When pod casting started it was instantly a geek only medium. Just the fact that you had to subscribe, download, and either listen on your computer or sync to take it with you was a pain.
It has all changed thanks to smart phones and apps like Stitcher. I no longer need to sync to take my podcasts with me on my run or in my car. Fire up the app and it will automatically find the latest episodes of your subscribed podcasts and start playing them in order. Genius. Now podcasts make sense for the non-geek, or “mainstream” just because it is now easy.