Podcasts are to Radio as Netflix is to TV

So, both Sam and I have been chatting, and we thought creating a podcast would be so much fun. So we kind of mentioned it to a few people and I find it incredulous that people still do not know what a podcast is as a few individuals say to me “what is a podcast?” under a hushed tone when telling the world about our podcast, I Hate This Book.

I have been listening to podcast’s for ten years now, from medical education, through to business and tax issues, legal stuff and for some light-hearted relief with comedy after a stressful day at the operating table. So for those that do not know what a podcast is, where the fuck have you been for the last ten years?

So what is a podcast?

Simply put, a podcast is a recording of someone or something that tells you about stuff, that’s pretty much it.

Like Talk Radio, it’s a series of spoken word broadcasts that are downloaded or streamed to your phone. Their timings are often bite sized so the listener can become invested in the story/message but, won’t eat into the 60 minute commute or doing the shopping, They’re always free, which is another added advantage and most media outlets are now turning to podcasting because it is becoming a medium that simply can’t be ignored anymore.

So how do you get these magical little broadcasts? Well, it’s app driven, so if you have an iPhone, you already have the podcast app installed on your phone. Not sure about the

other devices and operating systems’. With apple, click it, and the top trending podcasts will come into view that are a wide variety of casts. In the search icon, type ‘I hate this book,’ and see our podcast come up (from Monday 18th May 2020 onwards), click it and then subscribe.

Apple will notify you when we produce another podcast so you can enjoy that as soon as it comes out.

I listen to podcasts each morning on the way to work. They’re educationally driven broadcast centred around my work as a medical professional and a writer, but comedians such as Ricky Gervais have been active on the Apple podcast platform since it started, if you have heard of Karl Pilkington, the man that has a head like an orange, was Gervais’s producer, Gervais always shrewd, put Pilkington on his own podcast and the rest they say is history. That was over ten years ago now.

So, for example, our podcast is a couple (Sam & I) talking about books and I record whatever conversation that generates for the people to listen too, there is no script or flow. Just a spontaneous conversation while the content of my book will be the basis of that dialogue, other podcast can be current affairs, comedy, movies, education, whatever you want. It is a field with over 168 million daily listeners to the many podcasts around broad subjects.

Apple started the entire podcast thing and now Google and Stitcher have come into the market and some other platforms. Some people listen to podcast over books because of the quickness of the stories or messages that are being told. It satisfies the ‘feedback loop’ that we seem to be stuck in, buried nose deep in our phones 24/7.

Podcasting isn’t a fad or a crazy trend. The only thing that is trending, is the subjects on the platform. Podcasting is here to stay and is something that is rapidly developing?

If you haven’t tried it, I urge you too, not only to listen to our podcast (naturally), but find something that inspires you, moves you or educates you. Remember, the platform is free and will open the entire world to you.