What is a podcast?

A podcast is a series of digital audio files which are distributed over the Internet using syndication feeds to be played on portable media players (such as iPod or other mp3 players) and computers. The term "podcast" is a combination of the words "iPod" and "broadcast", the Apple iPod being the brand of portable media player for which the first podcasts were developed. Though podcasters may also allow their content to be streamed or download directly, a podcast is distinguished by its ability to be syndicated, subscribed to, and downloaded automatically when new content is added, using software capable of reading feed formats such as RSS or Atom.

What do I need?

If you wish to subscribe to a podcast you may need the following items...

A Computer

Regular Access to a computer with an adequate internet connection so that you can set up and access the podcast feed is a must. Most computers will also allow you to playback and listen to the audio from a podcast in the event that you don't own a portable media player.

Podcast Client

A Podcast client is a piece of software that allows you to subscribe to and view a podcast's feed. Most often, it will automatically download the attached audio files each time new content is added to the feed. Typically, podcast clients will allow you to subscribe to multiple podcasts and will often provide some way of playing the downloaded audio.

Apple iTunes is one of the most popular applications available capable of receiving podcasts. In addition to being a general media player/organiser it also allows you to easily manage your downloaded content and seamlessly connects to your iPod (or other portable media player). iTunes is freely available from www.apple.com/itunes.

Portable Media Player (Optional)

If you wish to listen to a podcast away from your computer or on the go you will need some kind of portable media player such as an iPod. Although Apple iPods have typically been the brand of media player used to listen to podcasts, any device capable of storing and playing mp3 files should also work.

How do I subscribe to a podcast?

Subscribing to one of Ashgrove's podcasts is a relatively quick process. For the purpose of this guide we will assume you are using iTunes as your application of choice although most other podcasting or RSS software will involve similar steps.

Step 1

Open your web browser and direct it to www.ashgrove.org.au. Follow the links to the 'Podcasts & Recordings' section of the site.

Step 2

On the right hand side of the page you will notice all of our available podcasts listed. Simply click on the orange feed icon corresponding to the podcast you wish to subscribe to. Your browser will most likely direct you to a summary of the feed and its latest content. To proceed, highlight and copy the address at the top of your browser.

Step 3

Open iTunes and on the top menu select Advanced > Subscribe to Podcast.... Paste the address (copied earlier) into the 'url' field in the popup box and click 'Ok'. Depending on your settings, iTunes will usually begin to download the most recent episode of the podcast. The new podcast should now be listed under 'Podcasts' in your iTunes library. iTunes will populate with information about the podcast automatically from the feed. Clicking on the little arrow next to the title will collapse and display a list of episodes as contained in the feed and which ones are yet to be downloaded.

Step 4 (Optional)

If you would like to modify how iTunes handles podcasts, you can do so by selecting Edit > Preferences from the menu and clicking on the 'Podcasts' tab. Here you can change how frequently iTunes checks for new episodes and what it does when new content is available.

Can I download a specific episode directly?

Yes, if you don't want to subscribe to one of Ashgrove's podcasts or are looking for a specific message you can directly download an episode from the list on the podcast page by right-clicking on the download symbol and selecting 'Save Target As...' (or 'Save Link As...' in Firefox). You will be prompted for a location to save to after which the download will begin. It may take as little as 30 seconds or as much as 30 minutes to download depending on the type and speed of your internet connection.