Every day， we are bombarded with images， videos， music and news. In this age of visual and aural hyper-stimulation， the medium of radio is making a phenomenal comeback.

每天，大量的图片、视频、音乐和新闻都扑面而来，令我们应接不暇。在这个视觉和听觉高度刺激的时代，广播也正以惊人之势重新归来。

“Were at the dawn of a golden age of audio，” said a US-based podcaster Alex Blumberg in an article in The Sydney Morning Herald. In only one month， 15 percent of US adults listened to a radio podcast. These statistics， released by Edison Research， reveal the successful evolution of traditional radio broadcasts to the present days digital podcast format. The term “podcast” emerged in 2004， but the trend only started gaining mainstream popularity in recent years. Since the leap in consumer demand for smartphones and tablets， podcast subscription rates have only accelerated.

“我们正处于广播黄金时代的开端，”美国播主亚历克斯·布隆伯格在《悉尼先驱晨报》上发表的一篇文章中如是写道。仅仅一个月，就有15%的美国成年人在收听播客。爱迪生研究所发布的这些数据表明，传统广播已向如今的数字播客形式成功转型。“播客”一词早在2004年就已出现，但直到近些年它才受到主流群体的青睐。由于对智能手机和平板电脑的消费需求激增，播客的订阅率也只会快速增长。

The appeal of the podcast partially resides in its multi-platform delivery and on-demand capabilities. You can tune in during those extra minutes of the day when youre walking to the shops， waiting in a queue or riding the subway. Similar to television shows， podcasts are generally free to download and most offer new content every week.

能在多平台按需播放是播客的一大吸引力。当你在去商店的路上、在排队或是在坐地铁这些你一天中的这些时间里，你都可以收听几分钟的播客。和电视节目一样，播客大都可以免费下载，而且大部分都每周更新。

Donna Jackson， 22， Sydney university media graduate， listens to podcasts two or three times a week， via iTunes. “I listen while Im pottering around the house doing something else. It makes completing a boring task a lot more enjoyable… And its an easy way of keeping in touch with whats going on in the rest of the world，” she said.

22岁的唐娜·杰克逊是悉尼大学媒体专业的毕业生，她每周使用iTunes收听播客两到三次。她说：“我在家里晃荡做点儿别的什么时就会听（播客）。它让我完成一个枯燥的任务时更为享受……它还可以让我轻松了解国际时事。 ”

Unlike television and music， the podcast format has the potential to create a deep impression on readers. Blumberg says this comes down to the podcasts ability “to create intimacy and emotional connection.” Sydney University undergraduate Hazel Proust， major in social work and arts， agrees. “When youre tuned in， it feels as if the voice of the podcasts narrator is talking directly to you. Its comforting，” said Proust.

与电视和音乐不同，播客有能给听众留下深刻印象的潜力。布隆伯格说这是由于播客能“制造出一种亲密感、建立起（与听众的）精神纽带”。在悉尼大学主修社会工作及艺术专业的本科生黑兹尔·普鲁斯特也赞同布隆伯格的说法。普鲁斯特说：“ 当你听播客时，你会感觉播主好像是在直接与你交流。 这让人感觉很舒心。”

It seems the age-old tradition of verbal storytelling is very much alive and well.

看来，这种口头讲故事的老传统仍然充满活力，经久不衰。