How Podcasts Work

What is a podcast and how do they work?

In today’s world, you can consume media in a myriad of different ways. One such way is via podcasts. If you’re unfamiliar with podcasts and want to learn how podcasts work, then read below:

What is a podcast?

A podcast is an audio program (similar to a radio show) that is posted to the Internet for anyone to download and listen to. There are several different ways you can consume this content (we will dig farther into this below), but most will will get their podcasts on their mobile devices using iTunes or another podcatcher.

There are a huge assortment of podcasts out there and one of the great things about podcasting is that almost anyone can make one. Because of this you will have a wide variety in production quality with very professionally produced podcasts put out by large companies on one end and shows recorded by someone on their cell phone on the other. This means that you can find podcasts out there on almost any conceivable topic and recorded with a range of quality.

How to download and subscribe to podcasts

One of the great things about how podcasts work is that you can subscribe to a feed. This means that you can get new episodes of the shows you love automatically downloaded to your device of choice and ready to listen almost as soon as they are published. This awesomeness is possible via subscriptions. How do you get those subscriptions? In a nutshell, you need to:

  • Download a podcatcher
  • Find and subscribe to podcasts that interest you
  • Listen!

Downloading a podcatcher

What podcatcher you use will be heavily dependent upon what device you will be using. While there are others, the most likely options will be on an Apple device or an Android device.

Apple

If you are using an iPhone or iPad than your podcatcher of choice is iTunes. iTunes really started the whole podcast revolution, so they are by far the most popular way to consume podcast content. You can download iTunes on your mobile device in the App Store. You can find more information on using iTunes to get podcasts at Apple’s Podcast FAQ site.

Android

If you have an android phone, then there answer on what podcatcher you use will be a bit more varied. There are several options available on Google Play and each have their own merits. Some of the more popular options include: Stitcher, Google Play Music and Podcast Addict, among others.

Apple computer or PC

If you have an apple computer or PC that you want to play your podcasts on, then several of the above options will work for you. Perhaps the best, would be iTunes, since you can download that on both PCs and Apple computers.