How to Cite a Podcast [MLA, APA, & Chicago Styles]
Gone are the days of citing only print resources and web pages. In 2020, audio podcasts are an ever-growing source of unique content with valuable (and citable) information.
No matter which citation style you use, you'll need to find some basic information on the episode. Here's a list of the key elements you'll need (and how to find them):
- Author/creator
- Title of the podcast
- Title of the podcast episode
- Publisher
- Date episode was released
- Podcast URL
Note: If the podcast you're citing doesn't have it's own website, you can use the URL from your podcast player, instead.
The good news is, most of the information you'll need is easy to find between your podcast player and a quick Google search — but how do you know whether you have to cite a podcast to begin with?
When you need to cite a podcast episode
Before you learn how to cite a podcast, let's review how to know whether it's necessary in your unique case.
Ask yourself these questions to determine whether you need to give credit to the show's creator:
- Am I quoting the host/episode word-for-word?
- Did I use information, data, or facts I found in a podcast?
- Have I summarized ideas or paraphrased the thoughts of the creator?
If you answered yes to one or more of these questions, you'll need to cite the podcast to give credit to the host, or guest, whose work you reference. Review the following citation formats to learn how!
Note: These citation formats are for academic, scholarly, and professional uses and can be used for citing podcasts in research papers, articles, books, and print pages.
Choose a citation style
Citing your work involves using both in-text citation (or endnotes, in the case of Chicago Style) and a reference list. In-text citations let you cite sources within the body of your text and a reference list includes more details on those sources at the end of your content.
With Chicago style, you use endnotes to cite your information after the main text — but before the reference list— instead of using parenthetical citations.
To cite your podcast, pick the format that best matches the subject of the episode you're citing and plug in the relevant information!
MLA 8
Used for: Humanities (English, drama, religion, philosophy, law, & politics)
Reference:
Last, First, M.I. of creator. “Title of episode.” Name of Podcast, Name of publisher/where you listened to episode, Date it was posted, URL.
In-text citation:
(Host's last name, start time of revelant section-end time of section)
APA 7
Used for: Social sciences (psychology, sociology, science, & medicine)
APA style asks for the "contributor title "( i.e. the title of the person you're citing). Most of the time, the contributor title will be "producer" or "host", but it can also be the episode's guest if you're citing their material.
Reference:
Last, First, M.I. (Contributor title). Date episode was published (Year, Month Day). Podcast title [Audio podcast]. Retrieved from URL.
In-text citation:
(Podcast Title, Year)
In-text direct quote:
(Host's last name, year, timestamp)
Or
Signal Phrase: “Kauffman (2020) said in his podcast…”
Chicago style
Used for: Business, history, & fine arts (mostly used for published, scholarly works)
Reference:
Last, First, M.I. “Title of Podcast.” Produced by Company. Name of Podcast. [Podcast audio], Month Day, Year episode was uploaded. Podcast URL
Endnotes (no in-text citations)
First, Last, M. Date of podcast. “Name of podcast.” Podcast audio. Episode title. Publisher. File type. Accessed Month Day, Year. Podcast URL
Additional tools & resources:
Check out these helpful citation tools and guides to make the podcast citing process as quick, easy, and accurate as possible!