Listening to podcasts

A podcast is an audio file that you can stream or download. Podcasts come in different shapes and sizes: from long thriller series and large interviews to radio plays, short news stories and spoken columns. Many media companies use podcasts for series in narrative form.

On the train, in the car, or while waiting: there are moments throughout the day when a podcast offers a solution. The download function allows the listener to play a podcast at any time, even if there is no internet connection. The podcast has grown in popularity in recent years, mainly because it is easy to use on the smartphone.

Podcasts are often offered in dedicated apps. In these apps, you can browse and search for interesting podcasts and listen to them right away. To listen to the same podcast more than once, you can subscribe. New broadcasts are then automatically transferred to the smartphone. You can also search and save podcasts on your computer, and transfer them to your phone for listening.

There are countless free podcast apps that can be downloaded on any smartphone. For example the popular Castbox. But podcasts can also be listened to on Spotify or on Apple’s special Podcasts app. Read in the following paragraphs how these providers work. Too complicated? They are also easy to find on Google. There are a number of websites that offer podcasts for free, such as listen podcast.

Castbox is one of the most popular and well-organized podcast apps. The platform also offers audiobooks and radio stations. The app, which is in English, has a well-organized search function, which easily switches between titles from different countries. Castbox also has many Dutch podcasts.

• Download the app in the App Store for iPhone and iPad and in the Play Store for Android devices.
• Open the app.
• Tap on Login later to proceed to the free environment.
• Tap on discover.
• You will see an overview of popular podcasts. For example, tap one of the icons under “Top Shows.”
• Tap an episode.
• Then tap the play button to play.

Download podcast

You can also download the podcast instead of streaming.

• Tap an episode.
• Tap the down arrow on the right .
• The podcast is now downloading. Tap in the top left back.
• Tap the tab at the bottom Personal > History.
• You will see the downloaded podcast. Tap it and then the play button to play offline.

Apple also has an official podcast app, which is widely used by iPhone owners. For those who sometimes want to listen to an episode of a podcast, the Podcasts app offers plenty of options.

• Open the Podcasts app.
• Tap the tab at the bottom To discover.
• Here is an overview of popular podcasts. For example, tap art under the heading ‘Search by category’.
• Tap one of the icons under the heading ‘New and noteworthy’.
• Tap the episode to play immediately.

Download podcast

Also here you can download the podcast instead of streaming.

• Tap an episode.
• Tap the plus sign on the right .
• Then tap the cloud .
• Tap on Library > Downloaded Episodes.
• You will see the downloaded podcast. Tap the icon and the podcast will start playing immediately.

Music streaming service Spotify also has podcasts. The language of the description for the podcast shows in which language the podcast is spoken.

• Open the Spotify app.
• Tap at the bottom Library > Podcasts > Browse podcasts.
• Here are some suggestions under Featured Podcasts. Scroll further down to view podcasts by category.
• Tap the podcast image and tap Play.