The Potential of Digital Regional Podcast Use of Immersive Audio Storytelling for Gen Z Engagement on YouTube
Main Article Content
Abstract
The radio industry gained widespread popularity and is regarded as an influential tool for entertainment, information dissemination and education. Radio has a rich legacy in India where it has also contributed to the growth and development of the society and it had a prominent role in the modernization, making a contribution to many developmental campaigns. Radio has provided support by reaching to the audiences far and wide by supplying information on a range of issues like health, education, agriculture, and has truly been a catalyst in heralding modern society. With the growth of the digital communication systems, radio has found subsistence through the podcast. These days podcasts are popular with the audiences and the interest seems to grow more and more. The objective of the paper is to analyze the content for the podcast in Bengali language and analyze the reasons for its popularity among the audiences. The study adopts qualitative methodology and focused group discussions are conducted. The data thus obtained inform that the regional language (Bengali) podcasts combine convergence and traditional storytelling methods to interest the audience and nostalgia and Bengali literature adaptations invite regular listeners. The podcasts also serve as a platform to keep linguistic and cultural identity thriving in the Bengali-speaking diaspora.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Attribution Non-Commercial Share-alike 4.0 International
Visit here for more details: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
References
Chandrakar, R. (2006). Digital object identifier system: an overview. The Electronic Library, 24(4), 445–452. https://doi.org/10.1108/02640470610689151
Dowling, D. O., & Dowling, E. (2026). Understanding the Far-Right Podcast ecosystem: production, politics, and rhetoric. Journal of Radio & Audio Media, 33(1), 12–26. https://doi.org/10.1080/19376529.2025.2592918
Dowling, D. O., & Miller, K. J. (2019). Immersive Audio Storytelling: podcasting and serial documentary in the digital publishing industry. Journal of Radio & Audio Media, 26(1), 167–184. https://doi.org/10.1080/19376529.2018.1509218
Fronek, P., Boddy, J., Chenoweth, L., & Clark, J. (2015). A report on the use of open access podcasting in the promotion of social work. Australian Social Work, 69(1), 105–114. https://doi.org/10.1080/0312407x.2014.991338
Grant, A. E., & Meadows, J. (Eds.). (2020). Communication Technology: Update and Fundamentals (17th ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780367817398
Powers, E., & Tilley, K. (2026). Emoting with Friends of the Pod: How Podcasters Make Space for Listeners to Process Politics. Journal of Radio & Audio Media, 33(1), 27–42. https://doi.org/10.1080/19376529.2025.2609115
Rime, J., Francombe, J., & Collins, T. (2022). How do you pod? a study revealing the Archetypal podcast production workflow. ACM International Conference on Interactive Media Experiences, 11–18. https://doi.org/10.1145/3505284.3529977
Shaw, M. P., Fernandes, J. F. T., McGawley, K., Bell, L., & McNamara, S. (2025). “You’re the Gatekeeper”: Exploring Open-Access podcast creation in the sport and exercise sciences. Journal of Radio & Audio Media, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/19376529.2025.2495349
Shaw, M. P., & McNamara, S. W. T. (2021). “I can Just Get all the Bits That I Need”: Practitioners’ Use of Open-Access Sport Science Podcasts. Frontiers in Education, 6. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2021.666865