The first podcast I ever heard was This American Life. I used to go to the website to listen to episodes that were available online. I’d hear Ira Glass talk about the “podcast” and to be honest, I wasn’t really sure what he meant by it other than he thought it was worth a five-dollar donation. So there I was, listening to a podcast without really knowing what it was other than it was streaming over the Internet into my ears as I stuffed envelopes at my desk.
While the pro-casters of Public Radio stations make great shows that dominate most lists of top podcasts, don’t forget the independent podcasts. We saw some of them on the previous page. Also consider the other makers of podcasts:
- Independent podcasters
- Traditional Radio Stations (also called “terrestrial radio”)
- Institutions (e.g., Universities, schools, libraries, government)
- Non-profits
- Businesses
As we’ll see in the next section, keeping in mind who makes podcasts can help us find them. For example, does the NASA have a podcast? What about the University of Minnesota?