Abstract
Podcasts have emerged as a new decentralised global medium for science communication to the global public. However, despite their popularity and proliferation, there have been no studies of the production and dissemination of science podcasts. To address this need, this study identified 952 English language science podcasts and analysed key indicators of podcast production and output. It was found that between 2004 and 2010, the number of science podcasts grew linearly, but has subsequently grown exponentially. 65% of science were hosted by scientists and 77% were targeted to public audiences. 38% of science podcasts were created by independent producers, compared to 62% produced with an organisational affiliation. ‘General Science’ was the most common topic for science podcasts, but a diverse range of topics was covered. Notably, chemistry is under-represented in comparison to physics and biology. The USA and UK dominate English language science podcast production. Podcasts affiliated to organisations released more episodes compared to independent podcasts (median = 24 and 16 respectively). Only 24% of science podcasts had some form of overt supplementary income. It is anticipated that these results will inform future science communication strategy.
Footnotes
Email: lewis.e.mackenzie{at}durham.ac.uk