Podcasts in Santa Barbara County

FYI, podcasts are pre-recorded shows that use the same technology as digital music files. When a show is pre-recorded it's called a podcast. When a show is broadcast and listened to live (like conventional radio) it's called a live stream. The most confusing thing about podcasts are (1) there are lots of different methods for listening to them, and (2) there is an evergrowing number of podcasts to choose from. You can choose from heavily-researched and highly produced shows to mom & pop stuff. Initially, podcasts were made available as mp3 audio files that you could download for playing on your PC/Mac using a software application. Eventually, they could be played directly on a website (so you didn't need software other than your browser). Then Apple iTunes and 3rd-party sites offered them for either download or playback from their proprietary application or website. These sites acted as aggregators/distributors of podcasts. Then with smartphones on the rise, applications like Stitcher began to act as mobile distributors so you could select and listen to podcasts anywhere (either by non-live streaming or one-time download to your phone). Most podcasts are free, especially those created by public radio, but some distributors have attempted to monetize podcasts by introducing commercials. I use all of the above methods.