Róisín Ingle ... on many happy new podcasts

Every Friday morning I get the lift down – I'll be walking down from now on, as per my new year's resolutions – from the fourth floor of Irish Times towers where my messy (obviously that's also going to change) desk is located, to the second floor, to do my podcast.

Those of you who are familiar with podcasts can disregard this next bit. I want to talk to the rest of you. The ones who asked me all through 2015, often with their heads bowed, sheepish looks spreading across their faces as they whispered, “C’mere, I know this is probably a stupid question, but, what is a podcast?”

Readers, it's not stupid at all. There is nothing worse than people going on about something they assume you know all about but really you've no clue. This happens to me all the time. It happened with WhatsApp for ages, for example. And I have never seen an episode of Game of Thrones and yet people assume I have. I am also completely in the dark about anything to do with Star Wars except Princess Leia's hairstyle and lightsabers. So believe me, I don't think you have anything lacking if you don't know about podcasts, never mind have never listened to them. You obviously haven't had any reason or care. Until, I like to think, now.

A podcast is a radio show on the internet. It can be played on a computer or a portable media device like a phone. Podcasts are usually made in episodes and these episodes can be daily or weekly. By subscribing to certain podcasts on apps like iTunes or Stitcher ,you get automatic updates on your device telling you when a new one has been made. You can listen to them any time, anywhere as long as you have your device and some (optional) earphones.

The joy of podcasts – and they are a joy but I’ll get to that later – is that you get to decide when to listen: when you are out walking (which obviously, it’s January, I will be doing a lot more of) or doing the yardening (ditto) or just at home in your kitchen. You are not a slave to any radio schedules although, having said that, most radio stations also podcast their programmes so you can listen to them whenever you like too.

Once you discover a new podcast that you love you can binge on it in the same way certain people binge for hours, days and weeks on boxsets or Netflix (not me, not any more anyway, it’s January and I am a New Woman).

Last September, as I might have mentioned in a recent column, a group of women in The Irish Times set up a new podcast in response to the lack of women's voices on Irish radio – The Women's Podcast. Before George Hook starts giving out to me again, it's not that there aren't ANY women's voices, but there are definitely not enough.

Looking across the water to the wildly successful Woman's Hour on BBC Radio 4, we could see there was a gap in the broadcasting/podcasting market here. Woman's Hour has a nearly 50 per cent male listenership and we hope our content will also appeal to both genders. (Our tagline is "by women, for everyone").

Working on the podcast with the incredibly talented and enthusiastic all-female production team has been the joy of my year. We've had Marian Keyes on talking about make-up and multiple sclerosis, Erica Jong talking about feminism and female role models, Tom Meagher talking about men taking responsibility for sexual violence against women and Margaret Atwood talking about sex robots and abortion.

The team, including our wonderful presenter Kathy Sheridan, got a gorgeous early Christmas present a couple of weeks ago when the show was named Best New Podcast of 2015 by iTunes.

The Irish Times, as you can't fail to have noticed, is not just a newspaper any more. On irishtimes.com we have videos, interactive features and a whole host of new digital products.

We also have a whole section for our podcasts (cunningly accessible by pressing a Podcasts button on the website) which will keep you up to speed on politics, business, culture and sport. And all over the world there are podcasts which, for no cost, can add serious sparks of happiness and inspiration to your existence, from Lena Dunham's Women of the Hour to This American Life, from Second Captains to the New Yorker fiction podcast.

I suppose I am writing this because I don’t want anybody who might be interested in what is going on in the wonderful world of podcasts to miss out. And because “what is a podcast?” is as good a question to answer as any other as we head into 2016.

If nothing else, listening to more podcasts is a resolution some of us might actually be able to keep. So Happy New Year everyone. And many Happy New Podcasts.

[ roisin@irishtimes.com ]