To cite a podcast, cite the episode you listened to. You need the host’s name, the episode title, the name of the podcast, the date the episode came out, the company that makes the show and the URL. The host takes the author position. The podcast name is in italics in all three styles. The examples below use an invented podcast and host so the pattern is easy to see; swap in your own details.
Quick answer and templates
| Style | Reference format (one episode) | In the text |
|---|---|---|
| APA 7 | Host, A. A. (Host). (Year, Month Day). Title of episode (No. 00) [Audio podcast episode]. In Title of podcast. Production Company. URL | (Host, Year) |
| MLA 9 | Host Last, First, host. “Title of Episode.” Title of Podcast, season 0, episode 00, Publisher, Day Month Year, URL. | (Host Last) |
| Chicago 17 (bibliography) | Host Last, First. “Title of Episode.” Produced by Producer. Title of Podcast. Month Day, Year. Podcast, MP3 audio, running time. URL. | Numbered footnote |
What you need before you start
Most of these details are on the episode page or in the episode notes in your podcast app.
- Host. The person who presents the show. If there are two hosts, note both.
- Episode title, exactly as it is written.
- Episode number, and the season number if the show uses seasons. Leave them out if the show does not number its episodes.
- Podcast name.
- Production company or publisher, for example a radio station or a podcast network.
- Release date of the episode.
- Running time, for Chicago only.
- URL of the episode page, if you listened on the web.
How to cite a podcast in APA 7
APA puts the host in the author position, followed by the label (Host). The episode title is in sentence case with no italics. The episode number goes in parentheses after it, then the description in square brackets. The podcast name follows the word “In” and is in italics.
One episode
Rivera, J. (Host). (2024, March 5). Why we forget names (No. 42) [Audio podcast episode]. In The study hour. Example Audio. https://www.example.org/study-hour/42
The whole podcast
Use this when you talk about the show in general and not about one episode. Give the years the show has run. If it is still running, write “present” in place of the end year.
Rivera, J. (Host). (2021–present). The study hour [Audio podcast]. Example Audio. https://www.example.org/study-hour
In-text citation
- Parenthetical: (Rivera, 2024)
- Narrative: Rivera (2024) explains that…
- Direct quote: (Rivera, 2024, 14:30)
A few details to get right:
- If the show has no episode numbers, leave that part out.
- For a podcast with video, write [Video podcast episode] or [Video podcast] in the brackets.
- If you know the executive producer and not the host, use that name with the label (Executive Producer).
- If you listened in an app and have no link, end the reference after the production company.
The APA Style page of podcast reference examples shows the same pattern. To format other sources, use our APA citation generator.
How to cite a podcast in MLA 9
MLA lists the host as the author, with the word “host” or “narrator” after the name. The episode title is in quotation marks and title case. The podcast name is in italics as the container. Then come the season and episode numbers if the show has them, the publisher, the date and the URL without https://.
An episode you heard on the web
Rivera, Jordan, host. “Why We Forget Names.” The Study Hour, season 2, episode 42, Example Audio, 5 Mar. 2024, www.example.org/study-hour/42.
An episode you heard in an app
Name the app in italics, followed by the word “app”, where the publisher and URL would go. Then give the date shown in the app.
Rivera, Jordan, host. “Why We Forget Names.” The Study Hour, Spotify app, 5 Mar. 2024.
In-text citation
Use the host’s last name. A podcast has no pages, so when you quote, give the time range in hours, minutes and seconds.
- (Rivera)
- (Rivera 00:14:30–00:15:02)
The MLA Style Center answer on podcast episodes has more examples. For other source types, use the MLA citation generator.
How to cite a podcast in Chicago 17
In the notes and bibliography system, you cite the episode in a numbered footnote and again in the bibliography. Chicago 17 gives the host, the episode title in quotation marks, the date, the podcast name in italics, the producer, the words “podcast, MP3 audio”, the running time and the URL.
Footnote
1. Jordan Rivera, “Why We Forget Names,” March 5, 2024, in The Study Hour, produced by Example Audio, podcast, MP3 audio, 38:12, https://www.example.org/study-hour/42.
Shortened note (later citations)
2. Rivera, “Why We Forget Names.”
Bibliography entry
Rivera, Jordan. “Why We Forget Names.” Produced by Example Audio. The Study Hour. March 5, 2024. Podcast, MP3 audio, 38:12. https://www.example.org/study-hour/42.
In Chicago’s author-date system the in-text citation is (Rivera 2024), and the year moves up to follow the host’s name in the reference list. The 18th edition, published in 2024, orders the parts differently: it puts the podcast name and the season and episode numbers before the episode title. Check which edition your course follows. The Chicago citation quick guide shows the current edition’s examples.
Quoting a podcast with a timestamp
When you quote a speaker or point to one moment, tell your reader where it is. A timestamp does the job of a page number.
| Style | In-text with timestamp |
|---|---|
| APA 7 | (Rivera, 2024, 14:30) |
| MLA 9 | (Rivera 00:14:30–00:15:02) |
| Chicago 17 | Add the time to the footnote, for example “at 14:30”. |
APA uses the time at which the quote begins. MLA gives the range from start to end. The reference list entry does not change. It still cites the whole episode.
Apps, guests and other special cases
You listened in Spotify, Apple Podcasts or another app
You do not have to hunt for a web link. APA leaves the URL out. MLA names the app, as shown above. If the show has its own website with a page for the episode, you can use that URL.
The person you are quoting is a guest
The host is still the author in the reference. Name the guest in your own sentence so the reader knows who is speaking. For example, in APA: In an interview on The Study Hour, memory researcher Nia Okafor said that names are hard to remember because they carry no meaning (Rivera, 2024, 14:30).
Two hosts
List both, in the order the show gives them. In APA, each name gets the label only once at the end: Rivera, J., & Okafor, N. (Hosts). In MLA: Rivera, Jordan, and Nia Okafor, hosts.
No episode number or no season
Leave out what the show does not have. Do not count the episodes yourself to make a number.
A podcast episode on YouTube
If you watched the episode on YouTube, cite what you used. See how to cite a YouTube video.
Generate the citation automatically
The free Plagiarism Checker Plus citation generator formats references in APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, IEEE, AMA and ACS.
- Collect the details listed at the top of this page.
- Choose your style and type the details in.
- Check the result against the templates on this page, then copy it into your reference list.
Always read a generated citation before you use it. Podcast titles and host names are not always written the way a style guide expects, and a quick check catches most problems.