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How to Cite a Podcast in MLA

MLA 9 treats a podcast episode as a short work inside a series: put the host or narrator first, the episode title in quotation marks, the show title in italics, then only the season, episode, publisher, date, and URL the copy in front of you actually prints. This page follows the MLA Handbook, 9th edition (2021), especially the core-elements template in §5.2, apps in §5.35, URLs in §§5.95–5.96, and time stamps in §6.28, plus the official Style Center posts How do I cite an episode of a podcast? and If a podcast episode is hosted by a guest host. It is the MLA podcast guide, not the APA podcast, MLA YouTube, or MLA interview tutorial.

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Photo: João Silas, Wikimedia Commons (CC0)
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How to Cite a Podcast in MLA: Quick Answer

Build the Works Cited entry from the nine core elements. Skip any slot the episode does not print. Do not invent a season number, a publisher, or a URL. Pair the entry with an in-text citation that uses the same first element, plus a timestamp when you quote a moment. If a guest sat in for the regular host, credit that guest host only.

MLA 9 templates

Works Cited, episode on the show site:

Last Name, First Name, host. "Title of Episode." Title of Podcast, season number, episode number, Publisher, Day Mon. Year, URL.

Works Cited, two hosts:

Last Name, First Name, and First Name Last Name, hosts. "Title of Episode." Title of Podcast, Publisher, Day Mon. Year, URL.

Works Cited, episode on a news site:

Last Name, First Name, host. "Title of Episode." Title of Podcast, Publisher, Day Mon. Year. Website, URL.

Works Cited, episode in an app:

Last Name, First Name, host. "Title of Episode." Title of Podcast, Apple Podcasts app, Day Mon. Year.

Works Cited, guest host (official pattern):

Guest Last Name, First Name, host. "Title of Episode." Title of Podcast, Podcasts app, Day Mon. Year.

Parenthetical citation:

(Last Name)

Parenthetical citation with a timestamp:

(Last Name 00:12:04-00:13:40)

Official MLA Style Center example (website)

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

In-text

(Gladwell)

That Gladwell line is the worked website example from the Style Center post published 27 October 2017. The post still carries an eighth-edition banner and tells you to confirm details in the ninth-edition handbook. The template itself did not change: author, title of source, title of container, number, publisher, date, location.

What This Guide Covers (and What It Does Not)

This is the MLA 9 workflow for an audio podcast episode, a guest-hosted installment, a series cited as a whole, and the transcript of an episode you actually read. The earlier version of this page sent readers to a Serial season-one URL that now redirects to Serial Productions, used a This American Life transcript path that 404s, and built S-Town and War of the Worlds lines from facts that were not opened. Those constructed strings stay gone. The worked set below is the official Style Center Gladwell–Chang–Bianculli trio plus live episode pages you can still open.

Official MLA Rule for a Podcast Episode

MLA does not have a one-off podcast format. It has a template of nine core elements that also covers books, journal articles, and television episodes. The episode is the source. The series is the container. A news site or an app can be a second container or a version.

MLA Style Center, "How do I cite an episode of a podcast?" (27 October 2017)

To cite a podcast episode that you streamed on the web, follow the MLA format template. List the narrator or host in the “Author” slot and the title of the podcast episode in the “Title of source” slot. Then list the name of the podcast as the title of the container, the season and episode number—if applicable—and the publisher. If a date is given for the episode, list it; otherwise, provide the copyright date of the website. Then provide the URL.

Two role labels appear in official examples. Use host when the credited person conducts the show. Use narrator when the credited person tells a reported story, as Gladwell does on Revisionist History. The contributor slot can name a guest or reporter when that person is the reason you cited the episode.

Website, News Site, or App: Pick the Copy You Used

The Style Center gives three patterns for the same kind of source. The difference is the screen you actually used, not a house style you prefer. An app is a version, not a publisher.

