How to Cite a Podcast in MLA, APA, and Chicago Style

Key Pointers

• All three major style guides have official podcast citation formats. The episode title goes in quotation marks or plain text, and the podcast series title is italicised.
• APA treats the host as the author and requires a bracketed descriptor: [Audio podcast episode].
• MLA puts the host or narrator in the author slot and treats the podcast series as the container.
• Chicago, now in its 18th edition, uses notes and bibliography entries, and asks for a timestamp when you reference a specific moment.
• If you accessed the episode through an app rather than a web page, APA says to omit the URL rather than invent one.

The Short Version

Citing a podcast is easier than it looks once you know who counts as the author. In all three styles, that is usually the host. APA wants the host, date, episode title, a bracketed [Audio podcast episode] descriptor, the series name in italics, and the production company. MLA puts the host in the author slot with the episode title in quotation marks and the series as the container. Chicago uses a note plus a bibliography entry, with a timestamp if you are pointing to a specific moment. Full examples for each are below.

Why podcast citations confuse people

Most citation guides were built around books and journal articles, where the author is obvious and publication details sit on one page.

Podcasts break that in three ways. More than one person is usually involved, so authorship is unclear. The episode sits inside a series, meaning two titles rather than one. And there may be no page numbers, no stable date, and sometimes no public URL.

Each style guide has resolved these. The host is the author in all three. The series is the container. Timestamps replace page numbers.

How to cite a podcast in APA style

APA treats the host as the author and adds a role descriptor in parentheses.

Reference list format:

Host, A. A. (Host). (Year, Month Day). Title of episode (No. 42) [Audio podcast episode]. In *Title of podcast*. Production Company. https://example.com

Worked example:

Glass, I. (Host). (2023, March 17). The one where we fix it (No. 791) [Audio podcast episode]. In *This American Life*. WBEZ Chicago.

In-text citation:

(Glass, 2023)

Three details worth getting right. The episode title stays plain while the series title is italicised. The bracketed descriptor [Audio podcast episode] is required. And per the APA Style guidance on podcast references, if you listened through an app with no public URL, omit the URL rather than linking to the app store.

Citing an entire series instead: Host, A. A. (Host). (2016–present). *Title of podcast* [Audio podcast]. Production Company.

For the wider rules, our complete guide to APA citations covers the rest.

How to cite a podcast in MLA style

MLA 9th edition puts the host or narrator in the author slot and treats the podcast as the container holding the episode.

Works Cited format:

Host Last, First, host. “Title of Episode.” *Title of Podcast*, season #, episode #, Production Company, Day Month Year, URL.

Worked example:

Gladwell, Malcolm, narrator. “The Lady Vanishes.” *Revisionist History*, season 1, episode 1, Slate Group, 2016, revisionisthistory.com/seasons?selected=season-1.

In-text citation:

(Gladwell)

Note the role label after the name. MLA asks you to specify host, narrator, or another role, which is why the example reads “narrator.”

One case trips people up: if the podcast sits inside a larger site or programme, MLA uses a second container. Per the MLA Style Center guidance on citing a podcast episode, an NPR segment lists the programme first and NPR second:

Chang, Ailsa, host. “Why Scientists Can’t Explain All the Appeal of an Eclipse.” *Morning Edition*, NPR, 11 Aug. 2017. *NPR*, http://www.npr.org/2017/08/11/542753070/.

How to cite a podcast in Chicago style

Chicago released its 18th edition in 2024, so check which edition your department expects before you format anything. Many online guides still show 17th edition examples.

Chicago uses notes-bibliography for most humanities work, which means two formats.

Full note:

1. Malcolm Gladwell, host, *Revisionist History*, podcast, season 1, episode 1, “The Lady Vanishes,” Slate Group, June 16, 2016, 14:32, https://revisionisthistory.com.

Shortened note:

2. Gladwell, “The Lady Vanishes,” 14:32.

Bibliography entry:

Gladwell, Malcolm, host. *Revisionist History*. Podcast. Slate Group, 2016. https://revisionisthistory.com.

The timestamp is the Chicago-specific detail. When you quote or reference a specific moment, include the time position where it occurs. It functions the way a page number does in print. The Chicago Manual of Style covers multimedia sources in chapter 14.

Quick comparison of all three styles

The differences are small but graders notice them.

