Students at AACC said in October they listen to a variety of podcasts, mostly comedy.

In an informal poll of 50 students on campus, 30 said they listen to about two hours of podcasts each week.

“I listen to ‘Crash Dummies,’” Michael Gandy, a second-year student, said. “It’s my type of humor that, you know, makes me laugh when I’m having a bad day.”

Podcasts have been steadily growing in popularity, according to polls by Edison Research. In 2023, 42% of Americans older than 12 said they listened to a podcast within the last month, compared with 30% in 2013.

Alexa Kennedy, a first-year transfer studies student, said she starts every day with a 45-minute podcast. “I listen to self-help ones,” Kennedy said. “The Emma Chamberlain one about mental health, a lot. She’s really inspiring.”

“I listened to Theo Von’s [comedy podcast] when he first started it,” Stefan Wickar, a second-year transfer studies student, said. “And then there’s this guy Camp Underground. … He just talks about conspiracy theories and stuff like that. It’s so interesting.”

Edison Research found the most popular podcast themes are comedy, society and culture, news, true crime and sports.