MLA Style Center, "How do I cite a work streamed through an app?" (8 December 2016)

If you access a work through an app, consider the app a version according to the MLA format template. The version may be a number, such as 1.3.1, as in the first example, from page 39 of the MLA Handbook. Or it may be a name, such as Netflix, as in the second example below; add the word app if clarification is needed:

Show website

  • Host or narrator in the Author slot
  • Episode title in quotation marks
  • Series title in italics as the container
  • Season and episode only if the site prints them
  • Publisher, date, then the permalink with https:// dropped

News site or app

  • Same author and episode title
  • Show title remains the first container
  • A larger site (NPR) can be a second container
  • An app name (iTunes app, Podcasts app) sits in Version
  • Omit season, episode, publisher, or URL if that screen does not show them

1. Episode streamed on the web

Gladwell is listed as narrator. The series is the container. Season and episode numbers sit before the publisher. The date is year-only because that is what the Style Center recorded from the site it consulted. The official season URL still resolves on Revisionist History.

Works Cited (official Style Center example)

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

In-text

(Gladwell)

2. Episode nested on a larger news site

When a podcast lives inside a larger website, MLA adds a second container. The Style Center's news example is Ailsa Chang on NPR's Morning Edition. The first container is the show. The second is NPR plus the episode URL. The post wraps the URL across a line; the live address has no space. The NPR page is still up.

Works Cited (official example, URL line-break removed)

Chang, Ailsa, host. “Why Scientists Can’t Explain All the Appeal of an Eclipse.” Morning Edition, NPR, 11 Aug. 2017. NPR, www.npr.org/2017/ 08/11/542753070/scientists-can-t-explain-all-the-appeal-of-an-eclipse.

Usable URL (space removed)

Chang, Ailsa, host. "Why Scientists Can’t Explain All the Appeal of an Eclipse." Morning Edition, NPR, 11 Aug. 2017. NPR, www.npr.org/2017/08/11/542753070/scientists-can-t-explain-all-the-appeal-of-an-eclipse.

In-text

(Chang)

3. Episode heard in an app

If you listened in iTunes, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, put the app in the Version slot and cite the facts that screen displays. The Style Center's 2017 app version of the same Gladwell episode uses iTunes app and drops season, episode, publisher, and URL because the app screen it used did not show them. It does give a full date. The 2019 guest-host example uses Podcasts app for the same Apple product after the iTunes rename.

Works Cited (official app example)

Gladwell, Malcolm, narrator. “The Lady Vanishes.” Revisionist History, iTunes app, 16 June 2016.

Printed with italics, that entry is: Gladwell, Malcolm, narrator. "The Lady Vanishes." Revisionist History, iTunes app, 16 June 2016. For Spotify or Apple Podcasts, swap in Spotify app or Apple Podcasts app and keep only the metadata that screen shows. Do not paste a fake episode ID to make the entry look complete.

Guest Host: Credit the Person Who Hosted That Episode

Students often keep Terry Gross in the author slot for every Fresh Air installment. The Style Center says the opposite when someone else hosted the episode you used. The regular host does not belong in the entry at all.

MLA Style Center, "If a podcast episode is hosted by a guest host" (25 October 2019)

You should not include the regular host’s name in the work-cited-list entry. Include the guest host’s name in the “Author” slot of the entry, since that is the host of the particular episode you are citing:
Bianculli, David, host. “Margo Price.” Fresh Air, Podcasts app, 31 Jan. 2019.

Printed with italics, that official app line is: Bianculli, David, host. "Margo Price." Fresh Air, Podcasts app, 31 Jan. 2019. The Style Center recorded the date the Podcasts app displayed. NPR's website dates the same installment 1 February 2019 and titles the segment "Margo Price Sings About The Heartache And Beauty Of Small-Town America." Cite the title and date on the version you used. Do not merge the app line with the website headline, and do not add Terry Gross as a second author.

Map the Nine Core Elements onto a Podcast

Write elements in handbook order. Periods follow Author and Title of Source. Commas separate the rest. Title of Source is the one element you never omit: if an episode has no title, write a short description instead (§5.28).

