From rushing to work to fulfilling responsibilities and completing homework, the modern, fast-paced world has forced individuals to dedicate less, if any, time to less-than-essential activities. While keeping up with the news has always played a prevalent role in most people’s lives, the demands of school, work, and have overtaken the luxury of spending a few minutes every day watching the news, reading newspapers, or even listening to news on the radio. Staying up-to-date with current events, many of which can often include tragic and disheartening events, can also alienate many individuals who may prefer listening to inspiring and comedic commentary. Between lacking time to watch the news and lacking interest in the news, a compromise addressing the two has grown popular as a new medium for news in today’s rapidly moving world: podcasts.

Podcasts are audios of natural, typically unscripted discussions of one or several hosts who explore a variety of topics in each “episode” of the podcast. Although many are news reports or debates about current events, podcasts can discuss anything and everything from reviews of television shows to conspiracy theories.

The popularity of podcasts has significantly risen throughout the last few years, with 62 million Americans listening to podcasts each week, according to Forbes. As more and more individuals prefer listening to podcasts to turning on the news channel, podcasts’ new claim to the mainstream may be attributed to both its ease of access and versatility.

Podcasts can be accessed for free around the Internet, most commonly through iTunes or Spotify. Whereas news channels are limited to the time of day and can only be accessed via television, radio station, or physical paper, individuals can listen to podcasts at any time with any device. They can customize the podcasts they listen to from a selection of thousands, as opposed to listening to a few select news stations. 

In addition to better accommodating individuals’ schedules, podcasts are also versatile and can be enjoyed by a diverse range of people. With thousands of available podcasts, any individual with any background, political view, and perspective can find a podcast they agree with and are entertained by. The potential of the topics discussed by podcasts is limitless; on Spotify, they are categorized as educational, true crime, comedy, society & culture, stories, music, news & politics, arts & entertainment, sports & recreation, lifestyle & health, games, business & technology, and kids & family. For example, Juliana Kim (12)’s favorite podcast is “Views” by David Dobrik because “it’s silly and fun to listen to while going on a run.” 

The Wrangler has its very own podcast, established in 2018 and titled “Horsin’ Around with The Wrangler.” It is entirely student-run and features students and staff from YLHS in discussions about a variety of local and national topics. To tune in to “Horsin’ Around with The Wrangler,” visit our homepage and scroll down to the “Podcast” section on the right-most column.

With its constant availability which can accommodate even the busiest of schedules and its diverse range of material appealing to any individual, the rising popularity of podcasts comes as no surprise.