Podcasts are an enigma to me. They have been around since the 1990s, and have had a user-base since then, but seemingly have been unable to gain the kind of momentum to really become a household term. People either listen to podcasts or they don’t. There does not seem to be very many people who just dabble in podcasts here and there. That trend seems to be changing in the past few years though, as ways of downloading and streaming podcasts become more numerable and more easy to access.

For me, during the days before the smartphone, I never listened to podcasts for two reasons. One, I was just too lazy. My MP3 player (yes, I was one of those freaks who had an MP3 player not an Ipod) only had a certain amount of memory and I usually kept it almost filled with music, my number one audio priority. And even if I did want to put a podcast on me player, having to download the podcast, remove a certain amount of music, and then upload the podcast just for a single listen (does anyone listen to podcasts more than once?) seemed like more work than it was worth. Also, listening to podcasts on a computer rather than my MP3 player didn’t seem like a viable option either. I did not yet have a laptop, and was limited to the use of the family desktop, not exactly ideal for listening to a file that may be an hour long.

The second reason I never listened to podcasts before the smartphone era was just plain ignorance. I knew what podcasts were but I had almost no knowledge about what types of podcasts were available. I’m sure there were podcasts out there that would have interested me at the time but I did not have any friends that listened to podcasts to direct me to them and I never spent the time researching. So looking back, the reason I never listened to podcasts is my fault, but that has changed.

Ease of access changes everything. Once smartphones could stream from the internet and once websites starting creating apps that make finding their content even easier, podcasts seemed much more friendly. I also think that pricing of Apple products instilled the mindset in my generation that computer memory is a scarce resource and must be used sparingly and wisely. That being said, I never wanted to commit X amount of megabytes to something I would use only once. But with the availability of streaming, I have no quandaries about podcasts.

My first podcast addiction was like many other listeners: Serial. My friend introduced Serial to me on a road trip to Montreal and I was hooked. There is something simultaneously relaxing and gripping about the way Serial is presented. The absolute in-action besides keeping your ears open and tuned in lets me drift into a mindset that could be described as tranquil. But the story itself was fascinating and well-told. After the first season of Serial I did not actively look for more podcasts but have been open to them when they come across my path. I really enjoy listening to them while doing a mindless task like folding laundry. I know that I will continue to listen to podcasts and I am glad I was introduced to them.

-Ryan Frawley