If film was the art form of the 20th century, then the podcast is the art form of this century. Along with the blog, the podcast is one of the more unique and disruptive (to use the buzzword-ridden parlance of Silicon Valley nerds) media to have emerged out of the Digital Revolution, a social and technological shift that, among many other things, obliterated the barriers to entry of numerous industries, especially those in the business of making culture.
Podcasting, as the word (a telescoping of “iPod” and “broadcasting”) suggests, is mostly like radio, though, in most cases, there aren’t advertisements and they are more tightly focused, usually, than whatever you’d hear on the airwaves. The most important difference is that podcasts are made by amateurs or people who are barely professionals. Alas, that’s changing.
In 2005, the iTunes Store began supporting podcasts. The first two podcasts I subscribed to debuted the next year: one was a political show hosted by a former talk-radio host, and the other was a rather vulgar comedy program hosted by some bros in Iowa. Both podcasts were pretty bare-bones operations. The hosts spoke into cheap RadioShack microphones in their kitchens, rather than in high-tech, soundproof booths. They made no, or hardly any, money off their projects. Yet they made something, something that was out there for thousands of people to hear.
Then the podcasting world got professionalized. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing; having more professionals around, like in hospitals, is certainly a good thing. The arrival of professionals on the podcasting scene meant higher production values and and increased listenership. Entire companies were built just to produce podcasts. As it happens, the largest podcast networks — such as Maximum Fun, Earwolf, and SModcast Internet Radio — are dedicated to producing hilarity, which has created a vibrant community of independent comedians. @@http://www.maximumfun.org/@@ @@http://www.earwolf.com/@@ @@http://smodcast.com/@@
The history of podcasts so far is a short one, less than a decade. Established media such as radio and television have been around for decades. A sign of podcasting’s triumph would be that years, decades hopefully, down the road we will be celebrating the rise of a new disruptive medium and lamenting the late, great medium — nay, art — of podcasts.
In the interest of making this column a “views you can use” piece, here are some podcasts to consider:
Bullseye with Jesse Thorn @@http://www.maximumfun.org/bullseye/bullseye-jesse-thorn-robert-glasper-pendleton-ward-andrew-noz-and-davy-rothbart@@

Produced by the aforementioned Maximum Fun, which is owned by Thorn, “Bullseye” is the greatest podcast in the history of great podcasts. Thorn’s been doing a version of this show for a decade, starting as a college radio endeavor. “Bullseye” is co-produced by Public Radio International, making Thorn the only rap nerd on government-owned airwaves.
Champale Podcast @@http://champalecast.tumblr.com/@@

Speaking of rap, this is the only rap podcast you’ll ever need. With a heavy emphasis on Bay Area hip-hop and Southern trap rap. Swag!
The Pod F. Tompkast @@http://pft.libsyn.com/@@

Paul F. Tompkins is a very funny man — one of the best stand-ups working — and his podcast is the best-named podcast in the history of podcasts with good names.
Skeptoid @@http://skeptoid.com/@@

Don’t listen to this podcast if you tend to believe in stupid things. Also, an average episode is less than 15 minutes long, which is so nice these days.
99% Invisible @@http://99percentinvisible.org/@@

Another short one, this tiny podcast is all about design and how we interact with it, be it public squares or bridges or culs–de–sac. The style is comfortable and comforting, which is an important style for whatever you put in your ears.