Digital radios: Online radio Listen to and download podcasts
Both amateur and professional broadcasters can make their own podcasts
Podcasts
Podcasts are recordings of radio shows (or videos) you can download from the internet and listen to at your leisure, either on your computer or portable music player.
You don't need to have an Apple iPod to listen to podcasts and free podcasts are available from numerous websites.
Tune in to, or download, our free weekly Which? technology podcasts for the latest tech news and launches.
You don't have to subscribe to listen to Which? podcasts, although for some other websites you may need to.
Subscribing can be useful. After subscribing, your podcatcher automatically downloads new episodes to your computer. You can then copy these to your digital music player in the same way as you transfer normal music files. Because anyone from keen amateurs to professional broadcasters can make their own recordings, sound and content quality varies enormously.
Apple's free iTunes software makes it easy to search, download and subscribe to podcasts. Alternatively, software such as Juice, which is free, will schedule and play your chosen programmes.
Other podcasts available from Which? include our Which? Money podcast and Which? Car podcast.
Find podcasts on iTunes
1Search for a show
How to get started with online radio
The iTunes Music Store lists 25,000 podcasts; most are free. To subscribe to your favourites click Podcasts under the Source menu. The first time you do this, iTunes connects to the podcast section of its music store. When you find one you like click Subscribe. iTunes downloads the latest instalment and schedules future downloads.
Which? podcasts are available for free to listen to on the Which? website or they can be downloaded from iTunes.
2To add a podcast manually
If you can't find the podcast you want using iTunes' search, visit the podcaster's website and find its feed URL (see 'Download podcasts without iTunes' below for instructions).
Then in iTunes, Click Advanced > Subscribe to Podcast and paste (Ctrl + V) the address into the 'Add URL' window, or type it in. Click OK to subscribe.
If you decide you've heard enough of one of your regular podcasts, simply find it on the list, right click and select Clear to wipe it from your computer.
3Listening to your podcast in iTunes
> Click Podcast to view your subscriptions.
> Click the Play button to list all of an individual podcast's episodes.
> Click Get next to an episode to download it,
> Double-click a title to listen to shows already downloaded
To search for new shows from the Music Store again, click Podcast Directory.
To listen to broadcasts on the move, simply plug your iPod into the computer with the supplied cable and everything in iTunes, including your new podcasts, will copy across to the player.
Download podcasts without using iTunes
Free podcasts from Juice
If you don't have iTunes or an iPod, you can download podcasts with Juice.
Search for a show
Look for shows in its directory, or add them manually by typing in the show's URL (a web address which usually ends in .rss or .xml) from your chosen website. (If you can't see this look for an RSS logo, then right-click it and select 'Copy Shortcut'.)
In Juice, click the Subscriptions tab and Click '+'. Paste the URL into the box provided. Click Save. Click the green button containing two arrows for the latest episodes.
Download podcasts
The Downloads tab lists the episodes that have been, or are due to be, downloaded to your computer.
Double click on the name of an episode to play the show with your usual media player software (Windows Media Player, say).
You can change your preferred player in Juice by clicking on File > Preferences > Player
For more on podcasts and other things you can do online, see our book Internet Made Easy for the Over 50s.
