Статья публикуется на языке оригинала 

As most people say, modern issues require modern solutions. That thing is the same for podcasts. Each modern person definitely knows what a podcast is. The reason of them to be a modern solution is in their convenience. You can adapt yourself to use them anywhere and at any time. Podcasts are experiencing a rebirth. They have become even more accessible - you can learn new things anywhere: while doing morning routines in the bathroom, on the way to work or during sports.

What does the word podcast means after all? The word Podcast by itself originates from two words: iPod and Broadcast. Podcasting is a widescreen and widespread form of webcasting. As a rule, podcasts are original audio or video recordings, but there are also recordings of television or radio programs, lectures, speeches and other events. As it was given above, podcasts themselves, in fact, are audio broadcasts. Also, there are some similarities with conversational videos on Youtube, but these are not the same thing.

Typically, each release of a podcast is recorded in the same audio or video format so that subscribers can play the entire podcast in the same way. Some podcasts, such as language courses, contain files in various formats (such as videos and documents) for more effective learning. For listeners, podcasts are a great way to access great content from around the world for free. For publishers, this is a great opportunity to attract the attention of a wide audience.

Podcast topics can be absolutely anything: interviews with guests, reading / storytelling, debates on situation in the world, just “thinking out loud” or discussion of pop culture. The latter is quite popular, by the way. A lot of podcasts theme is connected to what is happening in the world of music, movies and computer games.

Why podcasts are experiencing a rebirth?

Firstly, now you do not need to connect your player to the computer to listen to the new release of your favorite podcast. You can download a podcast quickly and wirelessly.

Secondly, podcasts have become more accessible. If in 2006 iPod was a rarity, then by 2020 everyone already has a modern phone or a tablet.

Third, podcasts are very helpful in skills’ improvement. With the modern rhythm of life, most people are on their way of self-development, but it is not always convenient to read. There are plenty of opportunities for listening to podcasts - while doing morning routines in the bathroom, on the way to work or during sports.

Podcasts are especially good at cycling sports - when running or cycling. Adjust the volume to hear the outside world. You can insert the earphone in 1 ear, unlike music in podcasts, the stereo effect is not so important.

4 reasons why podcasts are becoming popular

1)Mobile Internet Development

Due to the ubiquity of smartphones, it's easy for people to get new content, search, subscribe, download, stream.

2)Fatigue from abundant content

There is abundant amount of content in the world and it is in need of systematization. It was 20 years ago - people watched the final program on TV or read analytical articles in magazines. Podcast in the same way allows you to get new information, sort through news and events.

3)No need in concentration

Unlike a video or text, you can listen to a podcast while you are doing any business: driving, jogging, walking a dog, washing dishes, cleaning up, and so on. A podcast is like a radio. The only thing on the radio is that you do not control the content, while podcasts give you the freedom to choose what to listen to and when to listen.

4)Emotional connection

As with video bloggers and radio hosts, podcast presenters evoke emotional response and affection from people. They begin to trust their opinion, to notice the character traits, to empathize or laugh with the presenters.

Now, I want to share my own top-list of podcasts on three languages. They are on Kazakh, Russian and English.

Top-3 Kazakh Podcasts

1) «Тамаша жыл» - The Big Year. The content of this podcast consist of 93 episodes. There are special guests from the field of volunteering and business and their special themes for discussion.

2) «OY-DETOX» by Ainel. «Oy» in Kazakh means thought, that’s why the name of a podcast is some kind of detox of thoughts.

3) IzBasar podcast. It is a free mentor platform for Kazakh high school students. There are 11 episodes and 11 guests. All of them are Kazakhstani boys and girls who entered top universities of the world. They describe their experience about entering these universities and other issues for high school students.

Top-3 Russian Podcasts

1) «Arzamas» radio. These podcasts tell us about wide range of interesting topics for discussion. One of them is how to read the same book from different point of view. There are specialists in the sphere of literature; each of their episodes is dedicated to the analysis of diverse foreign classic books.

2) «Человек Читающий» - The person who reads. As you can understand, this podcast is about reading. There we can find discussions on various kinds of books. The podcast hosts tells the listeners that the aim of their project is to connect readers from all over the world and provide them with mental pabulum.

3) «Ответ.co» - Response.co. This podcast is bonded to psychology. There you can find your responses to different psychological questions. There you can find support of best psychologists and everything is only in one click distance.

Top-3 English Podcasts

1) «Brought to you by…» by Business Insider. These are the series of stories about how the biggest; household name brands affect our lives and culture – for better or worse. The author finds tales of tragedy, love and strange histories.

2) «Dissect» by Cole Cuchna. It was named as “Best Podcast of 2018” by the New York Times. Dissect examines a single album per season, forensically dissecting the music, lyrics, and meaning of one song per episode.

3) «The Art of life» by Joshua. The purpose of this podcast is to help listeners to learn to live the moment, to view at your daily life with positive mindset and change people’s perspective on how certain things mean nothing or how much negativity surrounds us and so on.

Author: Aruzhan Alzhaparova - graduate of NIS Kokshetau 2018