(Credit: Apple)
Apple offers an army of podcasts—more than 2.5 million at last count—that cover a wide array of subjects. And you can listen to them on a few different platforms. If you own an iPhone, iPad, or Mac with macOS Catalina or higher, you can use Apple's Podcasts app. Those who run Windows or use an older version of macOS can turn to iTunes. Here's how to set up and manage the apps so you can easily follow and access your favorite podcasts.
How to Use Apple's Podcasts App
Let's first check out some podcasts via the Apple Podcasts app built into iOS, iPadOS, and also available for the Apple Watch. Open the Podcasts app on your device and tap the Browse button at the bottom of the screen to browse "new and noteworthy" podcasts, top shows, and podcasts based on different categories.
To find a particular podcast by name or topic, tap Search and type a keyword or term to best describe the podcast you seek. Tap See All to view all podcasts associated with your search term.
Select any podcast that interests you to view a description and list of episodes. Tap any episode to start streaming it.
If you like a podcast and want to listen to it regularly, follow it by tapping the plus icon in the upper right. Alternatively, tap the ellipsis icon in the upper right and select Follow Show. Following means that each new episode is downloaded to your device as it becomes available and appears in your list of podcasts so that you can listen to it offline.
You can listen to or watch any episode of a podcast online by tapping its Play button. To download an older episode, tap the ellipsis icon next to it and select Download Episode. Once the episode is downloaded, it will play even if your device isn't connected to the internet.
After you’ve followed some podcasts that interest you, tap the Library icon and select Shows to see them all. Tap the ellipsis icon at the upper right, and you can sort your podcasts by title, date followed, or date updated. You can also manually move them around by tapping the ellipsis icon again and selecting Edit Shows. Press down on and then drag and drop each podcast around the screen to reorder them.
To manage a specific podcast from your library, long-press on its icon. From the pop-up menu, you can unfollow it, play the next episode, play the last episode, share a link to the show with someone else, copy the link to the show, or report a concern.
From the pop-up menu, tap the Settings icon. Here, you can follow or unfollow the show, enable or disable notifications about each new episode, change the order of the episodes from oldest to newest or vice versa, opt to hide played episodes, automatically get downloads of each new episode, limit downloads by most recent ones or by date, and choose to remove downloaded episodes after you play them.
Tap the icon for any podcast. At the window for that podcast, tap the ellipsis icon next to a specific episode. Besides downloading the episode, you can report a concern, copy a link to the episode, share a link to the episode, mark it as play or unplayed, save the episode to the Saved section, play the last episode of the podcast, play the next episode of the podcast, and remove the download.
At the left pane of the Library window, tap the Shows entry to see all your subscribed podcasts. Tap the Saved entry to see saved episodes. The Downloaded entry shows all the downloaded episodes. And the Latest Episodes entry displays the latest episodes of each podcast. At this screen, tap the Ellipsis icon to control how far back to go for the latest episodes.
To listen to a specific podcast episode, play it from your library. Tap the episode name at the bottom of the screen to view it full screen. Here you can scrub forward or back, skip ahead 30 seconds, go back 15 seconds, change the speed, and pipe the sound to an external source.
How to Use the Podcasts App on a Mac
If you have a Mac running macOS Catalina or higher, you can use the Podcasts app on your desktop. Click the entries for Browse and Charts to view different podcasts.
To find a specific podcast, type your keyword or term in the Search field in the left pane. Open a podcast that sounds interesting, and play a specific episode. Click the ellipsis icon on the show's thumbnail image and select Follow Show if you want to subscribe to it.
After you’ve followed a few podcasts, click the entry for Shows in the Library section of the left pane. Select a podcast you want to manage. Click the ellipsis icon and you can unfollow it, hide played episodes, and perform other actions.
From the pop-up menu, click Settings to change the episode order, limit the number of downloads, or remove played downloads.
Right-click an individual episode or click its ellipsis icon to download or remove it, save it, mark it as played, and run other commands.
You may have all your favorite podcasts saved on your computer, but you'll have to sync your device to get them on your iPhone or iPad. Open the Finder app and click your device as listed in the Location section. The first time you do this, you'll need to click the Trust button to sync your computer with your device. Click the header for Podcasts. Check the box next to Sync podcasts onto [name of your device].
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Check the box next to Automatically copy. Click the drop-down menu and select which podcast episodes you want to sync based on the most recent ones and those that are unplayed. Otherwise, leave that box unchecked and then click the names of the podcasts you want to include and select the individual episodes you wish to sync. When done, click Apply.
How to Access Podcasts on iTunes
If you use Windows or still haven’t upgraded to macOS Catalina or higher on your Mac, you access podcasts through iTunes. Launch iTunes on your computer and click the heading for Store. Click the dropdown menu that lists the different types of content and select the Podcasts entry. You can now browse available podcasts and search for specific ones by name or topic.
Click a podcast that interests you and tap the Subscribe button to order up a subscription.
You can then view all the podcasts you subscribe to by clicking the Library heading and selecting Podcasts on the side panel.
To control a specific podcast, select it and then click the ellipsis icon in the upper right. From the menu, you can remove it as a download, add it to a playlist, play it, love or dislike it, unsubscribe from it, and delete it from your library.
For additional settings, click the Gear icon in the upper right. From this menu, you can sort the episodes and control downloaded and played episodes.
To control an episode of a podcast, right-click on it or click its ellipsis icon. From the menu, you can download or remove the episode, mark it as played, add it to a playlist or device, get info on the podcast, love it or dislike it, see it in the iTunes store, save the episode, copy details about it, view the downloaded file on your computer, copy its URL, or delete it from your library.
To sync iTunes with your mobile device, connect your iPhone or iPad and click the small icon in the top-left corner. Click the entry for Podcasts in the Settings section. Check the podcasts and individual episodes that you want to sync to your device and then click Sync or Apply.
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