Talk radio has always believed it owned the spoken word audio lane. For decades, if you wanted news, opinion, or sports debate, AM/FM radio was the default destination.
That assumption officially cracked in the fourth quarter of 2025. According to new Edison Research data, more people listened to podcasts than to AM/FM radio’s spoken word formats combined, including all-news, news/talk, and sports talk.
That’s not a vibes-based argument. It’s not anecdotal. The data is clear, and it’s also uncomfortable for anyone who has spent a career inside traditional radio. Podcast listening didn’t just grow again. It passed broadcast spoken word audio for the first time. This is the moment where leaders in the format have two choices. You can plug your ears and shout “la, la, la, la, la,” or you can do something about it.
Denial has always been radio’s worst reflex. We’ve seen it before with streaming music. We watched it with satellite radio. We’re watching it again now with on-demand audio. The belief that AM/FM radio is going to suddenly charge back and surpass podcast listening feels like wishful thinking at best. Audience behavior rarely moves backward once habits are formed. People like choice, control, convenience, and personalization, and podcasting delivers all four.
That doesn’t mean talk radio is dead. Far from it. Live audio still has value, and immediacy remains a powerful differentiator. When news breaks, when a game ends, or when a major event unfolds, live radio still matters. That strength should be emphasized loudly and often. However, immediacy and localization alone can’t be the entire strategy anymore.
The future looks like — to me — a hybrid model. Live news and talk shows will continue to exist, but they must coexist with purpose-built on-demand audio. This is where the industry has lagged. Too many stations still believe a podcast strategy means chopping the commercials out of a radio show and uploading the file. That’s not a podcast. That’s a rerun with different ads. Heck, I hear some stations that don’t even cut out the traffic reports from their on-demand audio. Do you think that shouts competency to a podcast listener?
Podcast audiences expect something different. They expect tighter storytelling, clearer intent, and content designed for when and how they listen. On-demand audio is intimate and intentional. People actively choose it. They schedule it. That requires a different level of care and creativity than simply filling three or four live hours a day.
There’s a massive opportunity here for experienced professionals. Talk radio hosts, producers, and programmers already know how to tell stories, book guests, and frame conversations. Those skills translate beautifully to on-demand audio when they’re applied correctly. Owning both lanes isn’t just possible. It should be the goal.
What can’t happen is a repeat of the newspaper industry’s response to digital. Newspapers treated the internet as a side project until it was too late. Many gave away their content, devalued their work, and waited for audiences to come back. They didn’t. Talk radio can’t afford that same mistake.
Podcasting isn’t the enemy. It’s the proof of concept that millions of Americans adore audio content. They just want it on their terms. The Edison Research data should be seen as a warning, but also as an invitation. The audience hasn’t left audio. It’s simply moved to where it feels better served.
The customer has told you what they want, how they want it, when they want it, and where they want it. It’s now our job to give it to them. The future of spoken word audio belongs to those willing to respect both live radio’s strengths and podcasting’s expectations.
Ignoring either lane isn’t a strategy. It’s a slow fade into irrelevance.
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Garrett Searight is Barrett Media’s News Editor, which includes writing daily news stories, features, and opinion columns. He joined Barrett Media in 2022 after a decade leading several radio brands in several formats, as well as a 5-year stint working in local television. In addition to his work with Barrett Media, he is a radio and TV play-by-play broadcaster. Reach out to him at Garrett@BarrettMedia.com.