• Who is the author: The host in all three styles. APA adds “(Host)” in parentheses, MLA adds a role label after the name, Chicago adds “host” after the name.
• Episode title: Plain text in APA, quotation marks in MLA and Chicago.
• Podcast series title: Italicised in all three.
• Required descriptor: APA needs [Audio podcast episode]. MLA and Chicago do not.
• Timestamps: Chicago asks for them when referencing a specific moment. APA and MLA use them in in-text citations when quoting directly.

What to do when information is missing

Podcasts frequently lack a piece the citation wants.

No episode number. Leave it out. All three styles accept the citation without one.

No publication date. Use the site’s copyright date in MLA, or (n.d.) in APA.

No URL because you used an app. APA says omit it. Do not substitute Spotify’s homepage or an app store listing.

Guest host instead of the regular host. List whoever actually hosted that episode. MLA has specific guidance for noting the regular host separately.

Try this: Skip the formatting and generate it instantly with Quetext’s Citation Generator. It supports APA, MLA, Chicago, and other styles, and handles audio and modern source types rather than only books and journals. Quetext bundles it with plagiarism and AI checking on the same free account.

Quoting a podcast accurately

One thing a citation generator cannot do: confirm you represented the source correctly.

Podcasts are spoken, so quoting from memory is riskier than quoting from a page. If you are quoting directly, listen to the passage again before committing it. Auto-generated transcripts contain errors often enough to be worth checking against the audio.

Closely paraphrasing a podcast argument still needs attribution. Our guides cover the same principle for blogs and interviews.

Wrap-up

Podcast citations follow the same logic as any source once you accept that the host is the author and the series is the container. APA adds the bracketed descriptor, MLA adds the role label, Chicago adds the timestamp.

Get those three details right and you have a correct citation in any style.

Generate your podcast citation free with Quetext, or compare options in our roundup of the best citation generators.

FAQs

How do you cite a podcast in APA?

List the host as the author with “(Host)” in parentheses, then the date, the episode title in plain text, the episode number in parentheses, the descriptor [Audio podcast episode], the italicised series title preceded by “In,” and the production company. End with the URL unless you accessed it through an app with no public link, in which case APA says to omit the URL entirely.

• Host is the author, labelled “(Host)”
• Episode title plain, series title italicised
• Include [Audio podcast episode] and omit app-only URLs

How do you cite a podcast in MLA?

Put the name of the host/narrator in the author slot, along with its title. Then, include the title of the episode in quotation marks before mentioning the name of the podcast in italics. Include the production house, season and episode numbers if available, date and URL of the episode. If a podcast falls under larger website like NPR, be sure to include the larger website as a second container.

• Host’s name should be included in author slot along with the role label.
• The name of the episode needs to be quoted correctly while the podcast name should be italicized.
• In case the podcast is part of some large website, another container needs to be included.

How do you cite a podcast in Chicago style?

In Chicago’s 18th edition style, there is a full note, a shortened note, and a bibliography entry. The full note contains information such as the host, podcast title (italics), the word “podcast,” the season and episode numbers, the title of the episode in quotation marks, the publisher’s name, release date, a timestamp, and the URL. The short note only contains the last name of the host, title of the episode, and timestamp.

• Full note and short note have similarities and differences in them
• Whenever the separate moment is referred to, a timestamp is used
• Make sure to find out whether your department follows the 18th or the 17th edition

Do I need a timestamp when citing a podcast?

In Chicago, yes, whenever you reference or quote a specific moment. The timestamp serves the same purpose a page number does in print. APA and MLA do not require one in the reference entry, though both accept a timestamp in the in-text citation when you are quoting directly, which is good practice because it lets a reader find the passage.

• Chicago requires a timestamp for specific moments
• APA and MLA accept them in in-text citations for direct quotes
• Timestamps function as the audio equivalent of page numbers

What if the podcast has no URL or episode number?

Omit what is not valid. In instances when no episode number is available, do not include it in the reference list. If the episode was listened to on an app and there is no public URL for the episode, then according to APA guidelines, there is no need to provide a URL but instead, just state where the episode was accessed. If there is no publication date, MLA prefers states the copyright date while APA uses ‘n.d.’.

• If there is no episode number, the reference list should leave it out.
• APA says that there is no need to provide a URL when the app is being used.
• MLA states that whenever there is no publishing date, the copyright date can be used while APA uses ‘n.d.’ instead.