Podiobooks make it into the New York Times.
These days, just about everyone has heard of audio books - people read books (or abridged versions therof) and are recorded, so that you can listen to them in the car, at work, or whenever you can't sit down with a real book but your ears are free. Many people also listen to podcasts, which are recordings similar to radio shows that are released periodically that cover a variety of topics, from science fiction to medicine to politics, and just about everything in between. But not many people have heard of podiobooks, a synthesis of podcasting and audio books. Many authors, rather than trying to get published by one of the big media outlets (many of which won't even look at a manuscript unless you already have an agent), are making audiobooks out of their work and releasing them in episodic format for anyone that wants to listen to them.
The advancement of computer technology is such that it's easy to make studio quality recordings with a cash outlay of just a couple of dollars for a good microphone, and sometimes a mixer. You can spend thousands of dollars on audio software or you an use an open source audio manipulation system like Audacity, which is steadily sneaking into professional recording studios under the cover of night.
The article talks about two of the best known podiobook authors on the Net today, Scott Sigler, who has released a number of horror/science fiction novels as podiobooks, and J.C.Hutchins, author of the 7th Son trilogy.