Looking for a podcast app. But it needs to be SPECIAL.

July 8, 2020 9:46 AM

I'm looking for a very simple feature in an Android podcast app that I can't seem to find. I want it to allow me to sort episodes based on user feedback/most listened to/most shared.

Let's face it: I will never listen to the 8,000 back episodes of any podcast. I want to surf through LOTS of podcasts, but I only want to hear the cream of the crop. Apparently I have no loyalty.

Bonus points if it has the simple feature of creating a queue of episodes manually, so I can find an episode I'm interested in, add it to the queue, and create a neverending stream of podcastopia.

I'm happy to pay for an app that does this.

posted by nosila to Media & Arts (2 answers total)

Best answer: I have played with dozens of podcast apps and I do not know of one that offers this feature, in part because this information typically is not shared throughout the podcast ecosystem in a way that would allow podcast apps to do what you want, and sharing from within apps is relatively small when compared with the total amount of listening.

That said, I know you asked for an app, but an app might not be the best answer. Here's what I would recommend:

Owltail shares information on the top episodes for some of the top podcasts for 2019. I do not know their methodology but many of the podcasts are well known.

Listen Notes is by far and away the best podcast recommendation engine I know, not least because it has outlasted a bunch of others. It has a lot of different ways to see what is trending, what people are listening to right now, AND to save a playlist of your own as a feed that you can load into any other podcast app! That's the winning formula here. Hot podcasts shows you hot episodes. Use the site on your phone if you must have it in mobile form. The real-time feed that shows what people are listening to now also displays hot episodes.

The Podcast Review site of the LA Times Books recommends both episodes and shows. Nice to see this stuff in print because it can be easy to skim. Be sure to look at their lists.

BBC Radio 4's Extra's Podcast Radio Hour is a podcast about podcast content. They play samples, talk to hosts, and make recommendations. Not exclusively British. Good stuff, keeps up with trends but doesn't follow the herd. The Big Listen from NPR was a similar show, but it is no longer producing episodes. However, perhaps some of the older episodes will serve you.
posted by Mo Nickels at 5:08 PM on July 8, 2020 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: Mo Nickels - this info is exactly what I need, many thanks for the thorough answer! (And silly of me to call a feature simple that is clearly not simple!)
posted by nosila at 6:30 AM on July 9, 2020