MLA 9th edition
How to cite a podcast episode in MLA 9th edition
A podcast episode is a part of a series, so it needs the same host/producer distinction as a book chapter — plus an episode number that is easy to miss.
THE FORMAT
A podcast episode in MLA, at a glance
“Title of the Episode.” Title of the Podcast, hosted by First Last, episode #, Production Company, Day Month Year, url.example.fm/episode.
“Writing under a Deadline You Didn’t Choose.” The Draft Table, hosted by Jean Marlowe, episode 47, Fen Street Audio, 5 Feb. 2024, thedrafttable.fm/47.
(“Writing under a Deadline” 00:12:40)
In prose: The episode opens with three writers describing the same missed deadline (00:12:40).
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BEFORE YOU FORMAT
What MLA needs from a podcast episode
Elements to collect
- Host or producer, with their role in parentheses
- Date the episode was released
- Title of the individual episode
- Episode number, when the series uses them
- Title of the podcast series
- Production company or network
- URL
Rules specific to this entry
- The episode is the source and the series is the container: quotation marks for the episode title, italics for the podcast.
- The host belongs in the other-contributors slot as “hosted by”. Move the host to the front of the entry only when your discussion is about that host rather than about the episode.
- The episode number goes in the number slot — episode 47 — between the contributors and the production company. Leave it out when the series does not number its episodes.
- Shorten the episode title in the parenthetical and keep the quotation marks, since that is how the entry is formatted in the Works Cited.
Building the entry, step by step
Collect the details
Before you format anything, gather every element MLA needs for a podcast episode: Host or producer, with their role in parentheses; Date the episode was released; Title of the individual episode; Episode number, when the series uses them.
Build the works cited entry
Arrange those details in the MLA order: “Title of the Episode.” Title of the Podcast, hosted by First Last, episode #, Production Company, Day Month Year, url.example.fm/episode.
Add the in-text citation
In the body of your paper, cite it as (“Writing under a Deadline” 00:12:40) — or work the same reference into your sentence as The episode opens with three writers describing the same missed deadline (00:12:40)..
Check it against the exceptions
The episode is the source and the series is the container: quotation marks for the episode title, italics for the podcast.
MLA RULES
The conventions behind every MLA entry
MLA Handbook (9th ed.) is the authority. Where a journal or department publishes its own house rules, those win — check your submission guidelines before the works cited is final.
The rules that apply across every source — author order, capitalization, how the works cited is sorted, and where MLA entries most often go wrong — are collected on the MLA 9th edition guide.
The same podcast episode in another style
Switching styles late in a draft is normal. Here is the same source formatted five other ways.
Questions about MLA and podcast episodes
What if the podcast episode has no author?
Move the title into the author position and alphabetize by the first significant word of that title — ignoring an initial “A”, “An” or “The”. In the text, use a shortened form of the title where the author name would go.
What do I need before I can cite a podcast episode?
Host or producer, with their role in parentheses, Date the episode was released, Title of the individual episode, and the rest of the elements listed above. A podcast episode is a part of a series, so it needs the same host/producer distinction as a book chapter — plus an episode number that is easy to miss.
Is there anything unusual about a podcast episode in MLA?
The episode is the source and the series is the container: quotation marks for the episode title, italics for the podcast.
What else catches people out here?
The host belongs in the other-contributors slot as “hosted by”. Move the host to the front of the entry only when your discussion is about that host rather than about the episode.
Can I reformat this podcast episode in another style later?
By hand, you would retype the entry — the element order, punctuation and italics all differ between styles. In Copyeditor, sources are stored as structured data, so switching between APA, MLA, Chicago and IEEE reformats every citation and the whole reference list at once.
Cite it once
and never reformat it again
Copyeditor keeps sources as structured data, so switching between APA, MLA, Chicago and IEEE reformats every citation and the whole works cited at once.
