Mr. Klass's month-old program is hardly a conventional radio show. For starters, it isn't broadcast on any of the nation's airwaves. Instead, Klass transmits his show in a format called "podcasting," a new Internet-based medium that has the potential to revolutionize the content of traditional radio as well as reshape our listening habits.

The idea behind a podcast is simple, yet brilliant. Instead of using portable MP3 players such as the iPod only for listening to music, new software called iPodder allows one to download prerecorded radio shows onto the devices.

With the benefit of hindsight, it all seems quite obvious. MP3
players, like Apple's iPod, in many pockets, audio production software cheap or free, and weblogging an established part of the internet; all the ingredients are there for a new boom in amateur radio.

But what to call it? Audioblogging? Podcasting? GuerillaMedia?

Podcasting: Also known as DIY radio. The idea is that anyone with a computer can record their own show and upload it to the internet; listeners can download it on to their MP3 players and enjoy it at leisure. Great: broadcast democracy at last. But you know what it means in reality is spotty teenagers playing six hours of crunk and grime, and middle-aged men uploading their entire collection of Amazulu 12" extended remixes.