I’m a huge fan of podcasting and I strongly encourage folks to use this terrific technology to listen to some of the best preaching in America. It’s free and its right at our fingertips. How better to redeem your commute?
But for some, subscribing to a podcast might as well be Greek. How do you get started? Well I recently helped a friend get his new iPhone all set subscribing to podcasts. So I thought I’d post the instructions I gave him here. So below you fill find step-by-step instructions:
To Subscribe to A New Podcast:
1) Open up iTunes on your computer
2) In iTunes, open up the iTunes store (left side, middle screen in iTunes), right above “ping” and below “Store”
3) In the search box, on the upper right hand side, type in the name of the podcast or personality/preacher/ministry name. For instance:
- Insight for Living
- Family Life Today
- Focus on the Family
- Matt Chandler or Village Church
4) Under “Podcasts” click on the appropriate podcast for details. Some ministries have several different podcasts (1 minute inspirational ones, half-hour messages, etc)
5) On the podcast page, in the left hand side under the podcast picture, select “subscribe free”
6) A window will come up that says, “Are you sure . . . .” – select “Subscribe”
7) Your podcasts will begin download onto your computer
To Sync Your Podcasts to Your Phone
1) Open iTunes on your Computer
2) Under “library” select, “Podcasts”
3) Check and see what podcasts you are subscribed to.
- Sometimes, if you haven’t listened to it in a while, it may stop downloading. You will know this if you see an exclamation point next to it. If there isn’t one, then you’re good to go.
- If there is an exclamation point next to the podcast, click on that. It will bring up a dialog box asking if you want to continue to download this podcast (select yes).
4) Connect your iPhone (or iPod) to your computer to sync it.
5) In iTunes, select your phone “under devices”
6) This will bring up your “summary page” with a picture of your phone and syncing options.
7) On the top is a menu bar. Select “podcasts”
8) This will bring up a podcast sync page. On this page, make sure the “sync podcasts” is checked.
9) Also you will want to select how many podcasts you want synced from your iTunes on your computer to your phone. You do this by adjusting the settings in the dropdown box underneath the “Sync Podcasts” For instance:
- “all”
- 1 most recent unplayed
- 5 most recent unplayed
10) Once you are satisfied with your settings, click “sync” at the bottom right corner to ensure your new settings will go into effect immediately on your phone.
Now, each time you sync your phone, iTunes will update your podcasts.