PERRLA/Guides/MLA 9/Podcast episode

How to Cite a Podcast Episode in MLA 9

An MLA 9 Works Cited entry for a podcast episode gives the host's last name and first name followed by host, the episode title in quotation marks, the podcast's name in italics, the episode number, the company that produces the show, the date the episode came out (16 Sept. 2026), and the URL. The in-text citation is the host's last name, with a time stamp when you point to a moment: (Mills 00:12:40).

The format

Last Name, First Name, host. "Title of the Episode." Name of the Podcast, episode #, Production Company, Day Mon. Year, URL.

PERRLA MLA Experts ยท Updated October 27, 2026
Checked against the MLA Handbook, 9th 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 episode number, the date it came out, the podcast's name, and the production company. Apple doesn't list hosts, so add the host yourself as a Host. Then check two things against the show's page: the Episode Number, and that Production Company holds the company, not the hosts, with each company in its own box. A Spotify link won't come back with the episode, so use the Apple Podcasts link 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. Listened in an app and have no link? Leave URL empty and type the app's name in Platform; PERRLA adds it in italics at the end. PERRLA handles the title case, the quotation marks, the italics, and the date order.

Not using PERRLA yet? Here is how to build the same works cited entry by hand.

The parts of the works cited entry

1. Host

Start with the host's last name, a comma, the first name, and then a comma and the word host. End with a period.

Mills, Kim, host.

Two hosts: invert only the first name, join the second with and, and write hosts. Three or more: the first host, et al., and hosts.

McElroy, Justin, and Sydnee McElroy, hosts.

Use whoever hosted the episode you heard. When a guest host fills in, that person goes here, and the regular host stays out of the entry. Guests aren't hosts, so name them in your sentence.

2. Episode title

Put the episode title in quotation marks and title case, with the period inside the closing quotation mark.

"The Science of Suicide Prevention, with Matthew Nock, PhD."

Some shows put the episode number in the title, like Episode 136: Expanding Access to Primary Care. Take the number out of the title; it goes after the podcast's name instead.

3. Podcast name

The podcast is the container, so its name goes in italics and title case, followed by a comma. Keep a subtitle after a colon.

Sawbones: A Marital Tour of Misguided Medicine,

4. Episode number

If the show numbers its episodes, MLA writes the word episode and the number, then a comma. A show with seasons gets both: season 2, episode 5.

episode 393,

If the show doesn't number its episodes, skip this part.

5. Production company

Next comes the company or organization that produces the podcast, as the show credits it. MLA treats it as the publisher. Separate two companies with a forward slash, and write and in place of an ampersand.

Johnson and Johnson / American Nurses Association,

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

6. Date

Give the full date the episode came out, written day, month, year, with no commas inside it. Abbreviate months longer than four letters (Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec.).

16 Sept. 2026,

7. URL

End with the link to the episode itself, without the https://, and a period. The episode's page on the show's website works, and so does its Apple Podcasts link.

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

Listened in an app with no link to give? End with the app's name in italics instead: Spotify.

8. Audio podcast episode

PERRLA ends the entry with the description Audio podcast episode. MLA doesn't require one, but it allows a short description of the type of work at the end of an entry, and it tells your reader at a glance that the source is audio.

Audio podcast episode.

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 goes in the author spot. Nock is the guest, so you name him in your sentence. The time stamp points to the moment you discuss.

  • In-text citation(Mills 00:12:40)
  • Narrative citationSpeaking with Mills, Matthew Nock explains that … (00:12:40).

An episode with two hosts

Episode 355 of Sawbones, a medical history podcast from Maximum Fun, hosted by Justin McElroy and Dr. Sydnee McElroy. Only the first host's name is inverted, and the title Dr. stays out. The podcast's full name, subtitle and all, goes in italics.

  • In-text citation(McElroy and McElroy)
  • Narrative citationMcElroy and McElroy discuss …

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 host in the entry. The show puts the number in its title (Episode 136: Expanding Access to Primary Care: Nurse Practitioners), so the number moves after the podcast's name.

  • In-text citation(Wright)
  • Narrative citationAs Wright notes, …

In-text citations

An MLA in-text citation for a podcast episode starts with the host's last name, because the host starts the Works Cited entry.

