iHeart will turn podcasts into books starting with ‘Stuff You Should know’

Plenty of people listen to podcasts on their commute and during work, but iHeartMedia is hoping they can squeeze even more podcast consumption into their days -- possibly before they nod off. The company partnered with Flatiron Books to create a series of titles based on popular podcasts. The first iHeart podcast to get a book adaptation will be the long-running Stuff You Should Know. Subtitled An Incomplete Compendium of Mostly Interesting Things, the book will be written by the show's co-hosts, Josh Clark and Chuck Bryant, and will "answer all the questions readers didn't know they wanted to ask" about everyday objects.

It does feel odd that podcasts -- which are typically consumed while the listener is doing something else, like driving or working out -- are being turned into books. Then again, it shouldn't be that surprising. Podcasting has turned into a cultural phenomenon, to the point where retail stores are renting out sound-proofed rooms for amateurs to record their own shows. The real question is how many people will choose the audiobook over the printed version.