PODCAST MAY CHANGE HOW WE CONSUME INFORMATION IN THE 21ST CENTURY

Over the longest time, television and radio were the dominant forms of media used to disseminate information to the public at a large scale. But with the advent of internet, the dissemination of information has become a more wide spread phenomena. Information for public consumption takes different shapes and forms based on the content and the targeted audience. Video, Audio, Music, Infographics, etc; all such forms of media have become very successful in the past couple of decades or so in making information more accessible to the whole world. All one needs is a computer or a mobile device and a connection to the interned to access unlimited information present online, at any time of the day, inside the comfort of their own homes.

But in the last 10 years, one form of media has gained traction unlike anything else: Podcasts. These are audio files which are shared over the internet and can be downloaded by the end user and can be played online or offline. These can be short or generally long form audio shows, where podcast hosts conduct intellectual conversations with guests. In some forms of podcasts, one individual or a group of individuals disseminate information about a particular topic based on the theme of the show itself.

One of the reasons why podcasts have gained popularity over other forms of media is because of the long form, uninterrupted nature of the conversations which take place.

The conventional television or the radio channels usually divide the shows into segments, and interject irritating advertisements in the middle of the segments. The number of executives involved in the production of the show are usually more than the required number, and generally too much interference from such executives and the network hosting the show leads to poor quality of the show due to the absence of creative freedom of individuals involved.

The networks put restrictions on the content and the time limit of the shows based on its perception of the market and the advertiser demands. These are the very reason why the conventional “main stream” media is on the verge of a decline.

All these factors have fuelled the growth of high quality amateur content where talented, articulate individuals conduct uninterrupted intellectual discussions on some of the pressing topics relevant to the society. Podcasts are growing as more people are tuning in, and they are influencing the conversations which the society needs at the moment.

Podcasts in the present time have become very diverse, consisting of diverse genres ranging from Culture, Education, Comedy, Business, Arts, Technology, Health & Fitness, Science, History, Music, Sports, etc.

Here I provide a list of some of the best podcasts out there (although I must say that this is not an exhaustive list):

• The Joe Rogan Experience
• Mindscape (By Sean Carroll)
• Hardcore History (Dan Carlin)
• The portal (Eric Weinstein)
• Radiolabs
• Making Sense with Sam Harris
• Star Talk
• The DarkHorse Podcasts (Bret Weinstein)
• Lore
• Stuff You Should Know
• The Daily (By The New York Times)
• Podcasts from the Parcast Network

I believe the trend of podcasts in India will catch up pretty soon, as I believe more people are hungrier for discussions which will address the problems our country faces at the moment, and subsequently motivate the younger generations to take appropriate actions to solve them!