Do I need an iPod to listen to podcasts?

No, not at all. Not that it's not great to have an iPod, but you can listen to podcasts on any portable audio device. And, actually, you don't even need that.

You can listen to podcasts on your computer. Having an iPod, or any other portable device, really adds to the convenience of listening exactly where and when you want, but you can listen to podcasts in any MP3-capable media player (iTunes and Windows Media Player are the most popular).