Looking for a new podcast app
November 29, 2023 3:14 PM Subscribe
Please recommend a podcast app with a decent queue or smart playlist feature.
I've been using the Castro podcast app for years. I like that I can choose what do to with new episodes of subscribed podcasts: queue next or queue last, put into Inbox. I subscribe and listen to many podcasts, so doing this manually would take a lot of time.
It seems that Castro is about to shut down, and it is already giving me error messages. I'm using and iPhone, but don't like the Podcasts app from Apple much.
What app are you using? Is there anything out there that will automatically add new episodes of (some) podcasts to a queue automatically?
Thanks!
I've been using the Castro podcast app for years. I like that I can choose what do to with new episodes of subscribed podcasts: queue next or queue last, put into Inbox. I subscribe and listen to many podcasts, so doing this manually would take a lot of time.
It seems that Castro is about to shut down, and it is already giving me error messages. I'm using and iPhone, but don't like the Podcasts app from Apple much.
What app are you using? Is there anything out there that will automatically add new episodes of (some) podcasts to a queue automatically?
Thanks!
Best answer: Pocket Casts can add new episodes automatically to your Up Next queue. You can choose whether to add them to the top or bottom of the queue.
posted by Roger Pittman at 3:24 PM on November 29, 2023 [5 favorites]
posted by Roger Pittman at 3:24 PM on November 29, 2023 [5 favorites]
Seconding Overcast.
posted by synecdoche at 3:58 PM on November 29, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by synecdoche at 3:58 PM on November 29, 2023 [2 favorites]
Seconding Pocket Casts, I've tried pretty much all of the other major ones and it has the best and most commonsensical interface for keeping track of (and having different download and autoqueue settings for) lots of different podcasts. I follow a bunch of different daily/weekly shows and it keeps me on top of the ones I'm most interested in, while also making it easy to switch things up if I want to drop or add something to the rotation.
posted by Strange Interlude at 4:33 PM on November 29, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Strange Interlude at 4:33 PM on November 29, 2023 [1 favorite]
(I almost forgot, Pocket Casts also works with private Patreon podcast feeds, if that's something that interests you. They also have a web app version that syncs with the iPhone/Android version and lets you listen through any web browser.)
posted by Strange Interlude at 4:38 PM on November 29, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by Strange Interlude at 4:38 PM on November 29, 2023 [2 favorites]
Overcast is the clear indie darling but I've found it to be a little rough around the edges (although the specific way it speeds up podcasts while not distorting audio is second-to-none).
I've used Pocket Casts for quite a while and have nothing bad to say about it, while thirding that it supports your specific use case of adding new eps to the current playlist.
posted by tubedogg at 5:12 PM on November 29, 2023
I've used Pocket Casts for quite a while and have nothing bad to say about it, while thirding that it supports your specific use case of adding new eps to the current playlist.
posted by tubedogg at 5:12 PM on November 29, 2023
Pocket Casts forever. It's a great app. I'm not sure what "put into Inbox" means, but if it means what I think it means, PC can send you notifications when new episodes (of one, several selected, or all podcasts) are released.
posted by pdb at 5:31 PM on November 29, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by pdb at 5:31 PM on November 29, 2023 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Overcast has been my go-to since its v1.0. And it will do exactly what you're asking for. You pick a selection of podcasts, it'll add all new episodes to a specific custom playlist. I have different playlists sorted by topic, and it's so handy.
Also, according to my stats its "Smart Speed" feature (the aforementioned speed up feature that basically just trims silences) has saved me an extra 648 hours of listening time. I have a podcast problem apparently!
posted by cgg at 5:32 PM on November 29, 2023 [2 favorites]
Also, according to my stats its "Smart Speed" feature (the aforementioned speed up feature that basically just trims silences) has saved me an extra 648 hours of listening time. I have a podcast problem apparently!
posted by cgg at 5:32 PM on November 29, 2023 [2 favorites]
I've previously looked into other podcast apps that can duplicate Castro's inbox+queue triage system, but unfortunately, no other apps (including Apple's Podcast app, Overcast, and Pocketcast) offered anything similar.
However, if you are okay with a web app, you can try something like Listen Later (https://www.listennotes.com/listen-later/), where you can add individual podcast episodes to a playlist, and then have your podcast player app subscribe to the Listen Later playlist. It is not exactly like Castro, but it was the closest I've found.
posted by applesurf at 8:53 PM on November 29, 2023
However, if you are okay with a web app, you can try something like Listen Later (https://www.listennotes.com/listen-later/), where you can add individual podcast episodes to a playlist, and then have your podcast player app subscribe to the Listen Later playlist. It is not exactly like Castro, but it was the closest I've found.
posted by applesurf at 8:53 PM on November 29, 2023
Oh! I just noticed you also said "smart playlists" and Pocket Casts also abounds with ways you can filter podcasts into such playlists, in addition to automatically queueing new episodes of specific podcasts.
posted by tubedogg at 8:53 PM on November 29, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by tubedogg at 8:53 PM on November 29, 2023 [1 favorite]
When I left iOS I moved away from Overcast (which I would still recommend) and switched to Player.fm. It's multiplatform (iOS, Android, Web) and when you sign up you can sync plays, playlists, listened to, etc across all devices. You have a view where you can see episodes across all shows, or per show, a specific playlist (Play Later) you can push episodes into for your own queue, as well as regular playlists.
