What’s your top struggle when it comes to academic writing and formatting?

Is it topic selection? Research? Stating a thesis?

As our writers point out, most students and professional academic writers consider referencing and citation the worst part of the writing process. And this part becomes even more challenging when you need to cite alternative sources, those going beyond books, scientific journals, or research papers.

Have you ever wondered how to cite a podcast in your essay?

This guide walks you through the process and rules for citing podcasts in academic papers of different formatting styles: APA, MLA, Chicago, and Harvard. You’ll see how to cite a podcast in-text and reference listings, aka bibliographies.

So, let’s get to it!

What Is a Podcast, and Why Cite It in Essays?

A podcast is a digital audio series you can download or listen to online. It’s informative content on various topics, combining elements of entertainment and storytelling. As a rule, podcasts consist of several episodes.

Like a text, visual, or video, a podcast is just another alternative format for presenting information to an audience. And, like with any other medium, its content requires proper citing to accurately attribute the authorship and prevent copyright infringement.

Rumor has it that podcasts are super popular now!

Many create and share podcast episodes today to engage more people, broaden their audience, and communicate their knowledge or message to the world.

Unlike traditional radio broadcasts, this format offers the flexibility to choose what, when, and where to listen: Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, other dedicated podcasting platforms, or directly through a website or an app. You subscribe to your favorite show with a few clicks and get updates on new episodes.

Whether it’s an educational podcast on how to write a poetry essay, a thought-provoking interview, a debate, or an example of entertaining storytelling, you should cite it when quoting a host or summarizing a podcast’s ideas in your paper.

How to Cite a Podcast in Four Core Formats

First, let’s clarify when you need to cite a podcast or a podcast episode in your essay:

Cite it if you quote a host/narrator, use their ideas, or paraphrase what they say in the show.

Second:

How to cite a podcast in academic papers depends on your referencing style: APA, MLA, Chicago, etc. Check with the guidelines your teacher/institution assigns to see if there are any notes on that. If they say nothing, it’s up to you which citation style to use.

Tip: Consider your discipline; some styles may be more appropriate than others.

Finally:

Whatever referencing style you use, all of them will require the following information about the podcast from you:

• The host’s name (first and last)
• The name of the podcast series
• The episode title (in case you’re referring to a particular one)
• The episode number
• The date of publication
• The URL where you got the podcast/episode

Extra read: Check our massive list of PowerPoint presentation ideas for students for inspiration. Get promising topics to search podcasts for your future works.

Below, we’ll guide you through the rules on how to cite a podcast in four main formats for academic papers: APA, MLA, Chicago, and Harvard. Please pay attention to quotation marks, italicization, parentheses, and full stops — these tiny details differ from style to style and are critical to correct citation.

APA Style

If you cite a podcast episode in APA (7th edition APA Manual), format it like this:

Last Name, Initials. (Role). (Year, Month, Day). Episode Title (Ep no.) [Audio Podcast Episode]. In Podcast’s name. Production Company. Retrieved from URL.

For example:

Snow, J. (Host). (2015, August 24). Why Dragons Matter to Danny in the War [Audio Podcast]. In Game of Thrones insights. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/24/podcasts/game-thrones-insights.html.

If you cite a whole podcast series, not a particular episode, use the following formatting in APA:

Host’s Last Name, Initials. (Host) or Producer Last Name, Initials. (Producer). (Year range). Podcast name [Audio Podcast]. Production Company. URL.

For example:

Snow, J. (Host). (2014 – Present). Game of Thrones insights [Audio Podcast]. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/column/game-thrones-insights.

 What do we have here?

• The name of the podcast’s author (As a rule, it’s a host, but you can also put a producer’s name instead.)
• The role of the author in parentheses (Are they a host, a narrator, a producer, a guest, etc.?)
• The date when that particular podcast episode was aired (When citing the whole podcast, mention the range of years it was on air. If the podcast is ongoing, write “Present.”)
• The episode title (As you see, it’s not italicized!)
• The episode number (You’ll not have any when citing the whole podcast.)
• The type of podcast is in square brackets
• The name of the podcast (not the episode but the whole series) in italics
• A URL linking to the episode or the whole podcast (If you listened to that podcast via an app and couldn’t find the URL, leave this element out.)

“So, are podcasts italicized?” you may ask again.

As seen from the above examples, we italicize podcast names; the titles of podcast episodes remain standard, not italicized.

MLA Style

If you cite a podcast episode in MLA (MLA Handbook 9th edition), format it like this:

Last Name, First Name, role. “Episode Title.” Podcast Name, season, episode, Publisher / where you listened to it, Day Month Year (of publication), URL.

