Everybody, listen up: 2018 was the year podcasts went mainstream

If you’re not listening to a podcast these days, chances are the person next to you is. Last year was a watershed for the medium, with creators beginning to generate significant revenue in myriad ways. A few years ago, a popular podcast would maybe get a couple hundred thousand downloads and a single sponsor. Today, they’re spinning off live events, selling merchandise, crowdfunding, being optioned by television studios–all the while accruing millions of listeners. Podcasting has become a lucrative entertainment medium. Check out today’s spoken-word landscape, by the numbers.