Podcast Analysis

Name: Song Exploder

Runtime: 17:29

Presenter(s): Hirishikesh Hirway

Context: Song Exploder was first launched in LA in January of 2014 and their first
guest on the podcast was The Postal Service who talked about their song The
district sleeps alone tonight. The podcast has been an independent podcast since its
start up so they are not owned by any big corporations. Throughout the years they
have had a lot of different artists that make different types of music such as Billie
Elish, Bruno mars, Halsey and many more, amounting to their podcast having over
200 episodes. Also, Hrishikesh Hirway now hosts an up close and personal
documentary series based on the celebrated podcast on Netflix. The purpose of this
podcast would be to entertain its audience because they play Levitating throughout
the episode, they also educate their audience because Dua Lipa talks about what it
is like to work in a studio and the process of developing a song.

Target Audience: The target audience for this podcast would be Musicians and
people interested in music production. As a result of the wide variety of artists that
appear on their podcasts they would attract a wider audience because they have
artists that make different types of music so they would attract more people who are
fans of those artists and their genre of music. They would also attract an audience of
both male and female because they have artists of both genders and music isn’t
gender-specific. Also, their target audience age would vary from younger people to
older people because they have newer artists who have not been famous for too
long such as Billie Elish and they have artists that have been famous for a while
such as Bruno Mars and they have artists who have been famous for years that the
older audience would recognise such as Rick Astley. They would also attract people
of various lifestyles, interests and genders, this is because they don't have one
specific type of artist, they have artists like Panic at the disco whose genre is
Alternative/Indie whereas Billie Elishes music is Pop.

Genre: The genre of the podcast is music which can be evident from the name of
the podcast which is “Song Exploder”. Also it is clear that the genre is music
because they have celebrities who make music and Dua Lipa talks about her music
career with her song “Levitating” playing in the background and samples of the song
are played throughout the podcast. Also throughout the podcast they play the
samples of “Levitating” after she describes how she made the different parts of her
son, for example after she talks about recording her voice for the song the recording
of her voice singing the song with no background music. It is clear that the podcast is
a music podcast because they have various different music artists such as Billie
Elish and Bruno Mars.

Structure: The podcast is very clear on its topic and genre from the way the
presenter talks about Dua Lipa and her music at the start of the podcast and he talks
about what the podcast is about and what they do as a whole. The interview has all
of its questions edited out to make the episode flow better and to make it sound like
Dua Lipa is telling an actual story of how her song Levitating was made. The music
that is played throughout the podcast episode are samples of her song Levitating
and the background music is the instrumental version of the song to further promote
the song and to further emphasise the theme of the podcast. The interview has a
linear narrative structure which is clear because the interview is just about how she
developed “Levitating” in chronological order. It is however multi-stranded because
she doesn’t just talk about the production of levitating, she also talks about her
childhood.

Style Of Presentation: The podcast is presented as factual because at the start the
presenter gives facts about Dua Lipa and her music and throughout the podcast she
goes into detail of how she made Levitating. Also it is clear that the episode was
scripted which helps it sound better because it has a nice and consistent flow and
makes it sound more formal. Also because of the edited out questions it makes the
podcast sound more conversational. Through out the podcast Dua Lipa is
enthusiastic about the interview and talks in a rather upbeat tone which would make
the podcast sound more appealing to the audience

Music: Throughout the podcast they play samples of Dua Lipa's song Levitating
after she describes how she made the song, so it is used to help tell the story of how
the song was made such as after she talks about her writing down the lyrics to the
song Levitating they play a short part of the song of just her singing without any
background music. Also they play other samples of the song “Levitating” such as the
songs beat without any dialogue and a part where she used a talk box, they then
play the full song at the end of the podcast, this was done to help tell the story of
how levitating was made because when she talks about how she made the song and
they play the parts of the song that she is talking about it is like the music is also
telling the story and the intended with the full song to tell the audience that the
interview has ended. Also at the end of the podcast the song fades out and doesn't
stop abruptly making it sound better for audience

