Podcasts are taking off these days. Almost every quasi-famous person has a podcast. Whether it's a reality star, a known blogger or businessperson, people reviewing something well-known, or someone legitimately famous, there's a ton of podcasts out there.

But how do you know which podcasts are good and which ones are bad? I, a self-proclaimed podcast expert, will let you know.

The most important thing for a good podcast is reliability. You want to have a good idea of when new episodes are released, and you want it to have a somewhat regular schedule. Especially if you are looking for a podcast that breaks down TV shows. I've seen many TV podcasts that just stop either after one season or on a random episode.

The second thing you want to look for is a good host or hosts. The best podcast hosts are the ones that keep you engaged, that are fun to listen to. I also prefer hosts that seem to almost be freestyling their material, not ones that just read from a script. It shouldn't matter if you are familiar with them beforehand.

The third thing is the variety of episodes and content. Obviously, you want a theme and some set segments, but you don't want the same episode over and over again. Do they bring on guests? Is the banter and the tone slightly different every week? Are the episodes different lengths?

And, the last thing you need to consider is the topic. Now I believe anything can be an interesting podcast topic, but that doesn't mean I want to listen to every podcast out there. Look at the descriptions, and maybe listen on a free listening site before you download anything. Make sure this is a topic you genuinely want to listen to for over fifteen minutes.

So to those about to listen, I leave you with these tips, and salute you!