How to Download Podcasts on Your Computer
If you listen to podcasts on your computer, you’re probably wondering how to download them. Desktop operating systems like macOS and Windows both have apps for downloading podcasts. The Mac’s dedicated podcast app, Podcasts, works much like its mobile counterpart. But if you’re on a desktop and don’t have a MacOS app, you can still download podcasts from a website. Visit the podcast website, explain what you want to listen to, and find a link to each episode. Once downloaded, the files stay on your computer until you delete them.
Podcatchers
Podcatchers are programs designed for downloading podcasts. These files generally come in MP3 format, but many can also download text, newsfeeds, and pictures. They also allow you to set up different preferences, including the type of audio file to download, the download destination, and player preferences. Some even automate the transfer of audio files to a portable media player. Many podcatchers come with a directory of high-profile podcasts that you can subscribe to manually by providing the URL.
Podcatchers for downloading podcasts make the process of downloading a podcast much simpler. They allow you to choose which podcasts you want to listen to, and download them to your phone. Many podcatcher apps offer extra features, such as the ability to speed up or slow down the audio, so you can hear them at a faster speed. If you’re a heavy podcast listener, you might want to consider using a free podcatcher to download podcasts.
Linking to RSS feed
Creating an RSS feed for your podcast is a great way to promote it to listeners. Podcasters work hard to create great content, but they may not have as many followers as they’d like, or they might even not know if they’ll be returning to the podcast in the future. This is where an RSS feed comes in handy. Although the RSS feed for your website may be sufficient, it may not pick up all the podcast episodes.
If you’re creating a podcast on your own site, you can create an RSS feed for your podcast episodes. This feed will have three required components: a category named “podcast”, a descriptive title, and a slug. Apple Podcasts will ignore any feed episode with the same name. When publishing your podcast, make sure you use the correct category and tags, so that your audience can find it and download it.
Automatic downloads
If you love listening to podcasts on your mobile device, you can set iTunes to automatically download the episodes you are listening to. You can also select different rules to enable automatic downloads. Here are a few options to try:
To enable Automatic Downloads for specific shows, you must follow the show on Apple Podcasts. Once you have done this, all new episodes of the show will automatically be downloaded to your device. This feature preserves your local storage and cellular data. Once you’ve enabled this setting, you’ll see that you can listen to your favorite podcasts from anywhere. To avoid being charged while downloading, use WiFi to access Apple Podcasts. It also works across all your devices, including iPods, iPhones, and Android phones.
Storage of podcasts on mobile device
Fortunately, you can control the amount of storage that your downloaded podcasts occupy on your iOS device. Downloaded podcasts slowly take up storage space, but you can delete them whenever you like. However, you may encounter a situation where your podcasts start to overtake your available storage space. You can also delete the entire app, but this will immediately erase all the podcasts you’ve downloaded from it. To manage your storage, follow these steps.
Apple Podcasts downloads shows to listeners’ devices, but this consumes a lot of space on the device, which might cause you to run out of room for other activities. However, the buggy iOS 14.5 and macOS 11.3 releases only added to the problem. This problem was compounded by the fact that older episodes would continue to download on the device even though they’re not needed. However, Apple has since released updates that address this issue.
Unsubscribing from a podcast
If you subscribe to a podcast, your device can quickly become filled with episodes. Unsubscribing will free up some space in your device, so be sure to go through your list and decide which shows you no longer listen to. To do this, navigate to Podcasts>Library>Unsubscribe from a podcast. Then, tap the three dots in the purple circle to select the option.
To unsubscribe from a podcast, you’ll need to go to the Show Info page and tap the grey ‘Unsubscribe’ button. This will delete all episodes you’ve downloaded, as well as any playback statistics you’ve accumulated. Alternatively, you can delete the entire playlist and start over with a fresh subscription. If you’ve subscribed to multiple podcasts, you can also unsubscribe at any time.