Experience

2. The GrowthTLDR With Kieran Flanagan and Scott Tousley

3. The Jony Studios Podcast

4. The Tim Ferriss Show

Did you find one you liked? Let me know which one in the comments below.

- By Neha Agarwala

Best Podcast Listening Apps For iOS and Android

Podcasts have gained extraordinary popularity in 2020, there are a staggering number of options for podcast apps - for both iOS and Android.

These apps are available in either one or both iOS and Android ecosystems. They provide features that range from playback options, sharing options, sleep timers, and more. 

Podcast Apps for both iOS and Android 

These following apps are available on both iOS and Android. Some also have desktop apps for Mac, Windows and Chromecast.

• Radio Public: Free on Both

This app doesn’t require an account or login information, you can start listening immediately. It also gives the option of listening to Podcasts offline, meaning no net needed! This is an add free app which gives you the power to support the creators you love through donations. You can bookmark your favourite parts of a podcast, giving you the opportunity to go back and share these moments.

You can also add private RSS feeds (all apps do not allow this) and import and export using OPML. They also have an incredibly responsive customer service team.

• Pocket Casts: Free on both

This app is perfect for anyone who likes to listen to many podcasts at a time. It has a great user interface, which provides light and dark themes and has search and filter options as well. It provides its users with variable speed choices varying between .5x and .3x speeds along with a volume boost option.

If you want to listen to specific parts of a podcast, it also provides users with chapter navigation. You can start listening to where you left off on a different device as well. The discover page contains curated lists and top charts to help you find podcasts that might interest you. And for the extremely active people, you can access the app through your Apple Watch!

• Stitcher: Free on Both

With Stitcher, you can search for specific episodes within a series, create playlists, find new podcasts, listen to the news and do a lot more. You can access the app from your iPhone, iPad, Android devices, PC and smart speaker.

The app is listed as a free app but it offers a premium subscription of $4.99/month that removes ads and gives you the opportunity to listen to original shows. It has also won many awards.

• Castbox: Free on Both

The app is relatively new but has amazing reviews online which earned them “best of” awards from Google and Apple.

You can access the 95 million episodes available on the app through Amazon Echo Skill, Apple Watch and CarPlay. The app also provides users with an in-audio search feature if you’re looking for something specific.

• Podbean: Free on Both

Podbean is easy to navigate and use and has garnered hundreds of 5-star reviews over the years. It comes equipped with Alexa skill and has various plans you can choose from depending on your podcasting needs.

Not only is it a podcast listening app but its also a podcast hosting company as well, meaning you can use it to create your own podcasts! You can record and upload your podcasts straight from the app. It also has marketing and monetization features you can use for a fee to optimize the response from your podcasts.

• Laughable: Free on Both

Laughable, like the name suggests, is focused more on comedy but has podcasts available for different interests as well. It gives you the option of subscribing to podcasts of all genre and also connects you to thousands of specialists in fields like comedy, acting, athletics, music, publishing and others.

The app makes it very easy to find a specific personality and listen to them even if they are just guests. Laughable has also been a featured app in the App Store many times!

• Tune In Radio: Free on Both

Tune In is an internet radio that provides you access to live sports, music, news, podcasts and internet radio.

This app not only works with Android and iOS but it also works with CarPlay, Apple Watch and Chromecast. But the most fascinating part about this app is the availability of MLB, NBA, NFL, and NHL with their premium subscription service.

• Spotify: Free on Both

Although Spotify is known for music, they have developed a section for podcasts as well. They offer a variety of genres to choose from and if the podcast you want to listen to is not listed, it’s as easy as filling a request to get it listed!

And if you’re a podcast producer and your podcast is hosted with a well-known company, you can have it listed on Spotify by filling a simple form.

iOS Podcast Apps

• Overcast: Free

Full disclosure: this is an ad-supported app. But the ads are that of other podcasts so you could consider them to be more recommendations to topics that might interest you. (There is an option to remove the ads as well).

A few features especially highlighted in the app include smart speed, voice boost, playlist filtering and reordering and discovery through twitter followers. 

• Listen App: Free

The most amazing thing about this app: its ad-free. The app is a smart app, meaning it can suggest shows based on what you’re listening to and what is trending. It is also the first podcast app that focusing on design and is gesture-based.

Some other features that excite its users are the easy to create and manage a queue feature, access to previously finished episodes and the ability to save data on what to download and stream. You can also toggle playback speeds and get notifications for new episodes posted.

• Castaway 2: Free

This app lets you listen to podcasts offline, adjust playback rates and notifies you of new episodes and more. It has a great user interface with easy to use controls. 

• Apple Podcasts: Free

This comes with your Apple devices. It has a large selection of podcasts from different genres. With all Apple devices linked, you could pick up where you left off on a different device and gives you the option of listening offline.

• Castro 3: Free

This app is specifically designed for podcasts. It lets you queue or archive new episodes which is handy if you don't wish to listen to every episode in a podcast. Its queue design is more compact than the other apps, giving you the chance to see a large number of queued episodes at once.

It also has a night mode which can be turned on and off using finger gestures. Castro is a well-organized app for people who subscribe to many podcasts at once. Its also supported by Apple Watch and iMessage.

