Time to Say Goodbye to the Term ‘Podcast’

According to YouTube’s 2025 Recap feature, the podcast I tuned into the most was Seth Meyers’ recurring segment “A Closer Look” from his Late Night show.

Last year, I would have argued that this isn’t a podcast but rather a clip from a TV show. However, in 2025, with nearly every major podcast now featuring a video element, the term “podcast” has become quite ambiguous. The classic talk show format is now nearly indistinguishable from popular podcasts like Good Hang with Amy Poehler, Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard, and Club Shay Shay with Shannon Sharpe, all of which dominate Spotify’s podcast charts. They’re now on equal footing.

As I scroll through my YouTube feed, most of the suggestions in the Podcast tab consist of late-night talk show interviews, host-driven video essays, food reviews, and cable news segments—far removed from the original meaning of the term, which referred to narrative audio journalism and roundtable discussions.

So, as we head into 2026, rather than trying to pin down what a podcast is, it might be time to retire the term altogether. “Podcast” is becoming an outdated or even cringeworthy internet relic, much like how “web series” has fallen out of favor.

The need for new terminology

What should we call these formats instead? I don’t think we’ll create a new word but rather revive an old one.

Ashley Carman from Bloomberg noted this shift during her coverage of The Podcast Show in London last May:

> …two separate panelists made it clear they do not call their podcasts “podcasts.” Georgie Holt, CEO at FlightStory, the company behind Steven Bartlett’s Diary of a CEO, mentioned that their team refers to their programming as “shows.” Max Cutler, founder of Pave Studios, echoed this sentiment during a conversation on stage.

I’ve also heard this shift from “podcasts” to “shows” within Vox Media and from colleagues at other media companies.

Using the term “show” seems to be more appealing for advertising, especially when celebrity names are involved. Pitching podcasts to advertisers can feel limiting and niche, but presenting a “show” opens up a broader audience and a clear platform for where the content will be found. Podcast creators are aiming for that Seth Meyers-level success.

As a result, fans will likely start referring to them as “shows” too, similar to how consumers adopted terms like “influencers” and “creators.”

We’re also seeing hosts move away from the term. On The Adam Friedland Show, there’s a running gag where guests refer to it as a podcast, and the host quickly corrects them, insisting it’s a talk show. Instead of the usual “Find us wherever you get podcasts” sign-off, many hosts are now leaning into the “like-and-subscribe” phrasing popularized by YouTube culture.

These podcast shows are now sharing space with non-podcast shows like Hot Ones, Chicken Shop Date, and Tonight Show clips—so why limit them to a term that’s tied to iPods?

Distribution

Unfortunately, this evolution means that the openness of podcasting is gradually diminishing, becoming more centralized on platforms like YouTube and Netflix. YouTube reports that over a billion people watch podcasts on its platform each month. It has been reported that Netflix plans to incorporate podcasts into its streaming service, developing its own shows and collaborating with major networks.

YouTube is starting to resemble Netflix. “Talk show–style podcasts” on YouTube are already being viewed as the next wave of late-night TV, especially with CBS signaling a retreat from investing in the genre by canceling The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in 2026. I can easily envision a more cost-effective podcast stepping into CBS’s late-night lineup, with celebrity press tours prioritizing YouTube over traditional network TV.

Next year, you might find yourself recommending your favorite new “show” to a friend instead of a podcast.

What about audio-only programming?

Despite all this, I believe the audio-only format will endure. After all, people still drive cars and aren’t typically glued to a screen for the entire duration of a podcast. According to Edison Research, most podcast listening occurs at home. However, it’s likely that most audio-only podcasts will come from more independently run shows. Media companies will continue to release audio versions of their video content for podcatcher apps, but they won’t be the main focus anymore.

As a result, and long overdue since the iPod era, I think we’re witnessing the decline of the term “podcast.” Perhaps in the future, the question “What is a podcast?” will be replaced by “What was a podcast?”