Imagine radio shows, delivered directly to your computer. That's what podcasting is.

You've probably heard of MP3s, music sound files. MP3s can be played on your computer, or on any MP3 player, like iPods.

Well, some folks had the idea of recording radio shows as MP3 files directly on their computers. Those MP3 files can then be sent to anyone who wants to listen to the shows.

There are podcasts on any number of topics, from business to science to religion to knitting.

If you want to listen to a podcast, you'll need a few things:

1. Podcast listening software, called a "podcatcher." iTunes is a very popular podcatcher, available for both Windows and the Mac.
2. Something to listen with.
• You can use your computer, and play the podcast shows straight from iTunes. Or...
• You can connect an MP3 player (like an iPod) to your computer, then sync it to the computer, and all your MP3s will be transferred to the iPod. Then you can listen to the podcasts anywhere.

A podcast consists of a few elements:

1. A bunch of MP3 files, each one representing an episode
2. A feed, which is just a file on the web that keeps a list of each episode (episode title, the name of the MP3 file, when it was made, a description, etc.)
3. A webpage listing the episodes. This is optional, really, but it's hard to get any notice without a website.

Finding Podcasts

One of the most popular podcasting sites is Podcast Alley, which is a huge directory of podcasts. Click on a show name to see the address of its feed.

Subscribing to a Podcast

Once you have a feed address, open iTunes, then click Advanced > Subscribe to Podcast. Then paste in the feed address, and the podcast will appear in your list of podcasts.

Here's a screenshot of my iTunes, showing the podcasts I'm subscribed to. The little blue dot is next to any episodes I haven't listened to yet.

Podcasts in iTunes

Examples

Here are a few podcasts that I like:

• Dan Carlin's Hardcore History
• Eclectic Mix — A new, little-known independent artist every week
• Manager Tools — Advice for managers
• This Week in Tech