News Science

News Science

Revisiting Cultural Capital Within the Framework of Podcasts: Toward a Critical Understanding of Media Hegemony

Document Type : Original Article

Author
Parinaz Shahid Zadeh
1. Ph.D. in Culture and Communication, Department of Culture and Media Studies, Islamic Azad University, Central Tehran Branch, Tehran, Iran. Email:parinazshahidzadeh1400@gmail.com
10.22034/lrsi.2025.540506.1415
Abstract
Objective: This research utilizes the theoretical frameworks of Pierre Bourdieu and Antonio Gramsci to critically analyze the role of podcasts as a cultural medium within social spaces. The primary objective is to examine the capacity of podcasts to reinforce cultural capital and facilitate cultural reproduction through the articulation of lived experiences and the transmission of historical and cultural narratives. Emphasizing the distinctive attributes of podcasts in comparison to other digital media, this study seeks to identify the forms of cultural capital embedded in this medium - manifest in language, narratives, symbols, and stylistic variations—through content analysis of selected podcasts and their associated discourses. Given that podcasts possess a relatively independent and more informal structure than traditional media, this study addresses the following research question: How is cultural capital distributed and reproduced within this emerging medium, and what role does this process play in the formation of media hegemony?
Method: This qualitative and interpretive study conducts a content analysis of a selected corpus comprising ten Persian-language podcasts with the highest number of followers on the Castbox platform. The theoretical lens integrates key concepts such as cultural capital, social field, and hegemony, enabling a critical re-examination of the auditory and private dimensions that characterize the podcasting medium. The interpretive analysis foregrounds the cultural and social potentials embedded in podcast discourse. Data were collected through library-based research, drawing upon scientific articles, theoretical texts, and authoritative sources pertaining to cultural capital and hegemony.
Results: The findings indicate that podcasts, owing to their auditory format and relatively private context, provide a unique platform for the representation and reproduction of cultural and historical narratives through the mediation of audience lived experiences. These characteristics position podcasts as effective instruments in shaping and consolidating the interactions of cultural capital between producers and consumers. Unlike many digital media platforms, podcasts foster a more intimate communicative environment that helps overcome social and psychological barriers to the interpretation and internalization of meaning.
Conclusions: Through the examination of ten podcasts - including ‘Aknoon’, ‘Jafekri’, ‘Radio Rah’, and ‘Radio Marz’ - the findings reveal that Persian-language podcasts, as a cultural field (in Bourdieu's terms), create a space for competition, legitimization, and the reconstruction of cultural capital. They have functioned as a means of representing alternative discourses - distinct from common and dominant narratives - and have facilitated the internalization of ideas and values through the expression of narratives in informal language, thereby contributing to the reproduction of media hegemony. The results of this research demonstrate that podcasts emerge as an influential and emergent medium within contemporary cultural landscapes, possessing significant potential to strengthen cultural capital and support processes of cultural reproduction. Their auditory and private characteristics offer an optimal environment for the transmission of historical narratives, thus playing a pivotal role in cultural formation. Future research should explore the complex interactions between podcasts and other digital media to elucidate broader cultural and power dynamics.
Keywords
Cultural Capital
Cultural building
Hegemony
Podcast
 
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