Lots of functionality is available in the free version (including OPML import for moving from another platform) and the annual licence is $40 direct from their website. I've been a paid user for seven or eight years.
posted by ewan at 4:52 AM on November 30, 2023
Lots of functionality is available in the free version (including OPML import for moving from another platform) and the annual licence is $40 direct from their website. I've been a paid user for seven or eight years.
posted by ewan at 4:52 AM on November 30, 2023
I’ve been using Downcast for a long time. It’s still getting small updates, but 3.0 has been on the horizon for a long time and I’m not sure it’ll ever come. It’s stable and does a great job as is, though. Not sure what I’d change, other than maybe some decorative fixes.
posted by backwards guitar at 12:35 PM on November 30, 2023
posted by backwards guitar at 12:35 PM on November 30, 2023
Pocket Casts. It also works on Android and on the web.
posted by alby at 10:51 PM on November 30, 2023
posted by alby at 10:51 PM on November 30, 2023
Response by poster: Thanks very much to everyone for your recommendations! I downloaded Pocket Casts and Overcast to try out both of them. (Yay for transferring a lot of subscriptions via OPML!) I'll give it a few days and see which one I like better. They both seem to be doing most of what I want, except for Castro's Inbox.
If you're curious: Castro lets you send new episodes of subscriptions to an inbox, and then you can look at them and decide whether to add them to the queue or delete them. They only get downloaded once you add the to the queue. I might be able to do something similar in Pocket Casts and/or Overcast with a playlist, I hope - I'm still figuring things out.
posted by amf at 6:06 AM on December 1, 2023
If you're curious: Castro lets you send new episodes of subscriptions to an inbox, and then you can look at them and decide whether to add them to the queue or delete them. They only get downloaded once you add the to the queue. I might be able to do something similar in Pocket Casts and/or Overcast with a playlist, I hope - I'm still figuring things out.
posted by amf at 6:06 AM on December 1, 2023
Best answer: In Pocket Casts, I think the easiest way to do what you want is create a filter and set it as follows:
All Your Podcasts: all
Episode Status: unplayed
Download Status: not downloaded
Name that one Inbox.
Create a second filter called Downloaded (or whatever you’d like). Set it as follows:
All Your Podcasts: all
Download Status: downloaded
Process:
New episodes will show up in your Inbox filter automatically. From there, tap on each to review it and make a decision. To “delete” it, tap on Mark Played, then Archive. To download, tap on the down arrow (also has the file size).
Note that downloads can be removed by the OS if your device starts running out of space or you transfer to a new device. They’re considered to be in a cache since theoretically they can be redownloaded (not if the podcast gets removed from the web though!). For a more stable way of tracking these in case you need to redownload later, set the second filter like this:
All Your Podcasts: all
Starred: (enabled)
Once the filter is created, go into it and tap on the three-dots menu, then Filter Options. Enable Auto Download.
In this case, instead of tapping download when you’re reviewing the podcast episode, tap the star icon to star it. This adds it to the second filter and automatically downloads it.
The second filter is what you’ll use to listen from, as that now contains your selected episodes.
posted by tubedogg at 1:23 PM on December 2, 2023 [2 favorites]
All Your Podcasts: all
Episode Status: unplayed
Download Status: not downloaded
Name that one Inbox.
Create a second filter called Downloaded (or whatever you’d like). Set it as follows:
All Your Podcasts: all
Download Status: downloaded
Process:
New episodes will show up in your Inbox filter automatically. From there, tap on each to review it and make a decision. To “delete” it, tap on Mark Played, then Archive. To download, tap on the down arrow (also has the file size).
Note that downloads can be removed by the OS if your device starts running out of space or you transfer to a new device. They’re considered to be in a cache since theoretically they can be redownloaded (not if the podcast gets removed from the web though!). For a more stable way of tracking these in case you need to redownload later, set the second filter like this:
All Your Podcasts: all
Starred: (enabled)
Once the filter is created, go into it and tap on the three-dots menu, then Filter Options. Enable Auto Download.
In this case, instead of tapping download when you’re reviewing the podcast episode, tap the star icon to star it. This adds it to the second filter and automatically downloads it.
The second filter is what you’ll use to listen from, as that now contains your selected episodes.
posted by tubedogg at 1:23 PM on December 2, 2023 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: Thank you, tubedogg, I tried this and it works great!
posted by amf at 12:33 AM on December 4, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by amf at 12:33 AM on December 4, 2023 [2 favorites]
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posted by JackBurden at 3:22 PM on November 29, 2023 [8 favorites]