By Rick Broida
(June 22, 2005)

Forget blogging: the hot topic right now is podcasting. If you've ever fantasized about hosting your own talk show, this is your chance.

Podcasts are recordings distributed across the Internet as downloadable MP3 files. Looking for a way to download recorded interviews to his iPod, former MTV VJ Adam Curry created a little application he called iPodder. But you don't have to have Apple's popular player to create or listen to podcasts.

All you need to start your own is a microphone, some software, and the gift of gab. In fact, most podcasts are home-brewed, even though large organizations from National Public Radio to General Motors are offering them.