What Is a Podcast? A Plain-English Definition for Beginners

A podcast is a series of episodic audio (or audio-with-video) recordings, published online and available on demand, so listeners can choose what to play and when — rather than tuning in to a live broadcast.

That's the short version. Here's what actually makes something a podcast, how it differs from other audio and video formats, and how a new episode gets from a recording to your phone.

The Key Traits of a Podcast

• Episodic podcasts are released as a series of individual episodes, usually under one consistent show, rather than a single standalone recording.
• On demand listeners choose when to play an episode — there's no fixed broadcast time, unlike traditional radio.
• Distributed via RSS feed technically, a podcast is defined by having an RSS feed that podcast apps (Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and others) can subscribe to and pull new episodes from automatically.
• Usually free to access most podcasts are free to listen to, funded through ads, sponsorships, or listener support, though some shows offer premium or subscriber-only content.

How Is a Podcast Different From Radio?

Radio is broadcast live (or on a fixed schedule) over the airwaves or a stream, and you tune in at a specific time to hear whatever is currently playing. A podcast is pre-recorded and published to a feed, so you can listen to any episode, at any time, in any order — including episodes released months or years earlier.

How Is a Podcast Different From a YouTube Video?

The distinction has blurred somewhat as video podcasts have become more common, but the core difference is the distribution method: a podcast is built around an RSS feed that any podcast app can subscribe to, while YouTube content lives specifically on YouTube's platform. Many shows now publish to both — an audio-only feed for podcast apps and a video version on YouTube.

How a Podcast Episode Gets Published

1. The host records an episode, usually as an audio file (and sometimes video).
2. The episode is edited, and often paired with show notes, an episode title, and cover art.
3. The audio file is uploaded to a podcast hosting platform, which generates an RSS feed entry for the new episode.
4. Podcast apps (Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and others) that are subscribed to the feed pick up the new episode automatically and make it available to listeners.

Why Transcripts Matter for a Format Built Around Audio

Because a podcast's entire content lives inside an audio (or video) file, none of what's actually said is naturally searchable or readable the way a written article is. That's the gap transcripts fill — turning spoken content into text that can be read, searched, and indexed.

If you're building or researching in the podcast space, it's worth understanding early on that transcript availability and searchability is still inconsistent across the medium — which is exactly the problem tools like Subalytics are built to solve.

See how podcast transcripts and search work on Subalytics →

Frequently Asked Questions