NPR offers hundreds of free podcasts

The NPR Podcast Directory, which features hundreds of free podcasts produced by NPR, NPR Member stations and other public radio producers, just reached the 617-title count with the addition of the new NPR News “In Character” series profiling classic fictional characters, seven podcasts from new participant 91.3fm WYEP Pittsburgh and nine from current station contributors.

The podcasts, covering 40 topic areas, can be found at www.NPR.org/podcasts

Since launching in August 2005 with 33 titles, NPR and its podcasting partners have generated more than 200 million downloads to date, and currently average 12 million downloads per month. In the fourth quarter of 2007, there were 36.5 million downloads of NPR Podcasts, an increase of 19% over the previous quarter.

NPR’s podcast for the “In Character” series examines iconic characters from American literature, film, television and theatre – from Willy Loman to Bugs Bunny. Each segment profiles the personality’s origins and the reasons behind its lasting impact on American life. The broadcast series airs across all NPR shows; more information is available at: www.NPR.org/incharacter

Joining “In Character” in the NPR Podcast Directory are 16 new podcasts exploring politics, music, literature, health and science from NPR Member stations and public radio producers. New partner 91.3fm WYEP Pittsburgh has introduced music podcasts including “What in the World,” about new world music albums, and the local Pittsburgh music showcase “Third Thursdays at WYEP.” Other new podcasts are “Kinsey Confidential,” a Q&A about sexual health and behavior, from WFIU Bloomington, IN; “Relatively Speaking,” an hour exploring family issues, from Mississippi Public Broadcasting; and “Grammar Grater,” a course in linguistics for the Information Age, from Minnesota Public Radio. 89.3 KPCC Southern California Public Radio has added four daily podcasts about the 2008 elections, hosted by its news team.

Since beginning its podcasting activities in collaboration with NPR Member stations in 2005, NPR has become a leading podcaster. In the 11th annual Webby Awards, NPR was as awarded both the “Best Podcasts” and the public competition, “People’s Voice” awards. Titles from NPR and the public radio system consistently rank among the ‘Top 100 Podcasts’ at the iTunes store and rank highly on other podcasting-related sites as well. NPR’s most recent podcast releases include ‘Live Concerts from All Songs Considered,’ NPR’s popular online music show.