How to Cite a Podcast in MLA, APA, and Chicago

In this article, we discuss how to cite a podcast in MLA, APA, and Chicago formats.

Citing your work is a necessary but laborious process for any kind of research. To help, we’ve created this cheat sheet on how to cite a podcast in 3 popular formats, MLA, APA, and Chicago.

While each of these formats look different, you’ll need the same basic information for each one:

• Podcast name
• Publisher
• Podcast URL
• Author
• Release date
• Episode title

Luckily, all of this information is easy to find on a podcast’s Podchaser page.

To find relevant podcasts to your research, look no further than Podchaser Podchaser is the world’s most comprehensive podcast database, with incredible search functionality to help you find the exact podcast you need.  Join Podchaser Today.

Table of Contents

• When Do You Need to Cite a Podcast?
• How to Cite a Podcast in MLA
• How to Cite a Podcast in APA
• How to Cite a Podcast in Chicago
• Find Podcasts For Your Research with Podchaser

When Do You Need to Cite a Podcast?

The reason you need to cite a podcast is to avoid plagiarism. Stealing other people’s ideas or exact language is a big no-no and can get you in major trouble at most universities.The rule of thumb is: when you are in doubt about whether you should cite something, play it safe and just cite it. That being said, here are three scenarios that you 100% must cite your sources:

• When directly quoting
• When using information or data from a podcast
• When summarizing or paraphrasing a creators’ ideas

How to Cite a Podcast in MLA

A citation in the text has a different format than a citation in your reference page. You’ll need to cite both ways when writing your research paper.

Reference Page: Last, First, M.I. of creator. “Title of episode.” Name of Podcast, Name of publisher/where you listened to the episode, Date it was posted, URL.

In-Text Citation: (Host’s last name, start time of relevant section-end time of section)

Examples:

Reference Page: Bryant, Chuck and Josh Clark. “How Mensa Works.” Stuff You Should Know, How Stuff Works, 14 April 2022, https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/stuff-you-should-know-8201/episodes/how-mensa-works-133738038 

In-Text Citation: (Bryant and Clark, 0:17)

How to Cite a Podcast in APA

Reference Page: Last, First, M.I. (Contributor title). Date episode was published (Year, Month Day). Podcast title [Audio podcast]. Retrieved from URL.

In-Text Citation: (Episode Title, Year)

Examples:

Reference Page: Bryant, Chuck & Clark (Hosts). (2022, April 22). Stuff You Should Know [Audio Podcast]. https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/stuff-you-should-know-8201/episodes/how-mensa-works-133738038 

In-Text Citation: (How Mensa Works, 2022)

How to Cite a Podcast in Chicago

Chicago style doesn’t use in-text citations. Instead Chicago uses endnotes or footnotes at the bottom of each page.

Reference Page: Last, First, M.I. “Title of Episode.” Produced by Company. Name of Podcast.  [Podcast audio], Month Day, Year episode was uploaded. Podcast URL

Endnotes: First, Last, M. Date of podcast. “Name of the podcast.” Podcast audio. Episode title. Publisher. File type. Accessed Month Day, Year. Podcast URL

Examples:

Reference Page: Bryant, Chuck & Josh Clark. “How Mensa Works.” Produced by How Stuff Works. Stuff You Should Know. [Podcast audio], April 22, 2022. https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/stuff-you-should-know-8201/episodes/how-mensa-works-133738038 

Endnotes: Bryant, Chuck & Josh Clark. April 22, 2022. “Stuff You Should Know.” Podcast audio. How Mensa Works. How Stuff Works. Mp3. April 24, 2022. https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/stuff-you-should-know-8201/episodes/how-mensa-works-133738038 

Find Podcasts For Your Research with Podchaser

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