Representation: Throughout the episode Dua Lipa is represented as quite a happy,

talented, creative and friendly person and very passionate about her work which is
clear from her happy and upbeat tone of voice throughout the episode and the way
she talks about her work with passion throughout the podcast. Dua Lipa also is seen
as quite proud to be british, this is clever because she said that she added a part in
the song “Levitating” where she just speaks in her normal voice because she says
that she sounds like an american when she sings

Theme: The main theme of the podcast is music, this is obvious because Dua Lipa
talks about how she wrote her song Levitating and the name of the podcast is called
song exploder, the podcast episode also plays different samples of the song
Levitating. Another theme of the podcast is nostalgia, this is because Dua Lipa
briefly talks about her childhood and where she grew up. Also another theme is
friendship which is clear because she talks about her friendship with Coz who helped
make “Levitating” with Dua Lipa

Key Features: The key features of the podcast was a music bed that would fade in
and out appropriately such as when people would talk, the podcast also had a clear
narrative structure that made the podcast have a nice flow. They had also edited out
questions in the podcast which makes it sound better because listeners are not just
hearing questions and answers, it sounds like Dua Lipa is having a conversation and
telling the story of how she made her song Levitating. Also, the end of the podcast
contains an outro that had a summary of the episode, thanks to Dua Lipa, credits
etc, this would have been done to let the audience know that it was the end of the
episode. The podcast also had specific themes, topics and focuses, this would allow
them to make sure that the podcast would run smoothly because they knew what
they were talking about.

Name: Serial

Runtime: 52:56

Presenter(s): Sarah Koeing

Context: The podcast serial started in 2014 and since then it has made three
seasons, each dedicated to a different crime story. The podcast's presenter is Julie
Snyder, who also presented the podcast “This American life”. The podcast is
produced by Julie Snyder, Sarah Keonig. The podcast has also won multiple awards
such as a Peabody Award in April 2015 for its innovative telling of a long-form
nonfiction story.

Target Audience: The target audience for the serial podcast would be people who
are interested in true crime stories and people who are interested in the specific
cases that they have covered such as the season one where they go into the death
of Hae Min Lee. Other people that may fall under the target audience would be
historians because the case took place in 1999 so it would attract historians because
they can learn more about the case. Journalists would also be key the podcasts
target audience because they might want to publish an article on the case so they
would listen to the podcast so they can get as much information as possible to make
their article look better by being more accurate

Genre: The genre of the podcast is true crime, this is clear because throughout the
podcast episode they use crime terminology such as inmate, fingerprint, evidence,
prosecution, etc. The use of these words would let the audience know that the genre
is true crime. They also play a police tape of the police interrogating Adnan; this is
clear because they are questioning him about his ex-girlfriend's death. Also they play
a recording of a phone call they had with Adnan who called from prison who asked
them to look into the case. They also had interviews with people who knew Adnan
such as neighbours, friends etc.

Structure: The podcast episode is told in chronological order because there is an

element of storytelling in the episode because the presenter tells the story of Adnans
and Hae Min Lee relationship from them getting together to them breaking up and
Hae Min Lee's death. Also throughout the episode there is an enigma, this means
that there are questions that help drive the narrative forward, this would engage and
appeal to the audience because they would want to know if Adnan is innocent. The
epitope is full of binary oppositions meaning conflict between two oppositions such
as guilty vs not guilty or dead vs alive, this helps to drive the narrative forward and
will engage the audience because they might want to choose a side. Also the
narrative is not solved at the end of episode one, this would make listeners want to
carry on listening to the other episodes because they might want to see what
happens.

Style Of Presentation:The podcast episode is interview based; this is clear because

the presenter interviews multiple people in the town where Adnan lived, such as his
family and friends, this would appeal to audiences because they get to hear what
people who were around at the time think of things and they can develop their
opinion. The episode is also narrative based which is clear because throughout the
podcast the presenter tells the story of Adnan and Hae Min Lee's relationship such
as, what they did, how they communicated, how they broke up etc. The interview is
also quiet conversational because some questions are edited out so they have a
better flow

