Podcasting

Did you hear what he said on the show yesterday?

That line so long associated with the nightly news or a sitcom is a line we hear much more today in reference to a podcast. Audio today, a medium that many may have thought was a thing of the past, is one of the hottest current mediums of content.

Audio on demand, or podcasting, is a collection or series of digital audio files made available for downloading or listening via the Internet. Podcasts are typically hosted by an individual or individuals who lead a conversation, share stories, or report the news.

With more than 2 million podcasts and 48 million episodes to choose from today, podcasts have become such a popular way for people to consume content that more than half of the American population has listened to one. In today’s society the race to keep up with life can be so overwhelming that time for reading is difficult to find. The trend of audiobook consumption has risen steadily since 2015, and in 2018 Adventist Review Media embraced the audio medium and began making our print articles more widely available as audio podcasts.

AR Audio’s earliest digital releases featured Adventist Review’s Digging Deeper series, which dealt with important doctrines of the church. This series, along with the narration of numerous Adventist Review (AR) / Adventist World (AW) magazine articles, is available each month, recorded by the authors and made available as podcasts and on the AR and AW ministries’ two websites.

Illustrating our platform coordination at Adventist Review Media, hard copy articles are readily available both online and as audio releases. For example, listen to Frank Hasel’s “What Does It Mean to Be a Seventh-day Adventist?” (Adventist Review, May 2019) as the author himself narrates it (use your cell phone camera to scan the QR code).

Illustrating our audio integration with Adventist World print productions, Dick Duerksen, narrator of numerous lighthearted, faith-inspiring stories, may be heard recounting “An Incredible Partnership With God” (scan QR code).

Currently the GraceNotes podcast, a weekly devotional on grace, written and narrated by Bill Knott, is produced in English and French. In North America a radio version of GraceNotes is broadcast each week on the LifeTalk and 3ABN Radio networks. Plans are under way to produce GraceNotes in Mandarin, Spanish, Portuguese, and Swahili. To sign up and receive GraceNotes by email, scan the QR code.

As AR Audio continues to produce AR/AW podcasts, supporting and augmenting the mission and vision of those magazines, we show that podcasts are just another way to share gospel content “on demand,” so the bread of heaven may be consumed in the most efficient manner possible, providing for as many as possible the nourishment of eternal life that is Jesus Christ Himself. To access all our podcast content, go to www. adventistreview.podbean.com or www.adventist world.podbean.com.

Greg Scott manages podcasts, logistics, and contracts for Adventist Review Ministries. He is married to Marilyn, a local church pastor, and loves spending time with his grandchildren.