What is Google Podcast and how it works

One of the best apps to listen to any kind of podcast, wherever and whenever you want, is Google Podcast: here's what it is, its functions and on which devices to use it.

Listening to your favorite shows anytime, anywhere, with no space or time limits, directly on your smartphone, tablet or PC: this is what podcasts are all about. Podcasts are audio programs of various kinds, divided into episodes in a mostly free form, depending on the subject matter.

Series stories, language courses, discussions on a particular topic, news bulletins, radio plays, conversations between friends and more. Google Podcasts is the application par excellence dedicated to listening to all kinds of podcasts.

Google Podcasts: what it is

If you want to use Google Podcasts, what it is is the first thing you need to know. It is an application born around the middle of 2018, which allows you to listen to your favorite broadcasts for free. It is a real digital player, which allows the user to digitally listen to any podcast. Its interface was revamped around 2019, in Material Theme style.

How Google Podcasts Works

When opening Google Podcasts, an initial screen appears with a series of categories, where users can go to find the type of broadcast they want to follow, with a very simple search. If you already have a specific podcast in mind, you can use the magnifying glass tool.

With this interface you can also decide to subscribe to your favorite shows, but also listen to individual episodes, or view information. If you use it on your smartphone, there is a very useful feature that lets you display the podcasts you want on your home screen, with a special icon.

Of Google Podcasts, how playback works is another thing to know. The interface allows you to listen to a broadcast on different devices, picking up where you left off. On the smartphone there is a player that also allows changing the playback speed. Not only that, you can also set pause timers, or cut off parts of silence. There is also a section where you can read information about the protagonists.

Using Google Podcasts

When you open Google Podcasts you'll access the main screen, in which the contents are grouped into various groups, so as to facilitate consultation. There are several categories that divide the broadcasts by variety and popularity. For example, there are sections that contain the trendiest podcasts, others dedicated to those that are most popular, not to mention the thematic sections, such as politics, news, technology, science, etc.

Once you have selected the category, you'll go to choose the show you want to follow, to which you can subscribe through a special option, or you can simply start playing the episodes. In the menu with the three dots, located at the top, you can choose to add the show you're following to the main screen of the phone, or you can visit the website or even the RSS feed, but also share the podcast.

There is also a settings section where you can choose various options on downloading or managing notifications from audio players. In short, Google Podcast is a complete tool full of possibilities, ideal for those who are new to the world of podcasting, but also for more experienced users. In fact, ease of use goes hand in hand with a wide range of features.

On what devices to listen to Google Podcast

Google Podcast can be used on almost any Android smartphone, but also on cars that use Android Auto. What's more, it is compatible with Google Home, Google Nest Hub, Google Chromecast, and Google Nest Mini.

Google Podcast on PC

It is possible to use Google Podcast on PC, even if for now only in a very basic way. In fact, it will be enough to access the website to be able to search for your podcasts and listen to them without having to download any application.

The history of podcasts

Using Google Podcasts is undoubtedly an excellent choice. But it's also interesting to know the history of podcasts, which dates back to the late 90s, when an Internet connection that would allow you to upload and download large amounts of data became widespread in everyone's homes. Also in those years were digitized audio production tools that then allowed the editing of podcasts.

The first iPod was marketed in 2001 and paved the way for the advent of podcasting: however you could download music on your device in digital format. An important step was made in 2005, when iPods had a feature dedicated to download podcasts and save them. At the beginning, these applications were mainly the prerogatives of the United States, while around 2014 also European countries started to be interested in these systems.

In short, if before the radio stations were limited to make their broadcasts available in podcast format, so that users could download them and listen to them again, later the podcast became a real editorial format. Independent authors began to produce very specific podcasts. This made the number of users of this listening system grow incredibly. This phenomenon then allowed the development of more and more thematic channels and niche topics, for every taste.