Learning Without Learning
Podcasters, such as Clark Brown (’25), enjoy sharing the spoken word.
December 15, 2022
Outside of the everyday school grind, it is important to broaden your knowledge beyond what is only taught in a classroom. The ability to find the time or patience for sitting down and learning new skills in their free time is one thing holding people back from the knowledge held in the palm of their hands.
The numbers for podcast listeners are rising every day. It is predicted that there will be around 424 million podcast listeners worldwide by the end of 2022. The number of podcast listeners is predicted to reach 464.7 million by the end of 2023 and 504.9 million by 2024. Podcast listeners are free to choose from over 2 million different podcasts and can decide when and where they listen to them.
When listening to a podcast, multitasking and listening to your favorite topics becomes a walk in the park,
“I feel like it’s an escape, like reading a book or listening to an audiobook.” — Brooke Brockman
The positives of podcasts far outweigh the negatives. Listeners are more susceptible to gaining knowledge that may have not been heard otherwise. They entertain, keep story-telling alive, and are readily available.
The ability to listen to podcasts whenever and wherever gives the ability for almost anyone to listen in. Podcasts may even be beneficial to add in classrooms too. Coming into school at 7 am, many students may not be able to take in and fully understand a lecture given to them, but if given the option to go back and listen to something they may not understand, or want to hear again, podcasts are a great option available to students.
Inside and outside of the classroom, podcasts add flexibility to the task of learning. Listeners have a variety of topics that cover almost any interest, so gaining new insight on a topic the listener is already knowledgeable about is easily achievable.
Overall, there is not much downside to podcasts, though listeners should use caution on where their information is coming from and whether the sources are credible. Podcasts can be listened to for a variety of different reasons, from leisure to gaining knowledge in topics the listener hasn’t explored before. However, gaining that knowledge should not feel like a chore. Finding topics that interest you is one of the most important things about listening to podcasts, and this is what will help you harness the true potential of podcasts with just the simple click of a button.
