Podcasting is making digital stories available for download. They're sort of like the newer, younger, faster version of radio, now that we are all carrying radios in our pockets. There are different types of podcasts, though generally they are either round-table discussions or a linear "audio documentary" that splices together interviews and voice overs.
Podcasting took media production out of the hands of "professionals" and made dialogue possible between all people, everywhere. Now,anyone with access to a microphone and a computer could start producing stories. Some, of course, are more developed than others. "Serial" took the medium from a niche market to a national audience with the coverage of Adnan Syed and the murder of Hae Min Lee. Other titans in the podcasting are This American Life, Radiolab, 99% Invisible and many others. Below are links to these podcasts.
"A high-school senior named Hae Min Lee disappeared one day after school in 1999, in Baltimore County, Maryland. A month later, her body was found in a city park. And two weeks after that, her former boyfriend and classmate, 17-year-old Adnan Syed, was arrested for the crime. He was convicted, and sentenced to life in prison. Syed has always said he had nothing to do with Lee’s death. Sarah Koenig sorted through thousands of documents, listened to trial testimony and police interrogations, and talked to everyone she could find about what happened between Adnan Syed and Hae Min Lee. What she discovered is a story far more complicated than the jury, or the public, ever got to hear."
"Ever wonder how inflatable men came to be regular fixtures at used car lots? Curious about the origin of the fortune cookie? Want to know why Sigmund Freud opted for a couch over an armchair? 99% Invisible is about all the thought that goes into the things we don’t think about — the unnoticed architecture and design that shape our world. With 80 million downloads, 99% Invisible is one of the most popular podcasts on iTunes."
"Criminal is a podcast about crime. Stories of people who’ve done wrong, been wronged, or gotten caught somewhere in the middle. The show’s producers are full-time radio people, but Criminal is what we do when we go home at night. Created by Phoebe Judge, Eric Mennel and Lauren Spohrer, we released our first episode January 2014."
"It’s a Bird, it’s a Plane, it’s a Podcast! is a podcast where we’ll be exploring the infinite overlaps between superheroes, the people who created them, and their connections to the world around us. Every week, we’ll pick a certain superhero and trace their journey from concept to page to screen, and how they were a reaction to – or even an inspiration for – events in broader mainstream culture. New episodes released each Wednesday."