PERRLA/Guides/MLA 9/Video podcast

How to Cite a Video Podcast in MLA 9

For a video podcast episode watched on the show's website or in a podcast app, an MLA 9 Works Cited entry uses the podcast episode form: the host's last name and first name followed by host, the episode title in quotation marks, the podcast's name in italics, episode and the number, the production company, the date, and the URL. If you watched it on YouTube, cite it as a YouTube video instead: the title YouTube shows, in quotation marks, then YouTube in italics, uploaded by and the channel, the upload date, and the URL. Add a time stamp in the in-text citation for a quote or a specific moment: (Huberman 00:58:05).

The format

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

PERRLA MLA Experts · Updated October 29, 2026
Checked against the MLA Handbook, 9th edition. Every example is formatted by PERRLA's reference engine.

First, the easy way: PERRLA

Watched it on YouTube? Paste the YouTube link into PERRLA's reference search. PERRLA fills in the channel, the title, the upload date, YouTube as the platform, and the URL, and the entry prints with the title in quotation marks, YouTube in italics, and uploaded by and the channel. Then check two things. The channel name goes in the Name box, with the First and Last boxes empty. And compare the title with YouTube's: keep everything YouTube shows, including any part after a | mark.

Watched it on the show's website or in a podcast app? Choose Podcasts & Radio, then A single podcast or radio episode, and pick A video podcast as the kind. Add the host as a Host, then fill in the Series Title, Episode Title, Episode Date, Episode Number, Production Company, and URL. PERRLA ends the entry with Video podcast episode. If you start from the episode's Apple Podcasts link instead, PERRLA sets the kind to an audio podcast, so switch it to A video podcast and add the host.

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

The parts of the works cited entry

1. Where you watched it decides the form

A video podcast gets one of two entries, depending on the version you watched.

  • On the show's website or in a podcast app: the podcast episode form, with the host first and the show as the container.
  • On YouTube: the YouTube video form, with YouTube as the container and the channel after uploaded by. MLA's own advice for a TV episode posted on YouTube is to cite what YouTube shows, not the show's season and episode details, and the same goes for a podcast.

Pick one version and take every part of the entry from it. Don't mix the host and episode number from one with the YouTube link from the other.

2. Host or title first

Podcast form: the host's last name, a comma, the first name, then a comma and host. Guests are named in your sentence, not here.

Huberman, Andrew, host.

YouTube form: start with the video's title in quotation marks and title case, exactly as YouTube words it, including the show's name after a | mark. MLA changes an ampersand in a title to and, with a comma before it when it ends a list of three or more: Jet Lag, Shift Work, and Sleeplessness.

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

3. Container

Podcast form: the episode title in quotation marks, then the podcast's name in italics, a comma, the word episode and the number, and another comma.

"How to Defeat Jet Lag, Shift Work, and Sleeplessness." Huberman Lab, episode 4,

YouTube form: YouTube in italics, then uploaded by and the channel name exactly as YouTube shows it. The channel is the account that posted the video, which isn't always the host.

YouTube, uploaded by American Psychological Association,

4. Production company

Podcast form only: the company that produces the show, as the show credits it, without words like LLC. YouTube and Spotify are where you watched, not who made it.

Scicomm Media,

5. Date

Give the full date, written day, month, year, with the month abbreviated if it's longer than four letters. For the podcast form, that's the date the episode came out. For YouTube, it's the upload date under the video.

25 Jan. 2021,

The two are often the same day, but not always, so take the date from the version you cite.

6. URL

End with the link to the version you watched, without the https://, and a period: the episode's page on the show's website, or the YouTube video. Trim extras like &t= or &list= off a YouTube link.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAATB55oxeQ.

For the podcast form, PERRLA adds the description Video podcast episode after the URL. MLA allows a short description like this at the end of an entry, and it tells your reader the source is video.

Examples

A video podcast episode on the show's website

Episode 4 of Huberman Lab, where neuroscientist Andrew Huberman covers jet lag and shift work, watched on hubermanlab.com. It uses the podcast episode form. The show notes put the shift work section at 58:05, which goes in the in-text citation.

  • In-text citation(Huberman 00:58:05)
  • Narrative citationHuberman turns to shift work after covering jet lag (00:58:05).

The same episode watched on YouTube

The same episode as posted on YouTube by Huberman's channel, which carries his own name. On YouTube it's cited as a YouTube video: the entry starts with the title, the channel goes after uploaded by, and the episode number drops out because YouTube doesn't show it. The video's chapter list also starts the shift work section at 58:05.

  • In-text citation("How to Defeat" 00:58:05)
  • Narrative citationIn "How to Defeat Jet Lag, Shift Work, and Sleeplessness," Huberman turns to shift work (00:58:05).

A podcast episode an organization posted on YouTube

Episode 393 of Speaking of Psychology, with guest Matthew Nock, as the American Psychological Association posted it on YouTube. The show's name stays in the title because YouTube's title includes it, and the organization's channel goes after uploaded by. For the audio version, see the podcast episode guide, where host Kim Mills starts the entry.

  • In-text citation("Science")
  • Narrative citationIn the American Psychological Association's video "The Science of Suicide Prevention, with Matthew Nock, PhD | Speaking of Psychology," Nock explains that …

In-text citations

An MLA in-text citation starts with whatever starts the Works Cited entry: the host for the podcast form, and a shortened title for the YouTube form.

