CSA Online by Andrew Moore-Crispin WHILE WE WEREpaying attention elsewhere, talk radio has had something of a resurgence. Not classic talk radio with call-ins and such, so much as the idea of talk radio where a host gets expert guests in to discuss all manner of things in which they think their audience would be interested. Oh, right; and it’s not on the radio at all but, rather, it’s on your computer, tablet, smartphone, smart speaker (i.e. Amazon Echo or Google Home) or other audio device. We’re talking about podcasts in this issue’s column. Chances are that you’ve heard the term. Maybe you’re already listening to a few. Podcast is a portmanteau of pod, as in iPod and cast as in broadcast. They’ve been around forever in internet terms. But back to the radio for a second. Radio stations are expensive to run. Because they have a limited regional broadcast area, radio stations necessarily need to appeal to a broad demographic. Democrats or Republicans, country or rock fans, sports nuts or those interested in public affairs, for example. Even in major cities, the number of potential listeners is finite. Podcasts aren’t subject to the same constraints as radio. They’re relatively inexpensive to create and the potential audience for a podcast is much broader. These and other factors pave the way for podcasts on any number of subjects far too specialized to find an audience on terrestrial radio. Of course, broad general interest content is available too, withmajor broadcast players climbing aboard the podcast bandwagon, but what really sets podcasts apart is how niche they can be. In short, if there’s a subject that you and at least a few dozen other people are interested in, chances are good that there’s a podcast for that. If not, perhaps you’d like to create it yourself; all you really need to get started in podcasting is a decent microphone, an internet connection and the will to make it happen. Some podcasts are regular daily, weekly or monthly insights into a given topic. Others are serial pieces going way in-depth on one particular topic over the course of a dozen (or however many it takes to tell the story) episodes. When you find a podcast that you like, you can subscribe to it and have each new episode downloaded automatically, ready for you to listen when you’re ready. Podcasts are free and often sponsor-supported. Sponsor messages don’t tend to be overly intrusive. Often, it’s the host reading a sponsor message or relating a personal anecdote, offering a promo code for listeners to try the product if they’re so inclined, then it’s back to the show. Radio Renaissance [Podcasts in Play] 56 | www.snowbirds.org
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