Netflix announced this month that it will be adding more video podcasts to its platform. This follows a large increase in podcast viewership and engagement over the last few years. The shows added will range from lifestyle to crime- and entertainment-focused.
Podcasts are growing in popularity due to their convenience, social media and the insights and connection they provide through storytelling. There is a solid shift in entertainment with podcasts on the rise, as they allow audiences to consume media in varying ways and grow their imaginations and knowledge. Podcasts are a way to be entertained like any radio or TV show, but you choose what you hear, and you can feel like there is a personal connection.
In 2025, more than 584 million people listened to podcasts. Podcasts provide a form of convenience and storytelling that you can’t get from TV. You can listen to a podcast anywhere. Whether driving, running or working, this means you can always be learning from people you enjoy listening to.
Podcasts are also now increasingly adding videos of their recording process. This allows for viewership to take different routes, and, for example, Netflix to grab onto this.
Some of the podcasts that will be featured in video form on Netflix include “Therapuss” with Jake Shane, a lifestyle podcast with comedy and realness, and “Buried Bones” with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes, a historical crime show. They will be adding others, focusing on topics like conspiracies, food and psychology. Netflix might change how many people choose to listen, or more so, watch podcasts.
Podcasts have been even more popular as social media has become more prevalent. Jake Shane, for example, gained his rise and fan base through social media and used this to create his podcast for an already loyal audience. He even allows fans to send in messages about their lives for him to potentially share on his show. This adds a level of closeness between him and his audience.
Many other influencers have created podcasts following a growing fanbase. Two of these include Alix Earle and Brittany Broski. Social media means that anyone can share. If people are interested in hearing more from their favorite content creators, podcasts have given them this option.
Social media can also be a way and a forum to advertise podcasts and products. Someone can simply add a funny clip from an episode to their social media and potentially gain viewers. This is also a way to advertise and sell merchandise and allows creators to earn more than just through viewership. Social media has changed the ways in which we view entertainment and how easy it is to find new entertainment.
Podcasts are growing and continue to do so because of the intimacy between the storyteller and listeners they provide. When it comes to celebrity podcasts and hearing the people you love share stories, it feels like there is a deeper connection. Listeners can learn directly from the people they wish to learn about.
Podcasts are also relatively easy to start, which gives many people the opportunity to be creators. All it takes is someone who has something to share and a microphone. Ohio University even has its own podcast studio in Schoonover Center on the first floor. Even if someone isn’t necessarily “famous,” they can still talk about whatever they want and upload it online. This is what makes podcasts so remarkable for listeners and creators.
There are over 4 million podcasts available worldwide. The number of podcast listeners at the end of 2026 is predicted to rise further, estimated to be around 600 million people by the end of the year. Podcasts are an ever-changing medium and continue to evolve as social media, monetization and creativity increase. They allow for anyone to create and for anyone to listen to whatever they wish.
