What is a podcast?

A podcast is an online audio or video file, organized by release date, available for download, streaming, and subscribing.

Most podcasts are released as mp3 files – audio files that you can download to your computer.

How do I listen to a podcast?

First, you can simply “stream” the podcast, straight from the podcast web page, to your computer. Just click on the podcast file, and it should open in your browser or your media player. Some podcasts, like mine, have a handy built-in player. Simply click the “play” button and you can listen.

Second, you can download the podcast, straight to your computer, so that you can listen to it at a later date. Just “right-click” on the podcast file and select “save link as” or “save file as”. The file will download to your computer’s hard drive. Once the download is complete, click the file and you can listen to the podcast.

Third, you can subscribe to podcast “feed”. This way, whenever a new podcast episode is released, it will automatically be downloaded to your computer.

How do I subscribe to a podcast?

You will need a program like iTunes.

Download and install Itunes.

Navigate to a podcast page and look around for a “feed button” -

The “feed button” will look something like one of these -

or

If you click on the iTunes “feed button”, iTunes should open and begin to download the latest episode of the podcast.

If you right-click on the “feed button”, you can copy the “feed url” – (The feed url will usually have the word “feed” in it.)

Open iTunes, click the Advanced tab, and click Subscribe to podcast -

Paste the feed url into the Subscribe to podcast field and click OK.

Your download will begin.

Do I Need An iPod To Listen To The Podcast?

NO! You can play the file from your computer – and if it’s a standard mp3 file, you can transfer it to ANY portable mp3 player or mp3-capable smart phone.

I Am Still Confused!?!

If you are still confused, feel free to leave a comment or a question. Don’t be afraid of this “new” technology. My dad, who is a total tech-newbie, loves podcasts.

If you are looking for even more podcasts, checkout Podcast Pickle – an awesome directory with thousands of podcasts.