nilim:

Also, can I just say that I think that Actual Play D&D shows and podcasts have propelled the popularity of D&D not just because watching others have fun makes us want to play, but also because it massively lowers the daunting learning curve of the rule system? 

I can honestly say that the majority of my knowledge of D&D rules was gained not by reading the rule books cover to cover, but just because I’ve watched/listened to so many hours of other people playing the game that I’ve basically absorbed the rules through osmosis. Attacks of opportunity? Bonus actions vs reactions? Saving throws vs skill checks? Knew it all by heart before I ever even opened a 5e book.

And this just really helps make the task of starting your own game seem way less daunting. Because it makes you realize you don’t actually need to read hundreds and hundreds of pages of rules in order to play the game. You can always look up specific difficult rules, but the majority you already know. And after all, the most important rule is just to improvise and have fun - and that’s the one thing that Actual Play shows are really good at demonstrating.