Research

Podcasting studies includes interdisciplinary research into podcast production (content, creators, genres, industry) and consumption (audiences, impact, platformisation, monetisation). Topics of particular interest to HIP scholars include the strong para-social relationship between a podcast host and their audience, the production of intimacy via the affective power of sound and voice, and the way storytelling podcasts convey knowledge and engage and entertain listeners. These concerns are visually represented in The Pillars of Podcasting graphic.

The power of audio

Podcasts are a showcase for storytelling, entertainment and ideas transfer in an accessible, engaging way. The relatively low technical and financial barriers to making a podcast partly explain why the podsphere has grown from some 300,000 podcasts in 2015 to around four million in 2022. However the most compelling podcasts also draw on techniques from radio drama and documentary, sound art, oratory and narrative fiction.

Well-executed podcasts can achieve a singular intimacy, enhanced when you listen 1:1 via headphones or earbuds. Buoyed by the affective power of voice, this intimacy gives podcasts a sense of authenticity prized because it builds such strong audience connections.