MLA 9 core elements for a podcast episode
Core elementWhat to recordTypical podcast fact
AuthorPerson you are crediting, plus a role labelGlass, Ira, host
Title of sourceEpisode title in quotation marks, title case"The Problem We All Live With - Part One."
Title of containerSeries title in italicsThis American Life
ContributorGuest, reporter, or other named role, if neededreported by Nikole Hannah-Jones
VersionApp name when you listened in an app (§5.35)iTunes app / Podcasts app / Spotify app
NumberSeason and episode, lowercase, as labeledepisode 562
PublisherNetwork or production company, not the app storeWBEZ Chicago
Publication dateRelease date in day-month-year form31 July 2015
LocationURL, usually without https://www.thisamericanlife.org/562/the-problem-we-all-live-with-part-one

The publisher is the organization that made the episode, not Apple or Spotify. When should I include the name of a broadcaster? (2 November 2017) puts the broadcaster in the Publisher slot when that organization produced the work.

MLA Style Center, broadcaster as publisher

Include the name of a broadcaster in the “Publisher” slot of a works-cited-list entry when it is the organization primarily responsible for producing the work:
Fresh Air. Narrated by Terry Gross, National Public Radio, 20 May 2008.

That Fresh Air line is a series-level radio example, not an episode. Use it when you discuss the show as a show. For one installment, keep the episode title and the host of that installment. MLA Style Center advice on URLs is to copy the address from the browser, then drop the protocol. URLs: Some Practical Advice states both the browser rule and the truncation rule. An access date is optional in MLA 9 (§5.111) and usually unnecessary when the episode has a stable release date.

MLA Style Center, "URLs: Some Practical Advice"

The MLA Handbook encourages writers to list the URL that they see in their browsers unless the source identifies a DOI or permalink associated with it.
The MLA Handbook advises writers to truncate a URL in one specific way (by omitting the protocol and //).

Worked Episode Examples

Each entry below uses a live official page opened for this rewrite. Use the official site when you can. Use an app citation only when that is how you heard it.

Numbered episode on the show's own site

This American Life episode 562 still sits at the show's own URL. The title on that page is "The Problem We All Live With - Part One." Ira Glass hosts. Nikole Hannah-Jones reports the story. WBEZ Chicago's archive path dates the radio airing 31 July 2015.

Works Cited

Glass, Ira, host. "The Problem We All Live With - Part One." This American Life, episode 562, WBEZ Chicago, 31 July 2015, www.thisamericanlife.org/562/the-problem-we-all-live-with-part-one.

In-text

(Glass)

Interview episode on a news site

Terry Gross's 13 July 2015 Fresh Air conversation with Ta-Nehisi Coates still sits on NPR as a titled segment, so it follows the same second-container pattern as the official Chang example. NPR's page now also shows a 28 June 2021 update line; cite the original episode date unless you used a later transcript revision as your source.

Works Cited

Gross, Terry, host. "Ta-Nehisi Coates On Police Brutality, The Confederate Flag And Forgiveness." Fresh Air, NPR, 13 July 2015. NPR, www.npr.org/2015/07/13/422554778/ta-nehisi-coates-on-police-brutality-the-confederate-flag-and-forgiveness.

In-text

(Gross)

Episode named after a guest

The guest is usually not the author unless you are citing that person's words as a standalone contribution and your instructor wants the guest in the author slot. WTF with Marc Maron episode 613 is titled "President Barack Obama." The show's own page still dates the episode 22 June 2015. Apple Podcasts and Spotify have displayed 21 June 2015. Cite the date on the version you used.

Works Cited (show website / Libsyn, 22 June 2015)

Maron, Marc, host. "President Barack Obama." WTF with Marc Maron, episode 613, 22 June 2015, www.wtfpod.com/podcast/episodes/episode_613_-_president_barack_obama.

In-text

(Maron)

Episode or Entire Series?

Cite the whole series only when you are discussing the show as a show, not a single argument from one episode. Drop the episode title. Keep the host if the series has a stable host. For an ongoing series, MLA leaves a space after the en dash in the year range. Do not paste one series line and hope it covers every clip you quote: hosts, episode numbers, and even the company that made the installment can change.