For example:

Snow, John, host. “Why Dragons Matter to Danny in the War.” Game of Thrones Insights, The New York Times, 24 August 2015, https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/24/podcasts/game-thrones-insights.html.

Note: If your cited podcast doesn’t number seasons and episodes, omit this section.

If you cite the whole podcast series, rather than a particular episode, use the following formatting in MLA:

Last name, first name, role. Podcast Name. Publisher, year range, URL.

For example:

Snow, John, host. Game of Thrones Insights. The New York Times, 2014 – Present, https://www.nytimes.com/column/game-thrones-insights.

How to punctuate a podcast title in MLA?

The core difference between APA and MLA lies in how they format podcast episode names: When using MLA, you must put them in quotation marks. No italicization! Italics are for podcast names, not their episodes. Also, note that we use Title Case for podcast names in MLA, while APA prescribes sentence case for them.

How to Cite a Podcast in Chicago

If you cite a podcast episode in Chicago (Chicago Manual of Style, 18th edition), format it like this:

Last Name, First Name. “Episode Name.” Produced/written/direct by name. Podcast name. Publication Month Day, Year. Podcast, Audio Format. Running Time. URL [Accessed Month Day, Year].

For example:

Snow, John. “Why Dragons Matter to Danny in the War.” Produced by George Martin. Game of Thrones insights. August 24, 2015. Podcast, Mp3. 28:35. https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/24/podcasts/game-thrones-insights.html [Accessed December 10, 2015]. 

If you cite the whole podcast series, not a particular episode, use the following formatting in Chicago:

Last Name, First Name. Podcast name, Month, Day, Year, URL

For example:

Snow, John. Game of Thrones insights, August 24, 2015, https://www.nytimes.com/podcasts/game-thrones-insights

So, again, are podcast titles italicized?

Once again:

• Podcast episode titles — NOT italicized.
• Podcast series names —  italicized.

Harvard Citation Style

If you cite a podcast episode in Harvard (AGPS Manual, 6th edition, not updated since its publishing in 2002), format it like this:

Last name, Initials. (Year of Publication) “Episode Title,” Name of Podcast, Host Site/Organization/Publisher. Month day. Available at URL/App [Accessed Date].

For example:

Snow, J. (2015) “Why Dragons Matter to Danny in the War,” Game of Thrones Insights, The New York Times. August 24. Available at https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/24/podcasts/game-thrones-insights.html [Accessed December 10, 2015].

If you cite the whole podcast series, rather than a particular episode, use the following formatting in Harvard:

Last name, First Initial. (Year of Publication) Name of Podcast. [Podcast] Host Site/Organization/Publisher. Month day. Available from: URL [Accessed Date].

For example:

Snow, J. (2015) Game of Thrones Insights. [Podcast] New York Times. Available from: https://www.nytimes.com/column/game-thrones-insights [Accessed December 10, 2015]

Bonus:

You might meet one more citation style when writing papers: AP (Associated Press style). It provides guidelines for news writing in magazines, newspapers, and public relations offices. While it’s extremely unlikely that it’ll be assigned for your college essay, sh*t happens sometimes, right?

Let’s check how to cite AP style podcast titles in your papers:

• Italicize the podcast name
• Put the podcast episode’s title in quotation marks
• Don’t italicize episode titles

Example:

One of the best podcasts I listen to is Game of Thrones Insights, and “Why Dragons Matter to Danny in the War” is their best episode.

How to Cite a Podcast In-Text

Now, let’s move on to the rules of how to write the title of a podcast in an essay. We’ll take the same four citation styles and reveal the formatting details of how to cite a podcast in-text:

In-text podcast citations go in brackets for APA, MLA, and Harvard. There’s no in-line citation in Chicago. So, if you write your paper in this style, you’ll need to make footnotes.

Here’s what it looks like:

APA in-text citation:

• Episode: (Author’s last name, Year published, timestamp)
• Entire podcast series: (Author’s last name, Years)

MLA in-text citation:

• Episode: (Author’s last name, timestamp)
• Entire podcast series: (Author’s last name)

Harvard in-text citation:

• Episode: (Author’s last name, Year published)
• Entire podcast series: (Author’s last name)

Chicago footnotes citation:

• First name Last name, “Episode Title,” Year, in Podcast name, published/directed by, podcast, format, running timestamp, URL.

For your convenience, below is a table with examples of how to cite a podcast episode and entire podcast series in all four of the main citation formats.

Extra read: When working on a research paper, remember to thank the people and resources that helped you in the process. Here’s how to write acknowledgement in research paper for the recognition of your mentors, colleagues, and peers.

