DEEPER DIVES — THE RISE OF PODCASTS IN CHINA

In an age where short videos capture fleeting attention spans and idle moments are filled with doomscrolling, podcast listeners are taking a quieter, cerebral approach to their free time.

And far from being a minority, they represent a substantial and growing audience.

In a report released earlier this year by Xiaoyuzhou, a popular podcast service provider in China, the platform saw more than 64,000 new podcast programs and nearly 700,000 episodes added in 2025 alone. Listeners are predominantly urban and well-educated, with over 84 percent holding a bachelor's degree or higher. About 77 percent reside in first — or second-tier cities, with the 23-35 age demographic the largest, the report said.

They tune in while commuting, running, cooking, driving, folding laundry, or drifting off to sleep. Their interests are diverse, ranging from history and criminal cases to investing, childcare, business, technology, and casual conversations, according to the report.

Huang Hua, a professor from Fujian Normal University's School of Communication who has observed the trend, said China's podcast audience has continued to expand, while the average episode length now runs close to an hour or even longer.

She said listening to a podcast is a form of companionship that suits lifestyles made up of scattered moments of free time. "At a time when attention is increasingly dispersed, the popularity of podcasts seems to run against the tide. But this is not at odds with today's media environment. It is a compensatory mechanism generated within an accelerating society," she explained.

"The rise of podcasts lies not only in their ability to satisfy listeners' need for thorough discussion and deeper understanding of hot issues, but also in how they speak to young people's desire to make sense of their own situation and build social connections," she added.

The full story

During her 40-minute drive to work, Li Zheng, in her 40s, puts on an episode about a real criminal case. Her eyes are on the road, her hands are on the wheel, but her ears are not idle. At home, when she irons, she has the same auditory habit.

"In both situations, my eyes and hands are occupied, but my ears don't want to be idle," said the Beijing healthcare worker, who follows 20 or more podcasts on different platforms.

She said she chooses podcasts by the topic first.

"For crime podcasts, for example, I am often impressed by those real cases, because they are far removed from my life, arousing my curiosity about other people's worlds," she said.

Er Yu, an internet industry worker in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, started listening to podcasts in 2020 after one of his friends recommended a podcast on WeChat.

He listened to the podcast during commutes, runs, hikes, city walks, drives, cooking, and before falling asleep.

"Almost all the scenarios in which I listened to podcasts were ones where video information didn't fit, but audio worked perfectly," he said.

Feng Yi, a 32-year-old PhD student at the Macau University of Science and Technology, said his fascination with podcasts began in 2016, when someone sent a program to him while he was traveling. He now listens to podcasts to help him fall asleep and considers them part of his daily routine.

"In the morning, if an idea from the night's listening is still clear in my mind, I will write it down," he said.

"What survives the brain's overnight filtering is what is truly valuable," he added.

What unites many podcast listeners is the progression of a story or idea developed and explained from start to finish.

Quan Yangao, 39, a civil servant in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, describes listening to a podcast as like reading a book without knowing its name.

His preference is for long-form content, especially historical programs, "because I don't want to lose the ability to construct long chains of logic," he said.

"I will do everything I can, and spend the time I need, to indulge that need in myself," he added, "to finish a whole book, or to hear a full story."

For him, the quality of a long podcast matters enormously. "A lengthy podcast does not equate to wasted time; it demands fast-paced delivery and detailed information from the hosts," he explained.

Zong Zheng, who works in publishing in Shanghai, values the slow-paced style of some podcast conversations.

"The slowness or idle chatting gives me more time to think about the value of the content," said the 41-year-old. "It lets me process information while experiencing the emotional force of the speakers."

Feng, from Macau University of Science and Technology, said what attracts him is not the conclusion of a podcast, but the thought process behind it. "It helps me learn how someone else thinks, find those who have similar ideas to mine, and understand the logic behind the podcasts," he added.

Li, the healthcare employee, agreed.

She said that when she immerses herself in conversational podcasts, she can listen to background stories and experiences that she finds fascinating.

"Although I'm not part of their lives, I feel as if I am talking with them, as if I am building some kind of relationship with the hosts," she added.

Information sorting

Huang, the professor, said that is a major reason why podcasts are attracting more listeners. In an article recently published in Guangming Daily, she said that in an age of information overload, the ability to organize information effectively has become a scarce resource.

Through deep conversations and detailed analysis, podcasts place isolated events into the context of history, social systems, and individual experience. They have the ability to turn fleeting headlines into ongoing public issues, according to Huang.

"By unfolding a narrative, podcasts keep drawing out new experiences and reflections, prompting listeners to think again," she said.

In addition, Chinese podcast listeners are mostly young, highly educated people in first — and new first-tier cities, though the number of smaller-city listeners is also growing. As urban life makes relationships harder to sustain, young people favor lighter social ties formed through a shared appreciation of podcasts.

"Podcasts create these ties not just between hosts and listeners, but through comment sections, listener groups, live recordings, and podcast festivals, where dispersed listeners meet," she explained.

"Shared interest in a show, a host, or a topic links them into loose, low-commitment 'weak ties'."

"Crucially, listeners find they share the same confusion about careers, city life, and relationships, and the same uncertainty about the future," she said. "This turns private anxiety into a shared condition, easing isolation and deepening their sense of belonging."

Keep it real

Even as artificial intelligence technologies rapidly reshape the audio industry and short videos dominate the mainstream, many listeners said that they remain optimistic about the future of human-made podcasts.

"Podcasts will absolutely not be killed by AI or short videos. The more AI floods in, the more valuable high-quality podcasts become," Feng said.

"The technology can help summarize a business report in an instant, but it cannot simulate the sparks from human improvisation, sincere confusion, and the human touch of making choices under real pressure," he added.

Huang said that AI in recent years has greatly simplified podcast production, while video podcasting and platform-based operations are helping podcasts reach beyond their original audiences.

Yet, as the industry expands, it also faces content homogenization, platform resources tilting toward top-tier shows, and traffic priorities eroding content value, she said. The industry should therefore look beyond scale and commercial value, and pay more attention to building a sustainable content ecosystem, she said.

"AI is a tool, not a voice," Li said. "Even if the content generated by AI is useful, I feel that investing time and emotion in listening to that kind of program is a waste."

She said she still prefers real conversations between real people, and hopes podcasts stay as they are or even return to the way radio was when she was a child.

"The host and the listener were both very sincere, and the content was solid," she said. "That is what is rarer now, and what I long for more."