Cite the episode when you…

  • Quote or paraphrase one installment
  • Need a season or episode number
  • Point to a timestamp
  • Compare two episodes of the same show

Cite the series when you…

  • Discuss the show as a cultural object
  • Have no single episode in view
  • Need a year range, not a day
  • Are writing about the host or production, not one story

Series template (not an official sample) and official series example

Ongoing series (template):

Last Name, First Name, host. Title of Podcast. Publisher, Year– .

Official Style Center series-level radio example:

Fresh Air. Narrated by Terry Gross, National Public Radio, 20 May 2008.

Transcript or Audio: Cite the Version You Used

If you read a transcript, cite the transcript. If you listened, cite the audio. MLA puts a descriptive supplemental element at the end of a transcript entry. This American Life publishes the transcript for episode 562 at a separate URL from the episode player. The working path is /562/transcript, not /562/the-problem-we-all-live-with-part-one/transcript. That transcript page is still live.

Works Cited (transcript)

Glass, Ira, host. "The Problem We All Live With - Part One." This American Life, episode 562, WBEZ Chicago, 31 July 2015, www.thisamericanlife.org/562/transcript. Transcript.

A transcript can take page or paragraph locators if the file has them. Audio cannot. Do not cite a transcript URL for a line you only heard, and do not put a timestamp on a transcript you only read.

In-Text Citations and Timestamps

The in-text citation points to the Works Cited entry. Use the host's last name when the entry begins with a host. Use a shortened episode title in quotation marks when the entry begins with the title. The locator for audio is a timestamp, not a page. MLA Handbook 9th ed., §6.28 (p. 250), as reprinted by Douglas College Library, states the rule this way:

MLA Handbook, 9th ed., §6.28 / p. 250

For works in time-based media, such as audio and video recordings, cite the relevant time or time span. Give the numbers of the hours, minutes, and seconds as displayed in your media player, separating the numbers with colons.

MLA Style Center, "How do I cite an audiobook?"

In-text citations for audio sources should include the relevant time or range of times in hours, minutes, and seconds: (Atwood 01:47:12-29)

Copy the numbers your player shows. A range can shorten the second stamp when the hour does not change, which is why the official Atwood example ends -29 rather than repeating 01:47. Include the hour when the player shows one, even if the clip is short.

In-text patterns

Host in parentheses

Hannah-Jones describes the Normandy transfer as an accidental desegregation program (Glass).

Host in the sentence

Glass introduces Hannah-Jones's reporting on the Normandy School District.

Timestamp range (template)

(Last Name 00:12:04-00:13:40)

Title when there is no host in the entry

The episode treats school integration as the reform almost nobody will name ("The Problem We All Live With - Part One").

The same template covers other audio. Do not force a podcast label onto a song or an audiobook. For video of a podcast on YouTube, see how to cite YouTube videos in MLA.

Audiobook

How do I cite an audiobook? tells you to cite the book author and title, name the narrator when that fact matters, and give the audiobook publisher. If you downloaded the file, do not add the storefront as a website.

Official MLA Style Center wording and example

If you downloaded the audiobook to a device, don’t include the website from which you downloaded it.

Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaid’s Tale. Narrated by Claire Danes et al., Audible, 2017. Audiobook.

In-text with time

(Atwood 01:47:12-29)

Song or album track

The official song pattern is on How do I cite a song? and How to Cite a Song, Recording, or Performance. The performer comes first. The track title is in quotation marks. The album is the container unless you streamed the track on a site, in which case the platform can replace the album.

Official MLA Style Center examples

Song from an album

Snail Mail. "Thinning." Habit, Sister Polygon Records, 2016. Vinyl EP.

Song on a website

Snail Mail. "Thinning." Bandcamp, snailmailbaltimore.bandcamp.com.