Podcast Citation: Examples in All Styles

Check the table to see how to cite a podcast and how to cite a podcast in text in four main citation formats. The differences are tiny but critical when assessing your work and estimating your knowledge of academic formatting.

	In referencing list/bibliography	In text
APA	Snow, J. (Host). (2015, August 24). Why Dragons Matter to Danny in the War [Audio Podcast]. In Game of Thrones insights. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/24/podcasts/game-thrones-insights.html.	(Snow, 2015, 13:45)
MLA	Snow, John, host. “Why Dragons Matter to Danny in the War.” Game of Thrones Insights, The New York Times, 24 August 2015, https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/24/podcasts/game-thrones-insights.html.	(Snow, 2015, 13:45)
Chicago	Snow, John. “Why Dragons Matter to Danny in the War.” Produced by George Martin. Game of Thrones insights. August 24, 2015. Podcast, Mp3. 28:35. https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/24/podcasts/game-thrones-insights.html [Accessed December 10, 2015].	John Snow, “Why Dragons Matter to Danny in the War,” 2015, in Game of Thrones Insights, directed by The Night King, podcast, mp3, 13:45, https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/24/podcasts/game-thrones-insights.html.
Harvard	Snow, J. (2015) “Why Dragons Matter to Danny in the War,” Game of Thrones Insights, The New York Times. August 24. Available at https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/24/podcasts/game-thrones-insights.html [Accessed December 10, 2015].	(Snow, 2015)

Is the title of a podcast italicized?

As you see from the examples, you need to italicize the name of the entire podcast series in all formats, while names of the separate episodes remain standard and put in quotation marks (except for in APA).

Your FAQs on Citing Podcasts in Academic Papers

If you have any questions left on how to cite a podcast in your essay, below are the answers to the most frequently asked questions on the topic.

Also, check our comprehensive guide on PowerPoint size, which is practical for those working on a presentation to impress their teachers.

So, here are the questions:

How to Punctuate Podcast Titles

When you cite a podcast episode, put its name into quotation marks in all formatting styles except for APA. If you want to know how to punctuate podcast titles, meaning an entire podcast series, there’s no need to punctuate them: Italicize them instead.

How to Label the Author of a Podcast

First, you need to identify the author’s role in that podcast. Are they hosts, narrators, writers, producers, etc.? As a rule, it’s the host whom you mention in your citation:

The formatting details will differ depending on the citation style you use in your essay. Let’s say you need to label Ashley Flowers and Brit Prawat, the hosts of Crime Junkie, which is among the most popular true crime podcasts now. Here’s what we have:

• APA: Flowers A., & Prawat, B. (Hosts).
• MLA: Flowers Ashley, and Prawat Brit, hosts.
• Chicago: Hosted by Ashley Flowers and Brit Prawat.
• Harward: Flowers, A. and Prawat, B.

How to Cite a Video Podcast

Video podcasts are those with both audio and video formats, like some you can see on YouTube, for example. When citing them in your academic papers, it’s critical to mention the source so the audience can find that particular episode, too.

Let’s say you cite an episode of Call Her Daddy by Alexandra Cooper, commonly available on YouTube. Your citation will look like this:

• Cooper, Alexandra. “Episode #265 – Mamma.” Call Her Daddy, YouTube, 15 March 2024, www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycPr5-27vSI.

If you want to cite a movie in your essay, we’ve got you covered. Check the guide on how to cite a movie quote in academic papers, with practical tips and examples from our writers.

How to Cite Podcasts From an App

When citing a podcast from Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or any other app, specify the podcast series and episode on the exact platform.

For instance, you cite an episode of the Stuff You Should Know podcast by Josh Clark and Chuck Bryant. It’s available on multiple platforms, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts, so your citation might look like this:

• “Stuff You Should Know.” Hosted by Josh Clark and Chuck Bryant, iHeartMedia, Spotify, 15 September 2023, open.spotify.com/show/2KGL8ySgf7Ij7Stf8ukb3H.

Need Help With Citations for Your Essays?

Now that you know how to cite a podcast in essays, your references in academic papers will be more diverse. Your teachers will see that you did in-depth research and considered different sources to add credibility to your work.

EssayShark works with different references, helping you craft a bibliography. (Did you know that you get this page for free when ordering from us?)

We also have many handy manuals and free tools for your comfortable writing: Try our speech time calculator and word counter tool to ensure your essay meets the guidelines; also, you are welcome to use our college GPA calculator to estimate your academic success in a few clicks!

Any doubts or questions left? Contact us anytime, and our writers will help.

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