Nearly 67 million Americans listen to podcasts monthly, and I’m one of the 42 million who listen to one or more on a weekly basis. Their long-form offers the opportunity to dive deep into an issue, but, unlike long-form print, an overwhelming majority of listeners actually make it through all or most of a podcast. And unlike traditional broadcast, this medium has no length requirement, no time to fill. In fact, some of my favorite podcasts tell beautiful stories in as little as 3 minutes. With so many options, I can always find entertainment that’s the right length for my chores or commute. There’s even a hashtag to help search for new series: #trypod.

Podcasts are on-demand, with 77 percent of listeners finding and listening to their chosen episode immediately. They’re also more portable than your typical mobile media: once you download a podcast to your phone, tablet, or computer you can disconnect from the internet and listen to the episode offline.

Though this digital media used to be most common among 18 to 24-year-olds, now a larger percentage of 25 to 54 year-olds listen to podcasts monthly than any other age group (probably because us millennials are starting to age out of the under-25 demographic).

I’ve been listening to several of my colleague's podcast recommendations and found a few discussions about the limits of digital privacy protections that are worth sharing. If you’ve got some down time during the holidays, give them a listen:

Can social media speech be banned by the government, or are Twitter and Facebook considered “public spaces,” protected by the First Amendment? As private companies, can the platforms themselves limit speech, and if so how far and under what standard? Radiolab Presents: More Perfect explores this in two conversations with legal experts on “The Hate Debate” (36 minutes).
Have you ever been served an ad on Facebook or Instagram after having just talked about a similar product? A lot of people have noticed this spooky trend and are convinced that Facebook is using the microphone to spy on you. But if someone gave you a different reason for why this happened, would you believe them? Let Alex from Reply All try to convince you with episode #109: “Is Facebook Spying on You?” (32 minutes).
Speaking of spying, it's no secret that your phone tracks where you go. How hard should it be for the police to get access to your cell phone location data? That’s what the Supreme Court is looking at in Carpenter v. United States, as detailed in NPR’s Planet Money episode “Your Cell Phone’s A Snitch” (21 minutes).

What are some of your favorite podcasts? Let me know on LinkedIn and I’ll add them to my playlist.

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Jayda is a Senior Account Executive at Denterlein, a Boston-based public relations firm. Jayda’s Denterlein work spans several practice teams, including healthcare, public affairs, and non-profit. The resident social media guru, she oversees the Denterlein social media accounts and consults across client teams on social and digital strategy. She previously worked at the Massachusetts Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation, managing press and social media for six high-profile state agencies. Born and raised in Yonkers, New York, Jayda graduated cum laude from Northeastern University in 2012 with a Bachelor of Science in Political Science. She lives in Brighton with her husband and cat Lulu and plays in a co-ed HUB Softball league. Connect with her on LinkedIn or on Instagram @JaydaVera