As podcasts boom in India, paid interviews raise transparency concerns
Podcast” was the word of the year back in 2005, just about a year after it was coined by Ben Hammersley, a British technologist and journalist, who combined “iPod” and “broadcast” to capture the boom in online radio, thanks to the popularity of Apple’s seminal gadget, the availability of cheap audio software and rise of blogging. That boom continued over the next 20-odd years, making podcasts immensely popular tools of cultural, social and political heft.
From Serial, which captures true crime narratives, to 99% Invisible, which goes into details of design, to The Joe Rogan Experience, which routinely tops charts worldwide, podcasts have become an influential medium attracting both mass and niche audiences in a rather short span of time.
