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How to Subscribe to a Podcast

Chuck Zimmerman

Here’s a Monday morning, “Ask the AgriBlogger” question. “How do I subscribe to a podcast?”

Good question. And it is one I am getting a lot all of the sudden. Farm podcasting has been around about 13 years now but seems to be getting quite a bit of traction as a communication channel now. So let me provide you with some direction on this very simple, while somewhat complicated topic.

Think of a podcast as a regularly scheduled, recorded audio program in the form of a digital audio file. Instead of it being broadcast via a radio transmitter to your radio it is distributed via a digital signal like your phone’s cellular connection or wifi or your home/office internet wired connection. The term podcast comes from the fact that when this started we only had iPods. It’s a goofy name but it’s what we’ve got.

So here are some notes on how to subscribe:

  • The podcast file must be put into a little text file called an RSS Feed. This small file contains the directions (code) for your device to download the audio file so you can listen to it. RSS Feeds can be used for different purposes but here we’re just talking about distributing the audio program.
  • You device (computer, smart phone, tablet) needs to have an app that will use that podcast RSS Feed. This app will know when there is a new episode of the podcast and automatically download it for you. You only have to subscribe one time.
  • App examples would be Podcasts on iOS or Google Play on Android. On your computer, most all browsers (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, Chrome) have a built-in app that lets you subscribe to the podcast RSS Feed.
  • There are a number of online directories which use the podcast RSS Feed to make the podcast more easily found and available for your device. For example, my weekly ZimmCast can be found in the iTunes podcast directory. If you open iTunes on your computer or device and search for “ZimmCast” you will find it and iTunes easily lets you subscribe right there.
  • Using the ZimmCast as an example, here are the links for what I have described above.

    ZimmCast RSS Feed
    ZimmCast in iTunes

If you will be attending the National Agri-Marketing Conference this year, please stop by the ZimmComm booth where we will be answering this question and even helping you subscribe to podcasts in whatever device you have.

Email me if you have questions or problems.

Podcasts