A podcast is a type of digital media consisting of an episodic series of audio files subscribed to and downloaded through web syndication or streamed online to a computer or mobile device. The word is a neologism derived from "broadcast" and "pod" from the success of the iPod, as podcasts are often listened to on portable media players.

A list of all the audio or video files currently associated with a given series is maintained centrally on the distributor's server as a web feed, and the listener or viewer employs special client application software, known as a podcatcher, that can access this web feed, check it for updates, and download any new files in the series. This process can be automated so that new files are downloaded automatically. Files are stored locally on the user's computer or other device ready for offline use, giving simple and convenient access to episodic content. In this way it is contrasted to webcasting (Internet streaming).

As discussed by Richard Berry, podcasting is both a converged medium bringing together audio, the web and portable media player, and a disruptive technology that has caused some in the radio business to reconsider some established practices and preconceptions about audiences, consumption, production and distribution. This idea of disruptiveness is largely because no one person owns the technology; it is free to listen and create content, which departs from the traditional model of 'gate-kept' media and production tools. It is very much a horizontal media form: producers are consumers and consumers become producers and engage in conversations with each other.

Marc Maron ( /ˈmærən/ MAR-ən; born September 27, 1963) is an American stand-up comedian and radio and podcast host.

He has been host of The Marc Maron Show, and co-host of both Morning Sedition, and Breakroom Live, all politically oriented shows, produced by Air America Media. He was also the host of Comedy Central's Short Attention Span Theater for a year, replacing Jon Stewart. Maron has been a frequent guest on the Late Show with David Letterman and made over 44 appearances on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, more than any other stand-up performer. He was also a regular guest on Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn and hosted the short-lived American version of the British game show Never Mind the Buzzcocks on VH1.

In September 2009, Maron began hosting a twice-weekly podcast titled WTF with Marc Maron, in which he interviews comedians and celebrities.

Maron was born into a Jewish family in Jersey City, New Jersey, but lived in Wayne, New Jersey and Pompton Lakes, New Jersey until he was six. Maron's father then joined the US Air Force for two years, and Maron and his family lived in Alaska. When his father left the Air Force, he moved his family to Albuquerque, New Mexico and started a medical practice.

Todd Steven Glass (born 1964) is an American stand-up comedian originally from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Glass was born and raised in the suburbs of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1980, he first began performing stand-up comedy in Philadelphia at 16 years old while he was still attending Conestoga High School, from which he graduated in 1982. He made his earliest television appearances in the late 80s on A&E's An Evening at the Improv and in the early 1990s on several Comedy Central stand-up programs.^{[citation needed]}

Glass is perhaps best known for his appearances as a contestant on the second and third seasons of NBC's Last Comic Standing and has appeared regularly on programs such as Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn, The Dennis Miller Show, Politically Incorrect, Louie, Tosh.0, Mr. Show with Bob and David, and had his own Comedy Central Presents special in 2001. He co-hosted the podcast Comedy And Everything Else with fellow comics Jimmy Dore and Stefané Zamorano, but left the podcast in September 2009. His departure was officially announced on the November 28, 2009 episode. However, he has returned as a guest on several episodes since leaving, such as the 100th episode in July 2010.