You can find a podcast on just about any topic nowadays. You may even need to reference one in your written work at school or university. In this post, then, we look at how to cite a podcast in APA referencing.
How to Cite a Podcast in APA Referencing
APA referencing is an author–date system in which you cite sources by giving the author’s surname and a year of publication in brackets, with a comma between the name and the year. For a podcast, the ‘author’ is the main contributor – this could be the host(s), producer(s), or writer(s):
The show’s hosts discuss 60 words that they believe have defined America recently (Abumrad and Krulwich, 2020).
If you name the author(s) in text, though, you only need to cite the year of publication in brackets. This helps to prevent repetition. In addition, if quoting a podcast, you would need to provide a timestamp for the section of the episode you are citing. For example:
In the episode, Abumrad and Krulwich (2020) discuss the 60 words that they say have ‘defined America for the last 12 years’ (1:45).
Here, for instance, we are quoting something from 1 minute and 45 seconds into the cited podcast. This will ensure the reader can find the relevant part.
If you are referring to an entire podcast and not just one episode, moreover, you should give the range of dates of the podcast:
The podcast focuses on science and philosophy, aiming to make them accessible to a wide audience (Abumrad and Krulwich, 2002–present).
You will then provide full source information in the reference list.
Podcasts in an APA Reference List
As with any source in APA, you must include podcasts in the reference list. For a single episode of a podcast, the standard format in APA referencing is:
Find this useful?
Subscribe to our newsletter and get writing tips from our editors straight to your inbox.
Name, N. (Title). (Date of podcast episode). Title of podcast episode (Episode number) [Type of podcast]. In Title of podcast. Source. URL.
The type of podcast can be either audio or video. And if no episode number is given, you can omit this detail. The reference list entry for the podcast episode in the examples above, then, would be:
Abumrad, J. and Krulwich, R. (Hosts). (2020, January 7). 60 Words [Audio podcast episode]. In Radiolab. WNYC Studios. https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/radiolab/episodes/60-words
The format to use for a full podcast, meanwhile, is:
Name, N. (Title). (Dates of production for podcast). Title of podcast [Type of podcast]. Source. URL
Taking the example from above again, this would be presented as follows:
Abumrad, J. and Krulwich, R. (Hosts). (2002–present). Radiolab [Audio podcast]. WNYC Studios. https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/radiolab
Hopefully, you should now be able to cite a podcast in APA referencing without any issues. But if you would like an expert to check your work is error free, our proofreading service is available 24/7.