When we launched what was then The GoodPractice Podcast in 2016, the hardest part wasn’t booking guests, buying microphones or finding something to say.
It was explaining what a podcast was.
‘It’s like radio, but on the internet. No, you don’t have to listen live. Yes, it’s free.’
Ten years and 500 episodes later, nobody needs the explainer. Podcasts have gone from niche curiosity to cultural force. The 2024 US presidential race was widely dubbed the first ‘podcast election’, with candidates skipping traditional media in favour of three-hour conversations with podcast hosts.
So, as the Mindtools L&D Podcast celebrates its 500th episode, it feels like a good moment to reflect. Not on the milestone itself, but on what a decade of podcasting has taught us about learning.
Podcasts fit around life
Unlike a course, a video or a workshop, a podcast doesn’t demand that you stop doing everything else. You can listen while walking the dog, jogging, or commuting.
That makes podcasts uniquely easy to consume.
Does that ruin learning?
Research on the impact of listening to podcasts while doing something else is mixed. But, in reality, we’re rarely comparing ‘listening to a podcast while jogging’ with ‘listening to a podcast while doing nothing’.
Instead, we’re comparing the audio learning experience to one where email notifications are popping up and Teams messages are pinging.
Free from these distractions, the mind can focus on what’s being said. No need to find a free 30 minutes from work. Just a dog that wants walking.
Podcasts are accessible
The other great benefit of podcasts is that they’re accessible.
We’re increasingly asked to create podcast versions of learning content for learners who are visually impaired. But what we’ve found is that those audio versions are just as appreciated by learners who simply prefer the format.
Accessibility features have a habit of making things better for everyone, and audio is no exception.
Podcasts allow for nuance
Anyone who has worked in L&D knows the pain of the sign-off cycle. Subject matter experts will go to war over a single word in a written document.
Audio is different. A conversation allows for hedging, for ‘it depends’, for two experts to disagree politely and leave the question open. It acknowledges something that a lot of workplace content tries to hide: the world of work is messy, and reasonable people see it differently.
Podcasts are fun
This one shouldn’t be underrated.
Because podcasts are conversational, they’re easier to digest than most workplace content. There’s laughter, tangents, the occasional terrible pun. People come back week after week not because they’ve been mandated to, but because they want to.
Podcasts build relationships
We regularly meet people at conferences (and, let’s be honest, in sales pitches) who already know us through the podcast. They know our voices, our running jokes, our positions on the big debates in L&D.
That’s a lesson for any learning team. A podcast is a way of building a brand, raising the profile of learning in your organization, and creating a relationship with your audience that a course catalogue never will.
And the best bit? What it does for you
We say this all the time, but it bears repeating: producing a podcast is the single best investment you can make in your own development.
Every week for ten years, we’ve invited an expert to spend 30 minutes discussing a topic they’re passionate about. We’ve read their books, dug into their research, and asked questions that we hope are sharp enough to keep up.
There’s no course, conference or qualification that comes close to producing a podcast.
Here’s to the next ten years
Looking back, my honest reflection is that I’ve learned more from making this podcast than from anything else in my working life. I hope you’ve learned something from us too.
To mark episode 500, we’re doing something special: a four-part retrospective tracing how L&D has evolved since 2016, era by era, with returning guests who shaped each one.
If you’ve been with us since the GoodPractice days, it’ll be a trip down memory lane. If you’re new, it’s the story of a profession in fast-forward. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts so you don’t miss it.
Thanks for listening, and here’s to the next ten years.