![]() Scholars have analyzed the popularity of podcasts, noting the similarity to radio in terms of being an audio medium and highlighting the high levels of intimacy, sociality, and flexibility that podcast listening affords. Across 20 countries, 31% of survey respondents reported having listened to a podcast in the last month. Podcasts, audio recordings that are played on demand usually from people’s smart phones, have risen in popularity in recent years, with the estimated number of podcast listeners rising from 46.1 to 75.9 million in the US and from 8.99 to 15.61 million in the UK from 2017–2020. ![]() ![]() Overall, the findings support the idea that informational motives can play a role in podcast listening, and that some aspects of listening are associated with positive outcomes. Furthermore, neuroticism negatively predicted podcast listening. However, certain aspects of podcast listening (e.g., parasocial relationships and social engagement) were related to positive outcomes and to our predictor variables. Contrary to predictions, need to belong negatively predicted podcast listening, and time spent listening to podcasts was not associated with autonomy, competence, relatedness, meaning, mindfulness, or smartphone addiction. As predicted, openness to experience, interest-based curiosity, and need for cognition positively predicted podcast listening. Three hundred and six adults from a range of countries completed an online questionnaire that assessed individual difference predictors (the Big Five personality factors, curiosity, need for cognition, need to belong, age, and gender), aspects of podcast listening (amount, format, setting, device, and social aspects), and potential outcomes (autonomy, competence, relatedness, meaning, mindfulness, and smartphone addiction). The aim of this preregistered study was to identify dispositional predictors of podcast listening and examine the associations between aspects of podcast listening, dispositional predictors, and psychological outcomes. ![]()
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