Cherry Coke, sports and electronics are topics heard on an independent podcast program produced from a dorm room in West Halls.

Podcasts are radio programs that can be downloaded and produced by anyone, anywhere and are rising in accessibility and popularity, Ryan Simmons (freshman-film) said.

Simmons said he created twowhiteguys.blogspot.com as a means of entertainment, sociability and creativity.

"I'm a freshman in college. I have no friends. How am I going to do this?" were thoughts that ran through Simmons' head before he decided to work on a podcast with Kyle Totaro, a friend at Lycoming College. Together they began airing shows that can be heard worldwide.

Podcasts, which originated from Web logs, are usually updated daily and allow others to download the newest editions, Simmons said. By attaching an audio clip to the blog, viewers can upload the program and listen on iPods or computers.

"The main goal or theory of a podcast is to be able to plug in an iPod and get the newest episode," Simmons said.

Calvin Weaver, a listener at Lycoming College, said he's not surprised that students are broadcasting from dorm rooms.

"This is the first time I've heard about podcasts, and I plan to keep listening," Weaver said.

Brad Nason, faculty adviser for Pennsylvania College of Technology's student-run station WPTC-FM (88.1), said commercial radio has become so homogenous lately that it's great to have some creativity in the mix.

Simmons said they chose their podcast name because it fits their stereotype and appealed to a broad audience.

With no set agenda, they pre-record whenever they have the time to sit down and talk. A topic list and designated airing time are in the works.

"We try to make it sound interesting and funny for half an hour," Simmons said.

The first episodes were geared toward college life, but recently discussions focus on electronics and technology, Totaro said.

Broadcasts are reviewed and edited before and after becoming available to the public, which is why one episode that contained questionable comments was removed from the site. Podcast owners control all content and deem appropriateness.

Simmons' requested an 'explicit' label from iTunes to assure free usage of language on his podcast.

Simmons said the procedure needs minimal equipment -- a computer, microphone, headset and free on-line programs -- to broadcast.

Totaro said he and Simmons had always joked about broadcasting. So when the opportunity to have a radio program surfaced, they quickly took advantage.

"It's an easy way to get your voice out to a lot of people," Simmons said.

Jeff Brown, general manager of ComRadio, said while attending a conference, the idea arose that music radio would be dead in five years due to podcasts and music downloads because upcoming generations aren't raised to use commercial radio.

Brown said he doesn't know if that is true, but he thinks podcasts are valuable means of dialogue and sharing music interests.

ComRadio itself is researching the podcast industry and could be broadcasting through iPods as early as the spring semester, he said.

Podcasts will become more popular with time, Brown said.

Simmons said, "It hasn't exactly hit the mainstream yet."

He used his 110 free printing pages from the computer lab and made fliers advertising the show. Currently there are more than 200 Web counts for his site.