To answer this question, let's look at some advantages and disadvantages specific to podcasts.

Advantages:

• Otherwise hard-to-reach experts are just a Teams call away;
• Can be listened to at any time in any place and re-used for years;
• Research shows people tend to learn better from dialogue than direct instruction in multimedia learning;
• People tend to use more accessible language in a conversational podcast setting than in direct instruction, making it easier to digest;
• There is room for prepared 'negotiation of meaning': a host can ask questions to clarify what a guest wants to convey;
• Listening to a podcast is an intimate and immersive experience as the audio is generally very close to the listener (you are literally "in their ears");
• Podcasts lend themselves well to elaborate storytelling and emotion, which stimulates learning.

Disadvantages:

• Podcasts have no visuals. Relevant visuals greatly support learning and transfer.
• Listeners are often doing something else at the same time and will not be engaged 100% of the time;
• Listeners will often remember specific details rather than the big picture;
• The listener is not an active contributor to the learning activity unless additional exercises / context are provided.

Conclusion:

Podcasts are probably not a great fit to replace your lecture with. But they do provide great opportunities for learning, particularly leveraging the power of dialogue, storytelling and sharing experiences & attitudes.