History of Podcasts Timeline

Sammi Buttecali

The History of Podcasts in Education

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2023

1978

October 2001

June 2006

June 2005

Podcasts in the Present

Presidential Records Act

Introducting: The iPod

TED Talks on the Rise

Podcasts to iTunes

October 2014

January 2004

July 2005

1980's

Podcast Popularity

The Birth of the Podcast

Presidential Podcast

"Audio Blogging"

TED Talks on the Rise

June 2006

TED Talks released six of many talks given at a conference, which was the beginning of the rise of TED Talks audio and visual podcasts being uploaded to the internet. TED Talks are an extremely popular resource for students to learn from and hear real-world stories pertaining to the current lesson being taught.

Podcasts in the Present

2023

Among today’s 10 most popular podcasts include The Daily, which brings in experts to hone in on specific true stories, Stuff You Should Know, a podcast that explores science, history, pop culture, etc., and Planet Money, which focuses specifically on finance and economics. People turn to podcasts widely for educational purposes, and because of the on-the-go convenience of podcasts, users can continue to listen and learn from anywhere.

Introducing: The iPod

October 23, 2001

Apple introduces the iPod, an MP3 player with greater capacity for music than any other. Steve Jobs, then Senior VP of Apple, and his team of engineers developed the iPod, which had the capacity to hold 1,000 songs, in under a year. Music could more efficiently come with you wherever you went.

Podcasts to iTunes

June 2005

Apple adds a category for podcasts to the iTunes Music Library. Podcast downloads are on a rise. Steve Jobs demonstrates to an audience how they can make their own podcast at home using their Mac.

Presidential Records Act

1978

The Presidential Records’ Act declared that presidential records that were once private were now made public. The Presidential Libraries Podcast made public audio recordings of presidential speeches and briefings. A number of these recordings originate from infamous historical events. Teachers have made this accessible record of podcasts a staple in their US History curriculum, allowing students to hear firsthand the words of different presidents throughout different historical events.

"Audio Blogging"

1980's

The term “audio blogging” began to be used in reference to people recording audible content, often blog-like, and uploading it to the internet. These audio blogs never fully “took off” until many years later with the introduction of a revolutionary technology.

Presidential Podcast

July 2005

George Bush began delivering his weekly address in the form of a live radio podcast, being the first president to do so. These podcasts are still available to the public and are sometimes used in US History courses for students.

The Birth of the Podcast

January 2004

Adam Curry (former MTV VJ) and Dave Winer (software developer), created iPodder, a coded program that allows users to download audio blogs, or podcasts, to their iPod. An article about this new program was written by Ben Hammersley, who ultimately coined the term “podcast,” a combination between “iPod” and “broadcast.”

Podcast Popularity

October 2014

Podcasting gains major mainstream popularity, with the launch of Serial, a true-crime podcast which became one of the first major educational/informative podcasts to gain widespread attention.