Writing & StyleStyle guide

Are Podcast Titles Italicized?

MLA documentation distinguishes a podcast series from an individual episode: the series functions as the larger container, while the episode is the shorter source. In MLA-style prose, italicize the series title and use quotation marks for the episode title.

Quick answer

In MLA-style writing, italicize the podcast series title and put an individual episode title in quotation marks.

Key details

Core Issuewhether “podcast title” means the podcast series or one episode
Registeracademic, edited, and style-governed writing
RuleIn MLA-style documentation, the episode is the title of source and the podcast is the larger container; the larger independent/container title is italicized while the episode title is placed in quotation marks.

Important caveats

Scope Boundary

Distinguish the series from the episode before choosing the formatting, and follow a required house or citation style if it differs.

Further guidance

Recommendation

In MLA-style writing, italicize the podcast series title and put an individual episode title in quotation marks.

Sources and evidence

Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.

  1. How do I cite an episode of a podcast? (opens in a new tab)Modern Language Association · MLA Style Center example treating an individual podcast episode as the title of source and the podcast series as its container, supporting separate styling of episode and series titles.
  2. How do I style the title of a work published online? (opens in a new tab)Modern Language Association · Style guidance distinguishing italicized titles of independent works such as movies and television series from quoted episode titles

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