Here at Tyto, we all love a good podcast. It seems of late that we aren’t alone, either.
While the podcast itself has been around for over a decade – bonus points to those who used to download podcasts and sync to their iPod once a week – in the past three years, the medium has seen a tremendous spike in popularity.
Recent research pegs the growth of podcasting at 1.85 billion monthly listeners by 2023 from 287 million in 2016. It seems then that I’m not the only one with a 17+ hour episode queue.
As listenership increases, so do the type of shows. True crime anthologies such as My Favourite Murder (stay sexy and don’t get murdered) or video game stalwarts like PS Nation may have been the low-key podcasts to kickstart the phenomenon, but celebrity comedy interviews, technology updates, Joe Rogan talking about aliens, and even full-blow BBC drama productions are now available to download or stream.
Much like the evolution of the content, the platforms we listen on have changed too. What started with iTunes moved on to direct downloads with the inclusion of the Apple Podcasts app on the iPhone, to podcast streaming via Stitcher, the hipster’s app of choice, Pocket Casts, and now the game-changing Spotify, who has managed to go from zero to ~30% of listener share in a very short period of time.
With all of that in mind, we thought it would be a good time to ask some of the Tyto team members what are their favourite podcasts, and why. Here are the results:
Dave
I enjoy listening to RadioLab and Sam Harris’ Waking Up.
RadioLab finds incredible and often quite obscure stories from the scientific world and brings them to life through some of the best audio storytelling around. I always recommend people check out their ‘Colors’ episode if they’ve never heard it before – it takes you on an epic voyage from Homer’s ‘wine-dark sea’ where blue seemingly did not yet exist, right up to the modern-day where there is not only blue but entirely new shades of yellow for some people.
And with Sam Harris’ Waking Up podcast you get to be a fly on the wall and listen to discussions and debates with some of the most intelligent and influential people on the planet, covering everything from philosophy to free speech and even the implications of AI.
Lauren
My current fave is My Dad Wrote A Porno. I also like Table Manners by Jessie Ware.
I enjoy MDWAP because of its comedy value. It literally has me in stitches, laughing out loud whilst on the train – it’s a good look. This podcast is unpredictable in nature and only about 35 minutes long, which is ideal on a commute too.
Jessie Ware presents Table Manners with her mum. They talk about growing up around food, fave meals to eat as a family, etc. and I’m a big foodie, so enjoy that. Each week they host a new guest, who visits their home, and they chat while cooking a meal. It’s just easy listening, really.
Hannah
My favourite podcast right now is /reply-all/.
They do these big investigations, where they look into niche technology and internet stories. In my favourite episode – ‘Long Distance’ #102, #103 – they actually travelled to India to meet someone who was running an internet scam via remote tech support.
You not only listen to fascinating stories but get to learn behind the scenes of how these things actually operate. It’s well worth adding to your subs list.
Thomas
My podcast backlog is never-ending. I really enjoy RHLSTP – Richard Herrings Leicester Square Theatre Podcast – for the laughs, but my favourite right now is Pivot.
Tech business journalist Kara Swisher and investment guru/professor of marketing Scott Galloway provide a twice-weekly dose of news and predictions. I particularly enjoy how they discuss the impact of politics on tech, from regulation to governmental fines, and seeing overtime if their tech predictions come true. But mainly, I listen for Scott’s angry diatribes.
At Tyto, we have produced our own podcast, Without Borders, and we’ve recently started a series in collaboration with the csuite podcast focussing on tech unicorns. Episode one is available here. We also offer podcast production services for our clients – in fact, check out our latest work, Consumerosity.
Podcasts are now more accessible than ever, with such rapid listener growth. They’re a fantastic way for brands to get noticed, so why not make podcasts a part of your communications strategy in 2020? Get in touch if you need a hand.