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Podcasts and written essays are both texts, but there are some differences between them.  For example, a podcast is written to sound more conversational while a written essay is usually more formal.  The author writes a podcast in a manner that seems to speak to the listener.  Podcasts are spoken aloud, so the author can use different tones to convey emotions easily.  Also, a podcast is usually much shorter than an essay.  An essay tends to go into more detail while a podcast gets the point across quickly.  I think these differences are so because podcasts seem to communicate with the reader while essays are more formal and closed to communication.  Essays provide the information and usually don’t offer any contact between the author and reader. 

However, written essays and podcasts can have the same purpose.  Whether to inform, entertain, or persuade, both provide information to a reader or listener.  Supporting evidence is provided to back up the main ideas.   Sources are also used in each provide more credibility to the author.  Also, both usually consist of an introduction, supporting paragraphs, and a conclusion.