Hands up if you love podcasts?

We are a little in love with the podcast world at the moment and can’t get enough of our favourite conversation shows. And what’s not to love? Podcasts offer the perfect story on the go – easily accessibly and digestible – and allow you to either nibble on a bite-size 15 minute chat or gorge on two-years’ worth of epic conversations. This is a topic we have been itching to talk about on the blog for ages, so today we are spreading the good stuff for podcasts.

For those new to the platform, podcasts are pre-recorded audio conversations, available through a specific channel (iTunes for most listeners), which can be downloaded to your computer or device and listened to whenever you want via a FREE subscription.

Despite podcasts arriving on the scene back in 2004, popularity of the medium didn’t gain momentum until 2013 with a boom, which has since witnessed (according to Apple) more than 1 billion subscribers across 8 million different podcasts.

The range of podcast shows is exhaustive, covering both fiction and non-fiction and everything from pre-existing radio programs to in-depth discovery and interview shows.

Popular, series-based podcasts have dominated the most-listened-to lists for years now, including Serial, This American Life, and a recent combination of the two S-Town which, to be honest, I’m too scared to start listening to in fear of being lost down the ‘rabbit hole’ and never coming out. There’s obviously a damn good reason why these podcasts are so popular.

Comedy podcasts also rate high and offer a little light relief from addictive conversation-based shows or drama series that WILL keep you up all night. In late 2015, English lad Jamie Morton started his own podcast, My Dad Wrote a Porno after discovering his dad had written a porno and decided to read it aloud each week with commentary from a couple of friends – genius and pretty bloody funny. WARNING: this is definitely NOT the podcast to have playing with kids in earshot.

There’s certainly something for everyone in the podcast world and the beauty is that anyone can play in this space if they have the time, the skills and, importantly, something interesting to say.

Someone who always has something interesting to say, a good friend of ours and recent panellist at the second instalment of our Spreading the Good Stuff live conversation series, Brady Trelfall has just launched his very own podcast: Tell Me Your Tales and is already up to episode 13. Brady is a primary school teacher and elite middle distance runner and God only knows how he finds the time to produce a fortnightly episode. However, for those who know Brady know he’s a passionate guy and once he sets his mind to something, there’s no stopping him. Great work Brady! Do yourself a favour and go check out Brady’s unique and insightful conversations here.

Online statistics indicate the average age of podcast listeners is 30, which is interesting, and when our recent work experience student, Carla confessed she was a huge fan we were keen to find out what a 20-year-old listens to, why and when? Here Carla explains:

“Podcasts are wherever, whenever: on a long drive, on a walk, while you’re cleaning your room. You can pause, rewind and fast forward. I definitely see the usage of podcasts expanding around my age group. In the same way as books, people are recommending and reviewing. They also feel very intimate, like you’re part of the conversation even though you can’t talk back. And the fact that you’re in control of when they’re played, means you don’t have to miss a beat!” Here’s Carla’s three favourite podcasts:

No Filter by Mia Freedman – interviews
Hamish and Andy – comedy
My Dad Wrote a Porno – comedy

If you’re trying to figure out where to start try some recommendations from friends and family or jump on ITunes where you’ll find an estimated 250,000 – 270,000 podcasts to choose from.

To help you along the way, here’s some of our favourites, in no particular order:

Slow Your Home (these guys are so good they now have their own podcast channel, Jack Rabbit FM) – lifestyle
The Mindful Kind – mindfulness
Up For A Chat – self improvement
The Wheeler Centre – great conversations
The Wellness Guys – wellness
The Brand Newsroom– media and communications

And here’s the current top 10 courtesy of iTunes:

S-Town
My Dad Wrote a Porno
Conversations
Serial
Stuff You Should Know
Hamish and Andy
TED Talks (audio)
Australian True Crime
This American Life
The Joe Rogan Experience

We’d also love to hear from you about your recommendations and when and where you listen to your favourite podcasts.

Jump on over to our social pages and spread the good stuff for podcasts.

In the meantime, happy listening!

Christy

TSW x

#podcasts #spreadingthegoodstuff #conversations #wordsforgood