Is it a podcast? But why?
Hi. My name is Yeldar, and for the past 10 years, I’ve been exploring podcasting — as a trend, as a business, and as something that has changed my life.
This site — definition.wtf — grew out of a desire to understand and explain what a podcast is, and what podcasting is. To understand — for myself. To explain — for anyone who one day asks the same question. What I do here is simple: I think out loud and write it down. Because for me, words — text — are the foundation of understanding.
At the beginning, I just wanted to know what exactly I was doing. What does it mean when I say I’m a “podcaster”? I didn’t want to just repeat trendy words — I wanted to understand. And it didn’t happen right away. Like many others, I tried to understand podcasting through other people’s definitions: articles, conferences, videos, opinions. But they left me uneasy. Something didn’t fit, something was confusing, something just felt off. I kept feeling that the definitions weren’t getting to the core.
I met people who said, “Oh, a podcast is just a conversation on YouTube,” or others who insisted it’s simply an RSS feed — and that’s it. All of that is part of the journey.
And so, after years of practice, conversations, research, debates — and especially the need to be heard (for some reason, that really mattered to me at the time) — I came to my own clear and simple definitions. They’re built on logic, evidence, history, and hands-on experience. These definitions answer today’s key questions about podcasts and podcasting. They don’t try to make someone right or wrong — they just clarify what’s what, without the noise.
Most importantly, they finally gave me peace of mind. Now I know exactly what I do. And when I explain what a podcast is, I don’t hesitate, second-guess, or doubt. It’s clear. It’s simple. I’ve seen it many times — after I explain it, people feel free, light, clear.
I’ve worked with large commercial companies and industry experts, as well as students and school kids — and it’s always the same effect. These people go on to create unique, untemplated podcasts. It’s amazing: I explain it the same way to everyone, and the outcomes are always different.
I still don’t know exactly why I’m so passionate about podcasts and podcasting. It just happened. I have friends who obsessively photograph airplanes — I’ll probably never understand them. But I respect their passion and their attempts to explain it to me. Or like a chef who knows the subtle difference between one type of salt and another, and why this dish needs one and not the other. Thankfully, we don’t have to understand all that to enjoy a great meal. And you don’t have to dive as deep into podcasting as I have — you can simply enjoy the result.
This site has two directions:
- Definition pages — logically structured, reasoned, clear, and alive. No dogma. These are the heart of the project.
- Posts — like this one. Thoughts, observations, discoveries, doubts, setbacks, and breakthroughs. I share my thinking here, but I don’t give definitions — only the path to them.
I’m building this as an open project. If you see a way to say something more clearly — open an issue or pull request on GitHub. If you have your own take — write to me. I don’t claim to have the final answer. I’m just walking toward it — and I’m inviting you to walk alongside me.
Thanks for reading.
— Yeldar Kudaibergenov