• Downcast: $2.99

It has a bunch of useful features and is an amazing app for organizing your podcasts. The app syncs to your iCloud so you can easily pick up where you left off and includes iPad, Apple Watch and CarPlay support. You can also use the macOS version for $4.99.

• PodCruncher: $3.99

PodCruncher offers gestures, playback speed control, sleep timer, landscape view and more.

• iCatcher: $2.99

This is a universal app that works on all Apple devices including Apple Watch. It also lets you download your podcasts so you can listen to them without having internet access.

Android Podcast Apps

• Google Podcasts: Free

The Google Podcasts has some cool features not only for its listeners but also for podcast producers. You can subscribe to your favourite podcasts, queue episodes you want to listen and add different Google accounts to the app as well.

It provides smarter recommendations and is synced with Google Assistant for more convenience. More information is available on Google’s blog post. 

• Podcast Republic: Free

This app not only supports iTunes but also YouTube channels. It has the ability to save podcasts directly to your device, has live radio streaming, Android Wear support, automatic download and more.

The app does have ads but those can be removed through the in-app remove ads purchase. 

• Podcast Addict: Free

This app has a ton of features that include Chromecast and Sonos support. It can be turned into a widget, has sleep timers, advanced playback and a lot more. 

• BeyondPod: Free

This app has a great interface and sports a staggering amount of downloads. It comes with Smart Playlist technology that builds playlists for you according to your listening preferences. It is car-friendly, has a one-touch widget control bar, works with Android Wear and is supported by Chromecast.

• Doggcatcher: Free

The app has a lot of good reviews and has also been given many awards. It has fully automated download and cleanup of media files and is supported by Chromecast. You have the option of downloading episodes as well.

• Player FM: Free

Player FM is a great app for custom organizing of your podcasts, syncs to the cloud and keeps your listening history stored for better navigation. You can connect this app to your TV with Chromecast, use it Android Wear and use Android Auto to listen in your car.

You can download episodes to listen to offline and find new podcasts with its smart recommendations.

• Podkicker: $1.49

The app allows you to add your own RSS feed and has had a lot of downloads over the years. You can use the Downloads bar to navigate through your downloaded podcasts. The Episode bar lists up to 200 latest episodes from your subscribed podcasts.

• AntennaPod: Free

It’s a nice app for your managing podcasts. It comes with password protected feeds and episodes and has OPML import and export. New episodes are automatically downloaded and the app has playback with variable speeds.

If you need help making your podcast sound amazing, we offer podcast editing, mixing, and mastering services that can elevate your brand and clearly share your message.

Learn more about all of our podcast production services and hear a sample of our work here. We look forward to adding massive value to your podcast development process.

Conclusion

These are only a few of the many apps available today. Which one do you prefer? Let us know below in the comments if you have any other recommendations.

- By Neha Agarwala

Best Microphones for Recording Your Own High-Quality Podcast in 2020

Are you looking into recording your own podcast at home but don’t know what kinds of microphones to use? These are the best microphones for recording your own high quality podcasts in 2020!

These are separated into USB Microphones and XLR Microphones. USB mics are easy to set up, and usually can be attached directly to your computer, while XLR mics require a different port and additional equipment to be set up. Are you ready? Let’s get started.

USB Microphones

AT2020-USB

This is one of the first mics Jony Studios ever used! It’s a great starter microphone that does the job well. It offers a wide dynamic range and a low mass diaphragm that is engineered for an extended frequency response. It works great for recording podcasts.

ATR2100x-USB:

The prices vary depending on where you buy it from, but it averages for above $100. This mic has both USB and XLR connections, and is fairly portable. It has versatile uses from singing, to podcasting, and recording live. It also includes all the cables needed to set it up.

Rode NT-USB:

This mic is ideal for voice recording, and includes items such as a travel pouch, tripod, and boom mount. The cost averages around $100. It also features a zero-latency stereo headphone monitoring jack, which allows you to keep track of the microphone input in real time.

XLR Microphones

Rode Podmic:

This mic is optimized for podcasting, and usually sells for under $100. It has an internal filter and internal shockmounting so you can get the best sound quality possible.

Rode Procaster:

This mic is ideal for podcasting and voice overs. It has a great sound quality, and has an internal pop filter to help minimize plosive sounds.

Heil PR-40

This mic is great for podcasts, although on the more expensive side, the sound quality lives up to the price.

Shure SM7B:

This mic is known for its appearances on multiple broadcasts. It has a built in pop filter and shockmount, so the need for further upgrades is none. This is also our personal favourite!

Electro-Voice RE20

This mic is also great for broadcasting, and is great for those who are new to microphones. It features an internal pop filter for close-in voice work, and an internal element shock mount, that can help reduce vibration induced noises.

Conclusion

All of these mics have various qualities that make them great. In the end, make sure to use the one that best suits your specific needs. The most important part of podcasting is conveying value through your message to connect with your audience. Quality is just one minor aspect of this. If you need help making your podcast be the best it can be, contact us here.

So which mic are you interested in getting? Let us know!

- By Julianna Martinek