A nice way to use Apple Podcasts
I feel like I'm not alone in finding it hard to choose the 'best' place to listen to podcasts. I flirt with Apple Podcasts for a bit, then I get bored and move onto Spotify, I've tried Airr, and even briefly had a fling with Luminary. Then enough time will pass and I'll repeat the whole process ad infinitum.
However, I was with a friend recently and he just so happened to open up his podcasts app and I noticed he was using it in a way that I had never considered. But it's one that makes absolute sense.
He was a heavy user of the 'play next' or the 'queue' function—whatever you want to call it. He didn't subscribe to any podcasts in particular but instead searched for topics that interested him and added episodes to the queue, which was running about 25 episodes deep.
This was what I was looking for, finally! A way to listen to podcasts but without committing to following a podcast and getting all of their episodes flooding your notifications. Making you feel guilty for not listening. This method also means you have a steady stream of diverse topics to listen to which makes opening up the app and listening to something almost instantaneous. Before this, I'd have to open up the app, browse through recent episodes and choose something which piqued my interest; a recipe for disaster because of the agony of choice. Now I just open the app and hit play on the next show in the queue.
A few tips I use to find new episodes:
- search for a book I want to read and listen to an interview with the author
- search for an artist I like and see what inspires them
- find people talking about my favourite movies
- find episodes on topics I wish to learn more about
Does it really need to be Apple Podcasts? To be fair, it doesn't, but a standalone podcast app is crucial. This method wouldn't work in, say, Spotify because I'm going to assume you're like me and also use Spotify to listen to music. This renders the queue useless unless.
Am I the only one who didn't think of this? Please let me know!