As technology becomes more accessible and mobile, various forms of entertainment have gained popularity, especially podcasts. Podcasts are a powerful and convenient tool that students can utilize for both learning and entertainment.
Mark Schaeffer, the executive director of Schaefer Marketing Solutions, said that people listened to an average of seven podcasts each week in 2018. With more than 660,000 podcasts and 28 million episodes available for download, there is a podcast covering nearly every topic, according to Podcast Insights.
The top three genres of podcasts are comedy, education and news, which
are three different genres that capture the diversity within the podcast medium. To add to the diversity, there are hundreds of other categories for listeners to choose from.
People have diverse interests, so podcast creators put their heart and soul into their podcasts to ensure that their audiences are captivated. Because of the number of podcasts available, there is no reason that students could not find a topic they want to learn more about or content that they find entertaining.
Podcasts are not only for entertainment but for education as well. People should always have a desire to learn and grow in every area of their life. Among others, history, self-help and economics podcasts help listeners to broaden their knowledge, better themselves and possibly undo previously held ignorances.
“I listen to a history podcast and I learn a lot while doing so,” junior finance major Joe Sanusi said. “I like it because the narrator makes history entertaining and fun to listen to.”
Students can also listen to podcasts to help them understand lectures or to prepare and review for exams. Many people who create podcasts strive to make difficult or boring concepts more entertaining and understandable. Sometimes just hearing something again but in a different way can help students commit concepts to memory.
Students and organizations at KSU have also delved into producing podcasts. The University College has a podcast, and according to their website it is used as “an outlet to promote and inform listeners about the college’s programs.” The podcast invites students and staff to discuss campus-related activities.
Owl Radio also produces its share of podcasts and radio shows. One of their newer podcasts in the making, HonesTea, is a variety show ranging from humor to history to news. Students can access the podcasts live through Owl Radio’s website.
Podcasts connect people with what they want to know and what they want to entertain themselves with. With so many podcasts to choose from, students are bound to find one they are interested in. Students should take advantage of podcasts as they are unique learning tools and diverse forms of entertainment.
