Podcasts: We love them, and we listen to them more and more in our busy lives. But what exactly is a podcast? Here’s an explanation.
What is a podcast?
A podcast is an audio file that you can choose yourself and then (provided you have good Internet connection) listen to wherever you may be. Not only from home, but also while you’re on the road or taking a walk. There are thousands, perhaps millions, of these audio files, and there will always be one to suit your interests. There are podcasts about sports, books, music and technology. You have audio books, humorous anecdotes and you can even listen to some (background) news. They’re available in all kinds of languages, and there are even series with multiple episodes. Just like Netflix.
How do you listen to a podcast?
There are different ways to find a podcast. If you have an iPhone, then you already have an app on your phone which enables you to have any podcast at your disposal. If you can’t find the app, you can download it from the AppStore—it’s there under ‘Podcast’. Although Android devices don’t have a specific app like the iPhone, you can still download one. Commonly used apps for finding and listening to podcasts include Stitcher and Google Podcasts. And if you prefer to listen via the computer, there are also websites where you can find audio files, such as tunein.com/podcasts.
What’s so great about them?
The answer to that can differ per person. For example, it can be very relaxing to listen to a story instead of reading it. It offers you the chance to spend less time looking at a screen, which puts less strain on your eyes. For journalist Renate van der Zee, for example, it helped her during her visual burnout: “I go to bed with my earphones in and discover how nice it is to fall asleep with someone telling me a story.”
A podcast can also be a fun way to learn new things. Instead of taking in information via a book, you can now also absorb the information by listening to it. This allows you to continue to develop yourself while, for example, cooking, sitting on the train or walking around the block. There are podcasts with random facts, you can learn about science, and there is even a podcast about philosophy especially for children.
- Fancy listening to a podcast? Here are some tips from Flow.
Text Bente van de Wouw Translation Julia Gorodecky Photography BB Coffee Shop/Unsplash.com
