PERRLA/Guides/APA 7/Podcast episode

How to Cite a Podcast Episode in APA 7

An APA 7 podcast episode reference lists the host as the author with (Host) after the name, the full date the episode aired, the episode title in sentence case with the episode number in parentheses, the label [Audio podcast episode], the word In and the podcast's name in italics, the production company, and the URL. The in-text citation is the host's last name and the year: (Mills, 2026).

The format

Host, A. A. (Host). (Year, Month Day). Title of the episode (No. xx) [Audio podcast episode]. In Name of podcast. Production Company. URL

PERRLA APA Experts · Updated October 21, 2026
Checked against the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th edition. Every example is formatted by PERRLA's reference engine.

First, the easy way: PERRLA

Paste the episode's Apple Podcasts link into PERRLA's reference search. PERRLA recognizes Apple Podcasts episodes and fills in the episode title, the date it aired, the podcast's name, and the production company. Apple doesn't list hosts, so add the host yourself as a Host, and type the episode number in Episode Number if the show numbers its episodes. Then check two things. If the title starts with the episode number, like Episode 136:, take it out of the title and put the number in Episode Number, and make sure only the first word, the first word after a colon, and proper nouns are capitalized. And make sure Production Company holds the company, not the hosts, with each company in its own box. PERRLA's search also reads episode pages on WNYC Studios. A Spotify link won't come back with the episode, so use the Apple Podcasts link or the show's own page instead.

Adding one by hand? Choose Podcasts & Radio, then A single podcast or radio episode, and pick An audio podcast as the kind. Add each host, then fill in the Series Title, Episode Title, Episode Date, Episode Number, Production Company, and URL. Type titles in sentence case: if you type one in title case, PERRLA offers a Fix it for me link that switches it for you. PERRLA adds the (Host) label, the No. before the episode number, the bracketed label, and the italics.

Not using PERRLA yet? Here is how to build the same reference by hand.

The parts of the reference

1. Host as author

The host goes in the author position: last name, a comma, and initials, followed by the role in parentheses. Two or more hosts share one plural label after the last name.

McElroy, J., & McElroy, S. (Hosts).

Use whoever hosted the episode you heard. When a guest host fills in, that person is the host for that episode. The people being interviewed are guests, not authors, so they don't go here. APA also allows the executive producers in this spot when you can't find a host.

2. Date

Give the full date the episode first aired: the year, a comma, then the month and day, all in parentheses.

(2026, September 16).

Use the date on the episode's page or in your podcast app. If you can find only the year, give the year alone.

3. Episode title, number, and label

Write the episode title in sentence case, with no italics. Right after it, put the episode number in parentheses with No. in front, then the label [Audio podcast episode] and a period.

The science of suicide prevention, with Matthew Nock, PhD (No. 393) [Audio podcast episode].

If the show doesn't number its episodes, leave the number out. Some shows put the number inside the title, like Episode 136: Expanding Access to Primary Care. Take it out of the title and put it in the parentheses instead. Watched the episode as a video? The label becomes [Video podcast episode].

4. In and the podcast's name

Write In, then the name of the podcast in italics, then a period. APA writes podcast names in sentence case, like other titles of whole works, so only the first word, the first word after a colon, and proper nouns are capitalized. APA's own examples read In Reply all and In All things considered.

In Sawbones: A marital tour of misguided medicine.

5. Production company

Name the company that produces the podcast, as the show credits it. When two companies produce it together, separate them with a semicolon.

Johnson & Johnson; American Nurses Association.

Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube are where you listened, not who made the show, so they don't go here.

6. URL

End with the link to the episode itself, with no period after it. The episode's page on the show's website works, and so does its Apple Podcasts link, which is what APA uses in its own examples.

https://maximumfun.org/episodes/sawbones/how-to-talk-about-vaccine-hesitancy/

If you listened in an app and can't find a link to the episode, end the reference after the production company.

Examples

An episode with one host and a guest

Episode 393 of the American Psychological Association's Speaking of Psychology, where host Kim Mills talks with Harvard psychologist Matthew Nock about suicide prevention. Mills is the author. Nock is the guest, so you name him in your sentence.

  • Parenthetical citation(Mills, 2026)
  • Narrative citationMills (2026)

An episode with two hosts

Episode 355 of Sawbones, a medical history podcast from Maximum Fun, hosted by Justin McElroy and Dr. Sydnee McElroy. Both hosts are listed, with one (Hosts) label after the second name. The podcast's full name has a subtitle, so its first word is capitalized too.

  • Parenthetical citation(McElroy & McElroy, 2021)
  • Narrative citationMcElroy and McElroy (2021)

An episode with a guest host and two production companies

Episode 136 of See You Now, the nursing innovation podcast from Johnson & Johnson and the American Nurses Association. Nurse practitioner Wendy L. Wright guest hosted this episode, so she's the author. The show puts the episode number in its title (Episode 136: Expanding Access to Primary Care: Nurse Practitioners), so the number moves into the parentheses.

  • Parenthetical citation(Wright, 2026)
  • Narrative citationWright (2026)

In-text citations

An APA 7 in-text citation for a podcast episode uses the host's last name and the year the episode aired.

