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，大量的圖片、視頻、音樂和新聞都撲面而來，令我們應(yīng)接不暇。在這個(gè)視覺和聽覺高度刺激的時(shí)代，廣播也正以驚人之勢(shì)重新歸來。

“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.

“我們正處于廣播黃金時(shí)代的開端，”美國(guó)播主亞歷克斯·布隆伯格在《悉尼先驅(qū)晨報(bào)》上發(fā)表的一篇文章中如是寫道。僅僅一個(gè)月，就有15%的美國(guó)成年人在收聽播客。愛迪生研究所發(fā)布的這些數(shù)據(jù)表明，傳統(tǒng)廣播已向如今的數(shù)字播客形式成功轉(zhuǎn)型。“播客”一詞早在2004年就已出現(xiàn)，但直到近些年它才受到主流群體的青睞。由于對(duì)智能手機(jī)和平板電腦的消費(fèi)需求激增，播客的訂閱率也只會(huì)快速增長(zhǎng)。

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.

能在多平臺(tái)按需播放是播客的一大吸引力。當(dāng)你在去商店的路上、在排隊(duì)或是在坐地鐵這些你一天中的這些時(shí)間里，你都可以收聽?zhēng)追昼姷牟タ?。和電視?jié)目一樣，播客大都可以免費(fèi)下載，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歲的唐娜·杰克遜是悉尼大學(xué)媒體專業(yè)的畢業(yè)生，她每周使用iTunes收聽播客兩到三次。她說：“我在家里晃蕩做點(diǎn)兒別的什么時(shí)就會(huì)聽（播客）。它讓我完成一個(gè)枯燥的任務(wù)時(shí)更為享受……它還可以讓我輕松了解國(guó)際時(shí)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.

與電視和音樂不同，播客有能給聽眾留下深刻印象的潛力。布隆伯格說這是由于播客能“制造出一種親密感、建立起（與聽眾的）精神紐帶”。在悉尼大學(xué)主修社會(huì)工作及藝術(shù)專業(yè)的本科生黑茲爾·普魯斯特也贊同布隆伯格的說法。普魯斯特說：“ 當(dāng)你聽播客時(shí)，你會(huì)感覺播主好像是在直接與你交流。 這讓人感覺很舒心。”

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

看來，這種口頭講故事的老傳統(tǒng)仍然充滿活力，經(jīng)久不衰。