When a Podcast Is a Source Worth Citing

A correct citation does not make a weak episode strong. Literature, media-studies, history, and journalism courses often accept reported audio from This American Life, Fresh Air, or Morning Edition because those shows name reporters, air dates, and methods. A long interview can be a primary record of what a public figure said. A comedy chat show is usually a weaker source for factual claims.

Ask who reported the story, whether the episode cites documents or only anecdotes, and whether a print version exists. Hannah-Jones's Normandy reporting also appeared in ProPublica as School Segregation, the Continuing Tragedy of Ferguson (19 December 2014). If you are using the audio for tone or for a quoted conversation, cite the episode. If you need the documented claim, prefer the article. For a full evaluation method, use how to evaluate sources and how to tell if a source is credible.

Common Mistakes

Errors that show up most often in student podcast citations
MistakeFix
Italicizing the episode titleQuotation marks for the episode; italics for the series
Treating Spotify or Apple as the publisherThe app is a version; the publisher is the network or production company
Keeping the regular host on a guest-hosted episodeCredit only the guest host of that installment (Bianculli, not Gross)
Merging an app date with a website headlineCite one version. The official Bianculli app line uses 31 Jan. 2019; NPR's site uses 1 Feb. 2019
Inventing a season numberOmit Number when the show does not use seasons or episode numbers
Using the date you listenedUse the episode's release date
Pasting https://MLA ordinarily drops the protocol
Citing a transcript you did not read, or audio you did not hearCite the version in front of you
Putting a guest in the author slot by defaultStart with the host unless you are documenting that guest's contribution
Writing (Maron 42:15) when the player shows 00:42:15Copy the player's own digits, including the hour if it is displayed
Citing the show homepage for a specific claimUse the episode URL
Forcing the podcast template onto a YouTube watch pageUse the YouTube container on cite YouTube in MLA

Format the Works Cited entry automatically

The MLA podcast citation generator builds the same core-element entry from the host, episode title, series, date, and URL. For the broader MLA template, start at the MLA style page or the how to cite a podcast in MLA example.

MLA podcast citation generatorOpen the MLA generator

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I include the episode's runtime in an MLA Works Cited entry?
No. MLA does not ask for total running time. Put time stamps only in the in-text citation when you quote or point to a passage (§6.28).
How do I cite a podcast I heard on both a website and an app?
Cite one version: the one you actually used for the words you quote. The official site is usually the more complete record. An app citation should include only the facts that app displayed, including that screen's date.
Should I cite the transcript or the audio?
Cite the format you used. Add Transcript. at the end of a transcript entry. Do not mix a transcript URL with an audio timestamp.
What if a guest hosted the episode instead of the regular host?
Put the guest host in the Author slot and leave the regular host out. The official Style Center example is Bianculli, David, host. "Margo Price." Fresh Air, Podcasts app, 31 Jan. 2019.
What if the podcast has no episode number?
Omit the Number element. MLA 9 skips missing facts instead of writing n.d. or "no number."
Is the host always the author?
Usually yes. The MLA Style Center puts the host or narrator in the Author slot. If a guest hosted that installment, the guest host is the author. If you are citing a guest's remarks and your instructor wants that person credited first, move the guest to Author and keep the host as a contributor.
Do I need https:// in the URL?
Not in standard MLA. Drop the protocol and the following slashes. Keep the rest of a readable URL, or shorten a very long one only after the host name.
How do I format a timestamp that is less than an hour?
Copy the player. If it shows 00:12:04, write 00:12:04. If it shows 12:04, 12:04 is acceptable. The handbook's rule is to give hours, minutes, and seconds as displayed, separated by colons.
Can I cite an entire podcast instead of one episode?
Yes, when the claim is about the series. Use the series title in italics and a year range, or follow the official Fresh Air series line that names the narrator and the broadcaster. For a specific statistic, quotation, or scene, cite the episode.
How is MLA podcast citation different from APA?
MLA uses the core-elements template, quotation marks around episode titles, and title case. APA 7 uses sentence case, puts the date after the host, and labels the source [Audio podcast episode]. See how to cite podcasts in APA when that is the assigned style.