  • Podcast form: (Huberman)
  • YouTube form: a short version of the title in quotation marks: the first noun phrase with no opening The, or, if the title doesn't start with one, its first phrase: ("How to Defeat" 00:58:05) or ("Science").
  • A quote or a specific moment: videos have no page numbers, so add the time where it starts, in hours, minutes, and seconds separated by colons, with no comma before it: (Huberman 00:58:05). A range: (Huberman 00:58:05–59:30).
  • Name or title in your sentence: give only the time in parentheses, or leave the parentheses off when there's no time.
  • A guest's words: name the guest in your sentence and cite the episode the way its entry starts: Matthew Nock explains that … ("Science").

Chapter lists in a YouTube description and time stamps in a show's notes make the time easy to find. Take it from the version you cite: this episode runs 1:50:55 on YouTube and 1:47:22 as audio, though both start the shift work section at 58:05.

Common mistakes

  • Huberman, Andrew, host. "How to Defeat Jet Lag, Shift Work, and Sleeplessness." Huberman Lab, episode 4, YouTube, www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAATB55oxeQ."How to Defeat Jet Lag, Shift Work, and Sleeplessness." YouTube, uploaded by Andrew Huberman, 25 Jan. 2021, www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAATB55oxeQ.This mixes two forms. On YouTube, cite what YouTube shows: the title, YouTube, the channel after uploaded by, and the upload date.
  • Huberman, Andrew, host. "How to Defeat Jet Lag, Shift Work, and Sleeplessness." Huberman Lab, no. 4,Huberman, Andrew, host. "How to Defeat Jet Lag, Shift Work, and Sleeplessness." Huberman Lab, episode 4,MLA labels a podcast's episode number with the word episode.
  • Nock, Matthew. "The Science of Suicide Prevention, with Matthew Nock, PhD | Speaking of Psychology." YouTube,"The Science of Suicide Prevention, with Matthew Nock, PhD | Speaking of Psychology." YouTube, uploaded by American Psychological Association,The guest didn't post the video or host the show. Name the guest in your sentence.
  • "The Science of Suicide Prevention, with Matthew Nock, PhD." YouTube,"The Science of Suicide Prevention, with Matthew Nock, PhD | Speaking of Psychology." YouTube,Keep the whole title as YouTube shows it, including the show's name after the | mark.
  • Huberman, A. (Host). (2021, January 25). How to defeat jet lag, shift work & sleeplessness (No. 4) [Video podcast episode].Huberman, Andrew, host. "How to Defeat Jet Lag, Shift Work, and Sleeplessness." Huberman Lab, episode 4,That's APA. MLA spells out the first name, writes host after it, puts the episode title in quotation marks and title case, and moves the date near the end.

Quick checklist

  • Pick the form from where you watched: show site or app, or YouTube
  • Show site or app: host, episode title in quotes, show in italics, episode number, company, date
  • YouTube: title in quotes, YouTube, uploaded by and the channel, upload date
  • The full title YouTube shows, in title case
  • Every part from the same version, ending with its URL without https://
  • A time stamp in the citation for a quote or a specific moment

Questions students ask

Is a podcast on YouTube a video podcast or a YouTube video in MLA?

Cite it as a YouTube video: the title in quotation marks, YouTube in italics, uploaded by and the channel, the upload date, and the URL. Use the podcast episode form when you watched it on the show's own website or in a podcast app.

Can I start a YouTube entry with the host's name?

Yes, when the creator is clear, as with a show posted on the host's own channel: Huberman, Andrew. "How to Defeat Jet Lag, Shift Work, and Sleeplessness." YouTube, … MLA lets you leave out uploaded by when it would only repeat the name. Starting with the title works for any video, and it's the form PERRLA builds, with the channel after uploaded by.

How do I cite a time stamp from a video podcast?

Add the time where the quote or moment starts, in hours, minutes, and seconds: (Huberman 00:58:05). Use the time from the version you cite, since the YouTube upload and the audio version can run different lengths.

How do I cite a video podcast I watched on Spotify?

Use the podcast episode form. Spotify is where you watched, not who made the show, so the publisher is the production company. For the URL, use the episode's page on the show's website if it has one, so your reader can find the same episode.

How do I cite a whole video podcast in MLA?

The host with host after the name, the show's name in italics, the production company, and the URL, with Video podcast as the description at the end. See how to cite a whole podcast for the details, including why a show still running gets no date.

Does the description Video podcast episode have to be there?

No. MLA makes a description like this optional, but it's useful: it tells your reader at a glance that you watched rather than listened. PERRLA adds it for you in the podcast episode form.

Rules checked against the MLA Handbook (9th ed.), sections 2.100 (an ampersand in a title becomes and, with a serial comma), 2.107 and 2.109 (italics and quotation marks for titles), 5.31 (podcasts as the containers of episodes), 5.40 and 5.44 (a host in the author spot, with a label), 5.53 (episode numbers), 5.58 and 5.64 (production companies as publishers), 6.10 (shortened titles), and 6.28 (time stamps), and the MLA Style Center's posts on citing a podcast episode, citing YouTube videos, TV episodes published on YouTube, titles of uploaded videos, and ampersands in titles. The examples are the ones verified for the APA 7 page; re-checked October 29, 2026: the Huberman Lab title, January 25, 2021 date, Scicomm Media credit, and 58:05 shift work section on hubermanlab.com, and both YouTube videos' titles, channels, and upload dates through YouTube's own page data.

PERRLA builds the video podcast entry in whichever form fits where you watched, from host after the name to <em>YouTube</em> in italics.

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