You’re writing a research paper and need to cite an audio podcast. Unfortunately, entering the episode title and calling it a day isn’t enough. You need to include specific details to create a proper citation. Those details may vary depending on your citation method, which can be in the format of APA, Chicago, MLA 9, Harvard, and Vancouver style.
This article explains how to cite a podcast correctly for each significant format.
What Do You Need to Cite a Podcast
Thankfully, you don’t need special equipment to cite a podcast episode. As long as you have a time stamp and the main details of the audio podcast, you have everything you need for in-text citations. Examples of the components required include:
- The host’s name
- The podcast title
- A specific episode title when referring to a single podcast
- The name of the podcast series
- An episode and series number, if they’re available
- The podcast’s publication date
- A URL for the podcast episode
The following rules apply when citing a video podcast or an audio podcast episode.
Cite a Podcast in APA Style
This is the format you’ll use for APA-style citations:
Surname, Initials. (Job). (Year, Month, Day). Episode Title (Episode Number.) [Audio/Video Podcast Episode]. In The Podcast’s Name. Production Company. Retrieved from URL.
Note the use of italics for the podcast name and episode title. APA style also uses parentheses for several aspects of the citation.
Finally, pay attention to the square brackets. You must mention whether you viewed a video podcast or listened to an audio podcast episode.
Cite a Podcast in Chicago Style
Chicago style is more straightforward than the APA style. For example, you don’t have to know the specific episode number. Plus, you only need to know the year the podcast aired rather than the entire date.
Here’s what a citation looks like in Chicago style:
Forename Surname, “Episode Name,” Year, in Podcast Title, produced/published/directed/written by, podcast, audio format, running time, URL.
Notice the lack of italics and parenthesis in this style.
For the “produced/published/directed/written by” section, choose the one that best applies to the podcast and add the relevant names. For example:
Produced by Joe Rogan.
Cite a Podcast in MLA 9 Style
MLA 9 is the latest version of the MLA citation format. It’s often considered one of the easiest formats in which to cite podcasts because you need to know fewer details.
The following structure helps with in-text citations in MLA 9 style:
Surname, Forename, author’s title. “Podcast Episode Title.” Podcast Title, Publisher Name/Where you heard the podcast, Posting Date, URL.
There are a few things to note here. First, you have to use italics for the title of the podcast. You can also replace the surname and forename with a company name, if applicable. Furthermore, the author’s title only needs recording if it’s provided and if it applies to the citation.
The posting date is written in the following format:
25 Nov. 2018
Beyond these points, MLA 9 is one of the less parenthetical citations. It delivers the important details without you needing to know everything about a podcast episode.
Cite a Podcast in Harvard Style
The key difference between citing in Harvard style and using any other style lies in the mention of the date you accessed the podcast. This data protects you from the possibility of a podcast host changing the content after you’ve cited an episode.
Harvard citations follow the below format:
Surname, Initials. (Publication Year) “Episode Title,” Podcast Name, Host Site/Publisher/Company. Month day. Available at URL/App [Accessed Date].
The [Accessed Date] isn’t in the month date format. Instead, you write the whole date, such as in this example:
[November 25, 2022]
Also, note the use of “Month day” toward the end of the example. You don’t need to specify the year here because you did it earlier when citing the (Publication Year).
Cite a Podcast in Vancouver Style
Finally, you may need to use the Vancouver Style for your paper. The following template ensures you use this style correctly:
Origin of the podcast. Title of the podcast. [podcast on the internet]. Location of publication: Publisher; Distribution year [updated date; cited date]. Available from: URL.
There are a few things to consider with this citation method. First, Vancouver is the only style that requires you to provide an “updated date.” This date is the most recent edit of the podcast. If you can’t find a recent date for editing, use the podcast’s original release date.
Furthermore, all dates in this citing style are written as follows:
Year Month Date
For example:
2022 November 25
The mention of [podcast on the internet] is also interesting, as is the location. For the former, most podcasts are on the internet, so you should be able to use this format. With the latter, the location is typically the city from where the podcast episode was recorded.
Make Sure You’re Citing a Podcast Episode Properly
Citing a podcast can be a difficult task, given how widely the various methods differ. Pay attention to the templates offered here, and you should have no issues when citing any podcast used in your research.
