Podcasts, Why or Why not a teacher would assign a podcasting assignment

During my years at school the only "podcast" Chanel was the TV and we were to fight in the family to have the chance to turn the channel to the English. Elders would argue they would not understand anything, but they wanted to learn the latest local news. Nowadays we all have been granted with new technologies which we can use in our everyday routine: smartphones, MacBooks. Why not integrating podcasts as a part of the learning process? We can start with a very short audio, to let students get used to the new format and by the time make it a part of the learning. Podcasts can be a bit challenging for students with low level of listening skills, but by the time it is integrated into the learning materials, students will enjoy it.