Today’s episode covers the key podcasty bits from the Infinite Dial 2021 report from Edison Research and Triton Digital. Here are the choice bits:

• 222 million Americans (78%) are familiar with podcasting
• 162 million Americans 957%) have listened to a podcast
• 116 million Americans (41%) listen to podcasts monthly
• 80 million Americans (28%) listen to podcasts every week

For the purpose of the report, Edison creates three buckets based on the age of respondents. Here’s how the estimated size of the listening audience has increased in the last five years:

• 12-34 year-olds - 65 million today, compared to 28 million in 2016. Nearly 3x growth.
• 35-54 year-olds - 34 million today, compared to 19 million in 2016. Nearly 2x growth.
•  55+ - 24 million today, compared to 10 million in 2016. More than 2x growth.

Analysis: podcasting is healthy and growing. But it’s more important than ever that we each keep up that pressure. 59% of the US population didn’t listen to a podcast at all in the last month. And 73% don’t have a weekly podcast listening habit. We should all assume that the person listening on the other end is either brand new to podcasting or a casual podcast listener, and we need to hook them in with great content they can’t get from any other medium.

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A written-to-be-read article and a full transcript of the audio of this episode can be found at https://podcastpontifications.com/episode/unpacking-podcastings-growth-seen-in-edisons-infinite-dial-2021

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Evo Terra produces Podcast Pontifications four times a week to provide ideas and ask questions every working podcaster should be thinking about.

Mentioned in this episode:

Support For Abortion Rights

While Americans overwhelmingly support the right of an individual to make their own decisions about abortion, unfortunately, that right is no longer protected everywhere in the U.S. The Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade on June 24th. Abortion is a basic healthcare need for the millions of people who can become pregnant. Everyone should have the freedom to decide what’s best for themselves and their families, including when it comes to ending a pregnancy. This decision has dire consequences for individual health and safety, and could have harsh repercussions for other landmark decisions. Restricting access to comprehensive reproductive care, including abortion, threatens the health and independence of all Americans. Even if you live in a state where abortion rights are upheld, access to safe medical procedures shouldn’t be determined by location, and it shouldn't be the privilege of a small few. You can help by donating to local abortion funds. To find out where to donate for each state, visit donations4abortion.com. If you or someone you know needs help, or if you want to get more involved, here are 5 resources: 1. ShoutYourAbortion.com is a campaign to normalize abortion.