  • One host: (Mills, 2026) or Mills (2026)
  • Two hosts: both names every time, even when they share a last name: (McElroy & McElroy, 2021) or McElroy and McElroy (2021)
  • Three or more hosts: the first host's last name and et al., starting with the first citation. Every host still goes in the reference.
  • A guest's words: name the guest in your sentence and cite the episode under the host. Matthew Nock explained that asking someone about suicide does not plant the idea (Mills, 2026).
  • A quote or a specific moment: podcasts have no page numbers, so add the timestamp where the quote or the moment starts, as minutes and seconds or, past the first hour, hours, minutes, and seconds: (Host, Year, 12:40) or (Host, Year, 1:02:15). In Huberman Lab's episode on jet lag and shift work, the shift work section starts at 58:05, so you'd cite it as (Huberman, 2021, 58:05).
  • No host named: use the first few words of the episode title in quotation marks, in title case: ("Title of the Episode," Year)

Your podcast app shows the running time as you listen, which is the easiest way to find a timestamp. Want more on hosts, guests, and timestamps? Read our APA Obscura post on citing podcasts.

Common mistakes

  • Mills, K. (2026, September 16). The science of suicide prevention, with Matthew Nock, PhD (No. 393) [Audio podcast episode].Mills, K. (Host). (2026, September 16). The science of suicide prevention, with Matthew Nock, PhD (No. 393) [Audio podcast episode].APA marks the host's role in parentheses after the name. Two or more hosts get (Hosts) once, after the last name.
  • Nock, M. (2026, September 16). The science of suicide prevention, with Matthew Nock, PhD (No. 393) [Audio podcast episode].Mills, K. (Host). (2026, September 16). The science of suicide prevention, with Matthew Nock, PhD (No. 393) [Audio podcast episode].The guest isn't the author of the episode. The host is. Name the guest in your sentence when you use their words.
  • The Science of Suicide Prevention, With Matthew Nock, PhD (No. 393) [Audio podcast episode]. In Speaking of Psychology.The science of suicide prevention, with Matthew Nock, PhD (No. 393) [Audio podcast episode]. In Speaking of psychology.Apple Podcasts prints most titles in title case, and generators often copy it. APA writes both the episode title and the podcast's name in sentence case.
  • How to talk about vaccine hesitancy (No. 355) [Audio podcast episode]. In Sawbones: A marital tour of misguided medicine.How to talk about vaccine hesitancy (No. 355) [Audio podcast episode]. In Sawbones: A marital tour of misguided medicine.The podcast's name is italic. The episode title is not.
  • Wright, W. L. (Host). (2026, October 2). Episode 136: Expanding access to primary care: Nurse practitioners [Audio podcast episode]. In See you now. Apple Podcasts.Wright, W. L. (Host). (2026, October 2). Expanding access to primary care: Nurse practitioners (No. 136) [Audio podcast episode]. In See you now. Johnson & Johnson; American Nurses Association.The episode number goes in parentheses after the title, not inside it. And the source is the company that produces the show, not the app you listened in.
  • McElroy, J., & McElroy, S. (Hosts). (2021). How to talk about vaccine hesitancy (No. 355) [Audio podcast episode].McElroy, J., & McElroy, S. (Hosts). (2021, January 26). How to talk about vaccine hesitancy (No. 355) [Audio podcast episode].A podcast episode takes the full date it aired, not just the year. The year alone is for a whole podcast.

Quick checklist

  • The host as author, with (Host) or (Hosts) after the name
  • The full date the episode aired: year, month, and day
  • Episode title in sentence case and not italic, then (No. xx) if the show numbers episodes
  • [Audio podcast episode], or [Video podcast episode] for a video
  • In and the podcast's name in italics and sentence case
  • The production company, not Apple Podcasts or Spotify
  • The episode's URL, with no period after it

Questions students ask

Who is the author of a podcast episode in APA 7?

The host. Write the host's name like any author and add (Host) after it. Guests and interviewees aren't authors, even when they do most of the talking, so name them in your sentence instead.

What if I listened to the podcast on Spotify or in an app?

The reference stays the same: Spotify and Apple Podcasts never go in it as the publisher. End with a link to the episode if you can find one, such as its page on the show's website or its Apple Podcasts link. If you listened in an app and there's no link to give, APA lets you end the reference after the production company.

How do I quote a podcast in APA 7?

Put the quote in quotation marks and add the timestamp where it starts, since a podcast has no page numbers: (Host, Year, 12:40), or (Host, Year, 1:02:15) past the first hour. Your podcast app shows the running time as you listen. If the show posts a transcript or a list of timestamps, you can find the spot there.

Do I need the episode number?

Yes, if the show numbers its episodes. Put it in parentheses after the episode title, with No. in front: (No. 393). If the show doesn't number its episodes, leave it out. Look on the episode's page or in Apple Podcasts, which often shows the number even when the title doesn't.

What if the podcast episode has no host?

APA lets you list the executive producers as the authors instead, with (Executive Producer) after each name. If no one is named at all, the episode title moves to the front of the reference, before the date, and the in-text citation uses the first few words of the title in quotation marks and title case: ("Title of the Episode," Year).

Can I cite the podcast's transcript instead?

If you read the transcript rather than listening, APA treats it as a transcript: the label becomes [Audio podcast transcript] and the URL is the transcript's page. If you listened to the episode and used the transcript only to find a quote, cite the episode.

How is citing an episode different from citing the whole podcast?

An episode gets the full air date, the episode title, [Audio podcast episode], and In before the show's name. A whole podcast gets a range of years like (2013–present), the show's name in italics, and [Audio podcast]. See how to cite a whole podcast.

Rules checked against the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.), Sections 6.17, 8.17, 8.28, 9.10, 9.14, 9.19, 9.21, 9.29, 9.34, and 10.13, and the APA Style website's podcast and audiovisual transcript reference examples. Each episode was checked on October 21, 2026, against the show's own page or its Apple Podcasts listing and RSS feed for the host, air date, episode number, title, production company, and URL; the guest's point comes from the episode transcript on apa.org.

PERRLA formats the podcast episode reference for you, from the (Host) label and the episode number to the show's name in italics.

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