A subway ride, a treadmill, a late-night walk home: all these are places where podcasts have quietly taken root. For many young urban people, listening has become part of the daily rhythm.

An episode on the morning commute, another at the gym, one more before bed — this is not a niche habit, but simply how people live now.

The rise of podcasts can be traced back to around 2020. The pandemic changed how people moved through daily life. Commutes shrank, travel stopped, and working from home became routine for many.

Time once used for socializing, commuting, or light entertainment needed a new home. Podcasts stepped into that space with unusual ease. They were easy to access, easy to fit into daily routines, and rich enough to offer both information and company.

The growth has been fast. China is now one of the world's fastest-growing podcast markets. By 2025, the number of Chinese-language podcast listeners was expected to cross 150 million, while the total market revenue may have exceeded 5 billion yuan ($733.5 million). In the competition for attention, podcasts have claimed something rare: uninterrupted time.

That is one reason podcasts feel different from so much of today's content. Short-form video is built for speed and surprise. Podcasts ask for something else. A conversation can stretch across 40 minutes, an hour, or sometimes even longer. There is no rush to the punchline, no need for visual fireworks. The human voice carries the experience. It can sound casual, intimate, thoughtful, even reassuring. That is a big part of the medium's power.

Podcasts also fit naturally into moments when the eyes are busy but the mind is free. Walking, running, cooking, driving, folding laundry — these are all times when audio makes sense. A podcast can turn spare minutes into something fuller and make a daily routine feel less empty.

Still, the appeal of podcasts goes beyond convenience. They also answer a quieter emotional need.

A listener who cannot sleep at night may listen to a familiar host talking about a book, a film or simply the events of the day. The effect can be surprisingly comforting. Research suggests that listening to the human voice can prompt the release of oxytocin, often called the "trust hormone", which is linked to reduced stress and a greater sense of closeness. Podcasts make use of that effect in an understated way. Over time, the relationship between host and listener can become almost personal.

The boom has been helped by the range of people making podcasts. In August 2025, public figures such as Luo Yonghao and Chen Luyu entered the field with video podcasts. At the same time, independent creators have continued to bring their own voices, expertise and obsessions into the mix.

The result is a broad soundscape that now includes culture, science, dialects, folklore, philosophy, and new occupations. On Xiaoyuzhou, a major platform, 2025 saw more than 64,000 new podcast shows and nearly 700,000 new episodes.

That is where podcasts start functioning as an alternative publishing world. In the traditional book market, many subjects never find a strong commercial home. They may matter deeply to a small audience, but they are too specialized to justify a print run. Podcasts remove that barrier. With a smartphone, a microphone, and a quiet room, a creator can speak to thousands of people who care about the same narrow subject.

That helps explain why podcasts are becoming culturally important in ways that are easy to overlook. In Lyuliang, Shanxi province, a group of Jin dialect enthusiasts launched a podcast to explore and preserve their local dialect. In Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, several podcasts have moved offline, turning digital conversations into live cultural gatherings.

These examples are small, but they point to something larger. Podcasts can strengthen connections between people and places and turn shared interests into real communities.

Of course, the industry still has real problems. Content quality varies widely, business models are uneven and regulation is still catching up. But new cultural forms often look less important than they later prove to be.

Online literature once seemed like a side current; it later fed a much larger IP economy. Podcasts may follow a similar path. As more high-quality original content moves toward sustainable paid models, the medium could become a stable part of the digital cultural landscape.

The appeal of podcasts lies in depth, sincerity, and voice. They are rooted in ordinary life, shaped by ordinary people, and carried by ordinary moments. That is precisely why they matter.

In a world crowded with noise, they offer a different kind of attention. In a world driven by speed, they make room for thought. And in the space between one voice and another, they are helping shape a new kind of mass culture.

The author is an associate researcher at the Institute of Finance and Banking of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and a senior research fellow at the National Institution for Finance and Development.

The views don't necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

If you have a specific expertise, or would like to share your thought about our stories, then send us your writings at opinion@chinadaily.com.cn, and comment@chinadaily.com.cn.