“A Rise in Podcast”

By: Ryann Sniadecki

No matter what social media platform you’re on, whether that be TikTok, Instagram, or Youtube, you most likely have seen a post or two of someone announcing they are starting a podcast.  

Well this “trend” isn’t new. Since 2020 there has been a rise of people listening to podcasts and/or creating their own. 

History of Podcast

You may think that the idea or concept of a podcast is fairly new, well it isn’t. The first “podcast” started in the 1980s, with most of them being radio talk shows. 

The “modern” version of a podcast wouldn’t be seen until 2004. According to Descript.com, “…in 2003 when software developer Dave Winer created the first audio RSS feed.”. This feed, which is still used today, is how many podcasters create their podcast. 

That same year former New York Times journalist, Christopher Lydon, created the first podcast called Radio Open Source. Lydon is still putting out episodes to this day. 

At first podcast could only be listened to on computers, but thanks to Christopher Lydon and Adam Curry created the iPodder, the world’s first podcast listening device. This device was very similar to that of Steve Job’s device, iPod. 

The Booms in Podcast

Many people argue what the first major/popular podcast was and what podcast and app caused them to boom.

Well a major/popular podcast, that some think caused the boom, is comedian’s Joe Rogan’s podcast The Joe Rogan Experience first airing in 2009. While others think it’s The Howard Stern Show], which first aired in 1986. 

Although there isn’t a clear answer, many think it wasn’t a podcast but Apple’s iTunes store being able to support podcasts. 

The second major boom in the podcasting industry was/is Covid-19. Due to many people being stuck in their homes many turned to creating podcasts as a form of both escape and entertainment. 

According to a study done by Statista, the number of people listening to podcasts has risen since 2020, and will continue to rise. 

My Experience with Podcast 

I, like many people, during the 2020 pandemic started watching/listening to podcasts. 

I started off watching podcasts that were more like talk shows. Some of these included Zane and Heath, and Frenemies, to name a few. 

But then after watching the Netflix Docu-series Tiger King, I started down the rabbit hole of Netflix True Crime Docu-series. This rabbit hole then led me to true crime podcasts, and I was hooked. 

Some of the things I watched/watch aren’t even considered podcasts, but are in the podcast format. Some of my favorite podcasters are, in no particular order, Rotten Mango, Lets Read!, Wendigoon, and Missing Void. 

This new love for true crime, unsolved mysteries, and cryptid creatures lead me to start thinking, what if I created a true crime podcast? 

And so The CrimeCast was born. I posted the first episode on June 13, 2022. Since then I’ve released 16 episodes, ranging from haunted locations to true crime. 

I’ve seen, from both my own experiences and other podcasts, when there’s more visuals in my episodes I get more views compared to when I just use stock videos. 

Final Thoughts

In the end whether the boom of podcasts dies, I and many other podcasters will continue to publish episodes, for either their audience to enjoy or if they just enjoy it themselves.  

By staying active it will help people find podcasts to enjoy or even inspire them to create their own. 

I don’t think podcasts will die down. This is because, according to a study done by Podcastpage, around 184,000 new podcasts were created or aired in 2024. 

Credit: Podcastpage.io

Credit: Unknown (main image)

Credit: Ryann Sniadecki