Do you remember life before podcasts? Yes, obviously, is likely to be the short answer. Podcasting is still a relatively youthful medium, after all. In fact, it is exactly 20 years this month since the format’s invention: Open Source – a politics and culture discussion show hosted by the journalist Christopher Lydon – debuted in the summer of 2003, and is widely considered the first ever podcast. (Not that it was actually called podcasting at that point; the term was coined the following year by Ben Hammersley in an article for the Guardian.)
Welcome to a special holiday edition of our Weekly Playlist. Pour yourself a glass of wine and take a seat by the fire and enjoy our carefully selected mix of melancholic winter-themed and Christmas tracks and reflect on the year gone by. Happy holidays! --P.F.M.