  • One host: (Mills)
  • Two hosts: both last names joined by and, even when they match: (McElroy and McElroy)
  • Three or more hosts: the first host and et al.
  • A quote or a specific moment: podcasts have no page numbers, so add the time where it starts, in hours, minutes, and seconds separated by colons, with no comma before it: (Mills 00:12:40). A range: (Mills 00:12:40–13:05).
  • Host in your sentence: give only the time in parentheses, or leave the parentheses off when there's no time: McElroy and McElroy trace …
  • A guest's words: name the guest in your sentence and cite the host: Matthew Nock explains that … (Mills 00:12:40).
  • No host named: the entry starts with the episode title, so the citation uses a shortened title in quotation marks.

Your podcast app shows the running time as you listen, which is the easiest way to find a time stamp.

Common mistakes

  • Mills, Kim. "The Science of Suicide Prevention, with Matthew Nock, PhD."Mills, Kim, host. "The Science of Suicide Prevention, with Matthew Nock, PhD."MLA adds the person's role after the name, so readers know what the host did. Two or more hosts share hosts.
  • Nock, Matthew. "The Science of Suicide Prevention, with Matthew Nock, PhD."Mills, Kim, host. "The Science of Suicide Prevention, with Matthew Nock, PhD."The guest isn't the host. Start with the host, and name the guest in your sentence when you use their words.
  • Mills, K. (Host). (2026, September 16). The science of suicide prevention, with Matthew Nock, PhD (No. 393) [Audio podcast episode]. In Speaking of psychology.Mills, Kim, host. "The Science of Suicide Prevention, with Matthew Nock, PhD." Speaking of Psychology, episode 393,That's APA. MLA spells out the first name, puts the episode title in quotation marks and title case, drops In, and moves the date after the production company.
  • "Episode 136: Expanding Access to Primary Care: Nurse Practitioners." See You Now, Apple Podcasts,"Expanding Access to Primary Care: Nurse Practitioners." See You Now, episode 136, Johnson and Johnson / American Nurses Association,The episode number goes after the podcast's name, not in the title. And the publisher is the company that produces the show, not the app you listened in.
  • (Mills, 2026)(Mills)That's APA. MLA in-text citations don't take a year. Add a time stamp only when you point to a moment.

Quick checklist

  • Host's name inverted, followed by host or hosts
  • Episode title in quotation marks and title case, with no episode number in it
  • Podcast name in italics, then episode and the number
  • The production company, not Apple Podcasts or Spotify
  • Day, abbreviated month, year
  • The episode's URL without https://, or the app in italics

Questions students ask

Who is the author of a podcast episode in MLA?

The host, followed by the word host. If a guest host fills in, cite the guest host and leave the regular host out. Guests and interviewees aren't hosts, so name them in your sentence instead.

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

If you can find a link to the episode, on the show's website or Apple Podcasts, use it. If you can't, end the entry with the app's name in italics, like Spotify. Either way, the app isn't the publisher.

How do I quote a podcast in MLA?

Put the quote in quotation marks and add the time it starts after the host's name: (Mills 00:12:40). MLA writes hours, minutes, and seconds, separated by colons. If the show posts a transcript with times, you can find the spot there.

Do I write no. or episode for the episode number?

MLA writes the word episode: Speaking of Psychology, episode 393. For a show with seasons, give both: season 1, episode 1.

What if the podcast episode has no host?

Start the entry with the episode title in quotation marks. Everything else stays the same. In the text, use a shortened version of the title in quotation marks.

How is MLA different from APA for a podcast episode?

MLA spells out the host's first name and writes host after it, puts the episode title in quotation marks and title case, writes episode before the number, and puts the date near the end. In the text, MLA uses the host's name and a time stamp, not the year.

Rules checked against the MLA Handbook (9th ed.), chapters 5 and 6 (the core elements, containers, and in-text citations), and the MLA Style Center's posts on citing a podcast episode (host, season and episode numbers, publisher, the app you listened in), guest hosts, ampersands in publishers' names, prepositions in titles, and time stamps. The examples are the ones verified for the APA 7 page: each episode's host, date, episode number, title, production company, and URL were checked on October 21, 2026, against the show's own page or its Apple Podcasts listing and RSS feed. MLA needed no detail the APA page didn't already carry.

PERRLA formats the podcast episode entry for you, from host after the name to the podcast's name in italics.

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