BBC Radio 4 LW

Podcasting - The First Ten Years

Podcasting - The First Ten Years: Episode 1

Documentaries

Factual

podcasting-the-first-ten-years_helen-zaltzman_olly-mann_040414_e_em_trevor-dann.jpg

Episode 1

BBC Radio 4 - Podcasting - The First Ten Years, Episode 1

Helen Zaltzman and Olly Mann, meet Ben Hammersley, who coined the term 'podcast' in 2004.

Popular podcasters Helen Zaltzman and Olly Mann, meet Ben Hammersley, who coined the term in 2004, and talk to some of the stars of the genre.

Stuck for a definition of online on demand radio shows, journalist Ben Hammersley coined the term 'podcasting'. Ten years on it's become a global phenomenon.

In this 2-part series, award-winning podcasters Helen Zaltzman and Olly Mann, trace its origins among the geek/tech community, its arrival in mainstream media thanks to Ricky Gervais and Stephen Fry and its development into the niches where conventional broadcasting can't reach. 

From the whistle blowing air hostess Betty With A Suitcase to comedian Marc Maron's WTF, from Phil Cornwell's Spurs Show to sex advice on the Savage Lovecast, from the weirdness of Night Vale and Radiolab to personalities like The Grammar Girl and One Bad Mother, it's a whole new world of audio production where programmes meet listeners without the need for radio stations.

In the first of two programmes, Ben Hammersley explains why he regrets inventing the word, self-styled 'podfather' Adam Curry talks about the early pre-iPod days in the US and, while recording their own podcast, Answer Me This!, Helen and Olly take an audio journey through the podosphere.


Producer: Trevor Dann
A Trevor Dann production for BBC Radio 4.

BBC Radio 4

BBC Radio 4 is a radio channel that started transmitting on the 30th September 1967. It replaced BBC Home Service.

Radio 4

Intelligent speech, the most insightful journalism, the wittiest comedy, the most fascinating features and the most compelling drama and readings anywhere in UK radio.

Accessibility links

Programme Index

Podcasting - The First Ten Years

Episode 1

Genres

Formats

Series

BBC Radio 4 LW

About BBC Radio 4