How I Use It: Podcasts

Abstract

Wikipedia defines a podcast as ‘a type of digital media consisting of an episodic series of files (either audio or video) subscribed to and downloaded through web syndication’ [1]. Put more simply, a podcast is usually a spoken word programme downloaded freely from the internet and which can be listened to at the convenience of the listener on a personal media playing device such as a smart phone or MP3 player. The word ‘podcast’ is a neologism derived from ‘broadcast’ and ‘pod’, as in iPod. The real beauty of the podcast is that you can automatically receive podcasts of your choice each week. This might be a medical or science podcast or your favourite broadcaster who you miss because you are at work or can’t hear the whole show. This is called subscribing, but it is usually free and means that the podcast is delivered to your computer and phone. You can then listen to it at a time that suits you, for instance when driving to work or when taking the dog for a walk. Podcasting dates back to about 2004 when it was first mentioned by Ben Hammersley in The Guardian along with other proposed names for the new medium. In 2005, Apple released iTunes 4.9 with native support for podcasts. While this made receiving podcasts more convenient, it effectively ended advancement of the podcast medium by independent developers. However, no one person owns the technology; it is free to listen and create content, which departs from the traditional model of ‘gate-kept’ media and production tools. The content can be accessed using any computer that can play media files and not just portable music players. Listeners should be aware that podcast content may be subject to only limited censorship or external review and their reliability is dependent on those who have compiled them. So let’s say you wanted to listen to the British Medical Journal (BMJ) podcast which comes out every week. The podcast is completely free, you don’t have to register anywhere, even on the BMJ website, it is usually 20 min long and contains two or three features highlighting specific articles or topics from the BMJ. There are three principal ways of listening to the podcast. You could go onto the BMJ website and listen to it directly. Secondly, you could download the podcast to your computer and then listen to it immediately or later or transfer it to a music or media player such as an MP3 player and listen to it at your leisure. Or you could go to iTunes, search