Analysis of history programs available on iVoox. The podcast as a divulgation tool

Abstract

In recent years, both the consumption and production of audio broadcasts created for internet consumption has increased, as can be seen in the main audio broadcasting platforms. Podcasting has reached a very high level of popularity and technical production based on an increasingly specialised narrative, due to the maturity reached by the format and the diversity of the content offered, which ranges from domestic productions to professional radio programmes.

We also find that these formats have more and more broadcasting spaces to offer their content, either free or paid to a growing number of users. When it seems that the humanities, social sciences, and history are not the most attractive subjects for citizens, we find in the podcast format a technology and narrative structures that make these contents more accessible, regardless of the audience’s level of specialisation. In this paper we approach history podcasts as a tool with very interesting characteristics for the dissemination of highly specialized content that found it difficult to find a place in the content of the media. In this way, we present a study on the ability of history-themed podcasts to transmit specialized content in an informative way, closer to the listener and enjoyable. For this, we carry out a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the most listened to history podcasts in Spain, their characteristics, and themes, in such a way that it has been possible to establish a typical profile of content production in this format.