How to Cite a Podcast in IEEE Format

This guide explains how to cite a podcast in IEEE format and covers related citation rules for books, journals, websites, and a few other common source types. IEEE is a numeric citation style widely used in engineering, computer science, and technical fields. If you need a fast citation, use Rephrasely’s free citation generator: Rephrasely Citation Generator.

Who uses IEEE and when to use it

IEEE style is standard for manuscripts in electronics, electrical engineering, telecommunications, and computer science. Use it for research papers, lab reports, theses, and technical documentation where precise numeric referencing is preferred.

General Rules

Use numbered citations in-text like [1], [2], etc., in order of appearance.
List references in the reference section by citation number — not alphabetically.
Authors' initials precede surnames: e.g., J. K. Author.
Place titles in quotation marks for articles, episodes, and book chapters; italicize book and journal names in your formatting if required by your publisher.
Include the medium and access information for online-only sources (for example, [Online] or [Audio podcast]), plus a URL or DOI when available.

How to Cite a Podcast (step-by-step)

IEEE doesn't prescribe a single canonical format for podcasts, so apply the general IEEE approach: identify the creator(s), episode title, podcast name, episode number or date, medium, and URL. Below are pragmatic, commonly accepted formats and examples.

1. Single episode from an online podcast

Format (audio episode with a known host):

[#] Initial. Surname, "Episode title," Podcast Name, episode no., Month Day, Year. [Audio podcast]. Available: URL

Example:

[1] S. R. Johnson, "AI in every industry," Tech Tomorrow, ep. 42, Mar. 3, 2022. [Audio podcast]. Available: https://example.com/ai-every-industry

2. Episode with multiple hosts or guests

If multiple hosts are credited, list up to three authors; for more, use the first followed by et al.

[#] A. B. Chen, C. D. Nguyen and E. F. Patel, "Title of episode," Name of Podcast, Month Day, Year. [Audio podcast]. Available: URL

3. Entire podcast series (general citation)

When referring to a whole series rather than a single episode, cite the series creator or host and the series title.

[#] M. L. Torres, Host, Title of Podcast. Publisher (if any), Year–present. [Podcast series]. Available: URL

4. Episode with no host listed

Use the production or publishing organization as the author.

[#] BBC, "Episode title," The Science Hour, Jun. 15, 2021. [Audio podcast]. Available: https://example.com/science-hour

How to Cite by Other Source Type (books, journals, websites, and more)

Below are concise step-by-step formats you can adapt. Use these to create consistent IEEE references across source types.

Books

Format:

[#] Initial. Surname, Title of Book, xth ed. City of Publisher, (State), Country: Publisher, Year.

Example:

[2] D. K. Lee, Modern Embedded Systems, 2nd ed. New York, NY, USA: TechPress, 2018.

Journal articles

Format:

[#] Initial. Surname, "Article title," Journal Title, vol. x, no. y, pp. z–zz, Month Year.

Example:

[3] R. P. Singh, "Low-power design techniques," IEEE Trans. Circuits Syst., vol. 64, no. 4, pp. 512–520, Apr. 2020.

Websites

Format (webpage):

[#] Initial. Surname (or Organization), "Webpage title," Website Name, Month Day, Year. [Online]. Available: URL

Example:

[4] World Health Organization, "Nutrition advice for adults," WHO, May 12, 2021. [Online]. Available: https://www.who.int/nutrition

Conference papers

Format:

[#] Initial. Surname, "Paper title," in Proc. Conf. Name, City, Country, Month Year, pp. xx–yy.

Example:

[5] L. M. Torres, "Real-time scheduling on heterogeneous cores," in Proc. IEEE Real-Time Syst. Symp., San Diego, CA, USA, Dec. 2019, pp. 101–110.

Theses and dissertations

Format:

[#] Initial. Surname, "Title of thesis," M.S. thesis (or Ph.D. dissertation), Dept., Univ., City, Country, Year.

Example:

[6] H. Y. Kim, "Optimization of sensor networks," Ph.D. dissertation, Dept. Elect. Eng., Seoul Natl. Univ., Seoul, South Korea, 2017.

In-Text Citations

IEEE uses bracketed numbers for in-text citations. Place the citation number inside square brackets and insert it before the punctuation if it refers to the entire sentence.

Single reference: use [1]. Example: "Recent work shows improvements in latency [3]."
Multiple references: list separated by commas or use a range. Example: [2], [4] or [1]–[3].
Order: cite sources in the order they first appear in the text; do not reorder by author name.

Examples with podcast:

As discussed in [1], AI applications are moving into new industries.

Reference List — Formatting Rules and Example

Place the reference list at the end of your document under the heading "References" or as required by your publisher. Use the citation numbers used in-text and list entries in numeric order.

Key formatting rules:

Start each reference entry with its citation number in square brackets: [1].
Use initials for given names and full surnames for authors.
Include medium and availability information for online sources.
Maintain consistent punctuation and style across entries.

Sample reference list including a podcast entry:

[1] S. R. Johnson, "AI in every industry," Tech Tomorrow, ep. 42, Mar. 3, 2022. [Audio podcast]. Available: https://example.com/ai-every-industry
[2] D. K. Lee, Modern Embedded Systems, 2nd ed. New York, NY, USA: TechPress, 2018.
[3] R. P. Singh, "Low-power design techniques," IEEE Trans. Circuits Syst., vol. 64, no. 4, pp. 512–520, Apr. 2020.
[4] World Health Organization, "Nutrition advice for adults," WHO, May 12, 2021. [Online]. Available: https://www.who.int/nutrition

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Wrong ordering: Do not alphabetize references — list them in the order cited in your text.
Missing medium or URL: For podcast episodes and online-only sources, always include the medium (e.g., [Audio podcast]) and the URL or DOI if available.
Incorrect author format: Use initials before surnames (e.g., J. A. Smith), not full first names.
Mixing citation styles: Keep IEEE numeric style consistent; avoid APA/MLA in-text formats like (Author, Year).

Practical Tips and Quick Workflow

1) When you finish writing, generate citations automatically with Rephrasely’s free citation generator: https://rephrasely.com/citation. It formats references in IEEE style quickly.

2) Use Rephrasely’s AI writer (Composer) to draft summaries of podcast content and then cite the episode properly.

3) Run your manuscript through the plagiarism checker before submission, and verify AI-origin content with the AI detector if your publisher requires disclosure.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I cite a podcast episode with no available date?

If no date is available, use "n.d." in place of the year and include the URL. Example: [#] Host, "Episode title," Podcast Name, n.d. [Audio podcast]. Available: URL. Try to confirm date from the platform hosting the episode when possible.

Do I need to include the episode number for a podcast citation?

Include the episode number if it’s provided; it helps readers find the exact episode. If the episode number is not given, include the publication date and URL instead.

Can I use a DOI for podcast citations?

Podcasts rarely have DOIs. If a DOI exists (very uncommon), include it as you would for other digital content. Otherwise, supply a stable URL and note the medium (e.g., [Audio podcast]).

How to Cite a Podcast in IEEE Format