The podcast as a multimedia communication format: A literature review of uses and trends

Abstract

Purpose: To synthesize the communicative uses and trends of podcasts in relation to the multimedia ecosystem, based on academic literature published between 2020 and 2025, considering their forms of production, circulation, interaction, and relationship with audiences. Methodology: A literature review with a systematized procedure and qualitative synthesis was conducted using explicit eligibility, data extraction, and thematic analysis criteria. A total of 186 records were identified from Scopus, Web of Science, Dialnet, and other academic sources. After duplicate removal, title and abstract screening, and full-text assessment, 25 studies were included in the analysis matrix and qualitative synthesis. Additionally, 11 references supported the background, contextual discussion, and methodological foundation of the review. Results: The evidence examined reveals journalistic, fictional, and science communication uses and identifies three potentially overlapping modalities: repurposed radio audio available on demand, native digital audio productions, and projects that extend the central episode through images, texts, videos, websites, or spaces for interaction. The synthesis also identifies differences associated with platforms, production models, multimedia expansion, audience participation, trust, and intimacy. These findings show that multiplying distribution channels does not necessarily result in meaningful audience participation. Conclusions: Podcasts combine sound-based storytelling with different forms of multimedia circulation. However, their communicative possibilities and effects are not universal and depend on content design, platform mediation, production conditions, and listening contexts.