What IS Podcasting?

I'll tell you. It's like a radio or television broadcast, but the "pod" stands for "publication on demand." In other words, you don't have to tune into a TV or radio at a certain time to hear or see the show that you're looking for. You can listen or watch whenever you want. Most podcasts right now are just audio shows, but there are some video podcasts too. The best part is that podcasts are free. That's right: free music. Some people assume that the word podcast refers to an iPod. That is misleading. You don't need an iPod to listen to podcasts. If the podcasts come as mp3 files, which most do, then you can listen to the podcast on ANY mp3 player. You can also listen to the podcast on your laptop or desktop computer. Or if you want, burn it to a CD, and listen to it in any CD player.

How do you get or subscribe to a free podcast? Well, if you have used iTunes, it is extremely simple to subscribe to a podcast. Do the following:

Find a link to a show you like. For example: http://feeds.feedburner.com/madeintheuk

1. Podcast source files often end in file types like .xml or .rss or .php or other formats. However, as you can see from the one above, there may be more generic URL's that work as podcasts.
2. Cut and paste that podcast link into iTunes. To do this, open iTunes first, then do the following:
3. Click on "advanced," click on "subscribe to podcast," then cut & paste or type the link in, & hit ok.
4. In iTunes, once you've subscribed to a couple of podcasts, you'll see them listed in the podcast directory. If you double-click on any of the titles, you'll see a sub-menu which lists all of the old episodes. If iTunes hasn't already downloaded the older episodes for you, you can check the boxes beside any episodes that you want to download. You can also set the software to download every episode automatically, which makes things easier.

Other Software: iTunes probably accounts for about 80% of all podcasting software, called podcast "aggregators." An aggregator is a type of software that "collects" things. However, there are quite a few other podcatcher software programs. "Juice" is one popular alternative to iTunes. However, iTunes works just great, so it is probably the easiest program to recommend.

Where do I find a podcast? A lot of podcasts are listed on various websites around the internet. However, to save time, you can search for podcasts on a couple of specific websites that are very useful:

iTunes: If you're in the podcast section of iTunes, look down in the bottom right corner and you'll see a link to go to the podcast directory. You can also click on the "iTunes Store" in the left column, and when that shows up, check out the top right corner of the screen for the Podcast section. Anyway, dig around and find something that you like, and hover over the link. A "subscribe" button will pop up. Click on it, and you'll be subscribed to that podcast. iTunes will download the current episode immediately, and in the future it will download any other episodes that come out.

PodcastPickle.com: this is a website which lists thousands of podcasts that you can subscribe to.

Zune.net: Zune is MicroSoft's mp3 player. This site has a good podcast directory.

PodcastAlley.com: another website directory with thousands of podcasts.

You'll notice that there are a LOT of podcasts which aren't music. They may not interest you. However, if you dig around, you'll find a lot of great music podcasts too.

Starting this Friday evening, January 15th, my own weekly radio show entitled Subterranean Homesick Grooves™ will become available as a weekly podcast. I'll have more information about that shortly. If you like progressive house or related genres, I hope that you'll enjoy the Subterranean Homesick Grooves radio show, and you'll subscribe to it, and share the link with friends!

- Jonathan Clark (DJ Bolivia)