VIDEO: Anna Faris, Marc Maron & More Chat Podcasting with Katie Couric

Over the past few years, podcasts, which first popped up in 2003, have grown in both number and audience. Yahoo Global News Anchor Katie Couric sat down with some of the top names in podcasting - Marc MARON ("WTF with Marc Maron"), Alec Baldwin ("Here's the Thing With Alec Baldwin"), Anna Faris ("Anna Faris Is Unqualified"), and Jon Favreau ("Keepin' It 1600" and "Pod Save America") to hear what drew them to turn on the mic and why they think people are tuning in. Watch the full interview below!

Interview highlights include:

Marc MARON on his "WTF" podcast: "I think that when we came into it, there were guys doing it, but it was not on the cultural radar really. I didn't really have any expectations and knowledge of podcasting. It kind of grew along with the show, that, you know, I came in at a good time. I think that the nature of this podcast and also the nature of the possibilities of podcasting is that there is an intimacy to it, we're not beholden to any real broadcasting rules and this show is, you know, notoriously and famously a candid show."

Anna Faris on why she decided to do a podcast: "I started listening to podcasts and really enjoyed them. I was trying to find a comedic podcast and a relationship podcast because I've always loved advice columns. So I thought, well, I'm just going to order some microphones off of Amazon and kind of, you know, mess around with some of my friends...I really thought it would be a Sunday afternoon hobby. That it would take an hour, somebody would upload it some place, a couple people might listen to it. And now we have a really nice following. I think we have a little bit of a hook because, you know, as you know, I can get pretty raunchy." [CLIP]: Anna Faris on her podcast, 'Anna Faris is Unqualified'

Jon Favreau on his political podcasts with former Obama staffers: "For most of the election, all four of us did this podcast and had the time of our lives doing it. We tried to explain politics and talk about politics, like we do with each other...So we wanted to sort of cut through all the BS that you hear about politics and just speak normally...and offer our perspective as former staffers and people who had been there. I think all of us wish we had not just explained to people and not just focused on punditry, but focused on activism as well, and that's the idea behind "Pod Save America." We have basically three goals for the podcast and for the company. We want to inform and educate people. We're going to entertain people by keeping it light and funny to the extent that we can. And then we want to inspire activism." [CLIP]: Jon Favreau on podcasts, 'Keepin' It 1600' and 'Pod Save America'

Alec Baldwin on why podcasting is now successful: "Musicians have a much deeper place, they occupy a much deeper place in the lives of their audience than actors do, because you can consume their product anywhere. You're in the shower, you're in the ca, you're in the gym. So where content has become all audio, and where people have busy and peripatetic lives and they're listening but not watching, podcasts have exploded."

Video courtesy of Yahoo News

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