Music: Throughout the podcast the music that is played is the same, so this makes
the music into a motif for the podcast, meaning it is the theme tune of the podcast,
the music that is played is quite dramatic which sets the tone of the podcast as being
quite serious so the audience knows. The dramatic music also helps to create
tension which would make the podcast seem more interesting which would appeal
and engage audiences. Also during parts of dialogue such as interviews and
narration the music fades out appropriately, this is so the music bet does overlap the
dialogue so the wooden cd can hear it better also the use of the fade out makes the
podcast can have a nice and consistent flow sounding better to listeners.
Representation: During the episode of the podcast teenagers are represented as
quite disobedient and dangerous because Adnan and Hae Min Lee were disobeying
their parents by being in a relationship and going out drinking alcohol which can be
quite dangerous at a young age. This might make listeners who are parents feel
more concerned about what their children are doing but it might also upset some
teenage listeners because they might not be like this. Adnan is seen as a good
person by other people in the community. From the interviews that the presenter did
he was called a “Golden child”. So this might make audiences think that Adnan is a
good person and might think he is innocent. Also, the murder victim Hae Min Lee
was represented as a nice and innocent girl which is clear because of the interview
the presenter did with the people in the community. This would help draw sympathy
to Hae Min Lee and her family from the audience. Also Baltimore is represented as a
quite dangerous place because this was where Adnan and Hae Min Lee lived , so
this might make audiences not want to visit or live there out of fear.

Theme: A key theme of the podcast episode is mystery, this is because throughout
the episode there is the mystery of who killed Hae Min Lee, because there is
evidence to suggest that it was not Adnan and there is the mystery of whether or not
Adnan is innocent. There is also a theme of crime because this is a true crime
podcast and they talk about the crime of mureder throughout the episode. Also
another theme of the product is death because the presenter talks about the death of
Hae Min Lee and her death is what has set up the episode. Another theme of the
episode is history because this happened in 1999 so it makes the story of the crime
a part of history. Another theme of the episode is guilty vs not guilty, this is because
the audience does not know whether or not Adnan is guilty.

Key Features:
Some of the key features of the podcast episode are the archive sound, thi is clear
from the police tape interview that was played, this was used to help add to the
narrative and would appeal and engage the audience because they are using actual
police tapes. Another key feature of the episode's narrative doesn’t come to an end
which would make audiences want to carry on hearing about what happened by
watching other episodes. Also a key feature of the episode is that the presenter uses
factual information that she had about the case, this would appeal to the audience
because they would know that they are learning factual information about the case.
Another key feature is that there are engines such as is Adnan guilty and binary
oppositions like guilt vs non guilty which help to push the narrative forward, this
would appeal and engage the audience because it make the narrative more
interesting

Name: Off menu

Runtime: 42:20
Presenter(s): Ed Gamble and James Acaster

Context: The off menu podcast started on December 5th 2018 and is hosted by
Comedians Ed Gamble and James Acaster who invite special guests onto the
podcast and they each choose their favourite starter, main course, side dish, dessert
and drink, they have had some very popular british celebrities on the show such as
Matt Lucas, Lou Sanders, Ed Sheeran, Joe Thomas and many more. The podcast
episodes typically last around 45–120 minutes long. Also ever since the podcast
started they have made 168 episodes, and the podcast was nominated for the 2019
British Podcast Awards in the Best Entertainment category. As of April 2021, the
podcast has been downloaded over 50 million times. The purpose of this podcast
would be to entertain its audience and also educate them on the types of foods their
favourite celebrities like.

Target Audience: The target audience of the podcast would be people who are
passionate about food and like to cook food because when they invite the people
onto the podcast they interview them on their food choices like their favourite starter,
main course, side dish, dessert and drink. Also they would appeal to people of all
diets because they invite people like Lou Sanders who is a vegan so this would
appeal to people who are also vegan and might want more options for their diet or
people who want to become vegan who can get an idea of what type of foods they
could try. Another audience that the podcast would appeal to would be people who
are fans of comedy because the presenters of the podcast are comedians so it is
expected that the podcast would be quite funny because they tell jokes throughout
the podcast. The podcast would appel people of all age groups because they have a
wide variety of celebrity guests such as Ed Sheeran, Anne-Maire and Noah Schnapp
whole are quite popular with younger audiences but they also have people like Joe
Thomas who is most recognised from playing Simon in the inbetweeners which
came out in 2008 so people who fished watched the show would be older now so it
would also appeal to older people too. The podcast target audience is also non
gender specific because they invite both male and female celebrities so it would
appeal to both genders.

