How to Find and Listen to Podcasts
Podcasts are popular right now. I’m sure that you are reading this because 1) you want to listen to podcasts or 2) you don’t believe this blog is really telling people how to find podcasts. Well, guess what? I’m really telling people how to find and listen to podcasts.
The popularity of podcasts doesn’t make people automatically know how to find podcasts or listen to them. I laugh at gifs all day in my group chat, but I don’t know how to find them when I’m not on Twitter. It’s the same thing with podcasts.
In this blog, we'll discuss how to find podcasts, listen to podcasts, and the option to subscribe to a podcast.
How To Find Podcasts
Podcasts are audio files that are created by a podcast host or company, uploaded to a podcast host, and distributed. When you find a podcast, you are looking for places where that podcast is hosted so that you can download the episode or listen to the episode.
Popular podcast hosts are Apple Podcasts (previously iTunes Music), Spotify, Amazon Music, Pandora, and Libsyn. Trust me, this is not a complete list of all podcast hosting platforms. But these are enough examples for you to find a favorite and begin to use it.
If you notice, most of these apps are used for listening to music. If you didn’t know (or care) to look for podcasts on the Amazon Music app, then you would have missed it. But you can listen to podcasts on each of these platforms.
You may also listen to podcasts directly from a podcaster's website. If someone tells you about a podcast and you Google it (or use your favorite search engine), you should find a list of different platforms that are hosting the podcast. Among that list will be the podcasters' websites if they display their podcast directly on their website.
Now that you’ve found a podcast, let’s begin to listen to podcasts.
How To Listen To Podcasts
There are two major ways of listening to podcasts: listen on websites or on apps.
Listening to podcasts from website
If you completed the steps above (Google the podcast, find the list) then select an option from the search results and listen to the podcast directly from that website. Simply press play or 'start episode' and enjoy listening to this podcast directly from this website.
Each website will ask you to sign in or register, but you should be able to hear a few episodes (or a few minutes of an episode) without registering. Play around on the website, look at the different episode topics and guests, see if an episode looks interesting, and enjoy the podcast.
This option is great if you do not want to download a music app onto your phone or commit to an app before you know that you want to keep listening to podcasts.
Listening to podcasts from apps
You may be familiar with apps that you download on your smartphone, but you can also download apps on your computer. These apps allow you to easily listen to podcasts and include special treats for the app user (recommended shows, favorite episodes, leave a rating, etc.).
After performing the search and selecting a website that hosts the podcast, you are usually given the option to download the app along with the option to sign in. Whether you download the app is completely up to you and your preference, but most people listen to podcasts on their smartphones.
The fun of podcasts is listening to them while you're doing other things or on the move, so phone apps are great options. The podcast hosting apps that are mentioned above are free, so ignore any apps that want you to pay to listen to podcasts.
As a new podcast listener, you need to enjoy podcasts and look at all the different topics and niches that exist. There are enough free apps for you to use and enjoy.
While you’re finding podcasts and listening to them, pay attention to the release schedule. Most podcast apps will mention that the podcast is daily, weekly, biweekly, monthly, or occasional. This means that new episodes are released in this time frame so you can know when to expect new episodes.
So, you have found the podcast, you listened to a few episodes, now what? If you enjoyed what you heard, you can subscribe to the podcast and join their podcast audience.
How To Subscribe To Podcasts
Subscribing to a podcast is similar to joining a mailing list because you will get notifications when new podcast episodes are available. You can only subscribe after you sign in or download a podcast app. See, another perk to registering with the podcast hosting platform.
Once signed in, you have the option to follow or subscribe to the podcast. When you follow or subscribe to a podcast, you allow the app to automatically download new podcast episodes. This means that the app will show the newest episodes to you when you open the app.
Don’t forget to pay attention to the episode release schedule. I don’t want you to look for new episodes every day when you're listening to a monthly podcast. If this happens, while you're waiting for new episodes, listen to older episodes of that podcast.
The fun of subscribing to a podcast is that the app will do all the hard work for you. You just have to open the app and enjoy the podcast.
Not Ready To Commit
If for any reason you do not want to sign in to a podcast hosting platform or use an app, you can keep listening to podcasts from the website.
The point of this blog is that you should find a podcast and enjoy that podcast. The podcast host created the show for you, the audience, and is happy that you’re listening on an app or a website. Podcasts are inclusive and available for the audience wherever you are.