Genre: The genre of the podcast is comedy and food, which is clear because
throughout the episode with Lou Sanders they are making jokes and laughing a lot,
also both of the presenters are comedians and they invite other comedians on to the
podcast such as Lou Sanders, Aisling Bea, Diane Morgan and many others. Also
another genre of the podcast would be food, this is because the whole podcast is
centred around food because the presenters interview different celebrities on their
favourite starter, main course, side dish, dessert and drink and the title of the
podcast is called “Off Menu” because they are inviting the celebrities into a
metaphorical restaurant.
Structure: The podcast episode has a jingle that introduces the podcast, this would
help engage the audience and make them want to carry on watching. The interview
with Lou Sanders is pre recorded, this would have allowed them to edit out any
mistakes that might have been made by the presenters or Lou. There were some
questions that were edited out of the interview, this was done to give the interview a
more nice and consistent flow making it more appealing to listeners. There is also a
bit of storytelling during the interview because eLou tells a story from her childhood
about her accidentally eating meat and being sick from it.

Style Of Presentation: The podcast episode has a comical and upbeat tone
throughout the episode, this is obvious from the presenters and Lou Sanders upbeat
tone of voice and throughout the podcast they keep on laughing with each other and
making jokes throughout the interview, this would make the podcast and interview
more engaging to the audience because they might want to have a laugh while
listening wherever they are. The interview with Lou Sanders sounds more like a
conversation than an interview that would appeal to the audience because it does
not sound like a boring interview and feels like they are having a genuine
conversation. Also, the podcast episode is quite factual because Lou Sanders is
talking about her being vegan, tells a story from her childhood and about the vegan
foods she eats, so this would be attract people because they might want know know
more about Lou Sanders and her life or they might want to know about vegan foods
because they are either vegan or want to become vegan.

Music: Throughout the podcast episode there is a lack of a music bed and they only
play up beat music at the start of the podcast, when the introduce Lou Sanders and
at the end of the podcast, the music used is quite upbeat and exciting, this would
have been used to help engage the audience more and make the podcast and the
interview feel more exciting. The lack of music was used to help the audience focus
on the podcast and interview and not get distracted from the music.

Representation: Throughout the podcast both of the presenters Ed Gamble and

James Acaster are seen as quite funny, this is clear from them telling jokes and
laughing with each other throughout the podcasts making them look like good funny
people, so they are represented in a positive way. Also during the podcast Lou
Sanders is represented a funny person with a good sense of humour this ca is clear
from when she tells the story of her accidentally eating meat and being sick in a bin,
which most people would feel embarrassed about but she instead finds it funny so
she is represented as having a good sense of humour.

Theme: In the episode that I listened to one of the key themes of the podcast
episode is food which is clear because Ed Gamble and James Acaster ask Lou
Sanders what her best starter, main course, dessert, side dish and drink are. Another
theme is comedy, this is because throughout the episode the presenters are
constantly making jokes and laughing with Lou Sanders who is a comedian like the
presenters. Also, another theme of the episode is veganism, this is clear because
throughout the episode Lou Sanders talks about being vegan and what food she
eats as a vegan. Another theme in the episode is nostalgia, which is evident
because Lou talks about a memory from her childhood of when she had a sandwich
that contains food that isn't vegan causing her to be sick in a bin.

Key Features: One of the key features of the podcast is that the interview with Lou
Sanders is pre recorded, which is clear because the presenters talk about doing the
interview in past tense and say that they are going to play the interview. This would
have allowed the presenters to edit out any mistakes like stuttering, stumbling over
their words or taking a while to answer the question or edit out some questions to
make it sound better and have a nicer flow and sound better to listeners. Another key
feature was that the interview was upbeat and happy, this was because of the
presenters and Lou Sanders upbeat tone of voices, this would attract more
audiences because it would sound more appealing to people who might like more
happy and upbeat podcasts. Another key feature was that the music bed only played
to transition parts of the podcast and the was no music be during the dialogue, this
would allow the audience to mainly focus on the presentes and Lou and it would also
make transitions between different sound clips more smooth and would make the
podcast episode flow better