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podcasts: Slate's audio offerings.

How To Receive Slate PodcastsLoad Slate onto your MP3 player.


Updated Tuesday, April 29, 2008, at 12:11 PM ET

We'll start with a few common shortcuts, for those who want to find our podcasts quickly. If you'd like a more comprehensive tutorial, scroll down.

You'll find all of our podcast feeds collected here, on Slate's iTunes home page. Or you can subscribe individually:

Slate V's Video Podcast:
iTunes ∙ RSS ∙ Slate V home page

Slate's Daily Podcast (a selection of stories, interviews, and our weekly political roundup):
RSS ∙ iTunes ∙ Odeo ∙ Add to My Yahoo!

Slate's Political Gabfest (also included in Slate's Daily Podcast):
RSS ∙ iTunes ∙ Political Gabfest Blog

Slate's Culture Gabfest (also included in Slate's Daily Podcast):
RSS ∙ iTunes ∙ Culture Gabfest Blog

Slate's Explainer Podcast (answers to vexing questions in the news):
RSS ∙ iTunes ∙ Odeo ∙ Add to My Yahoo!

Slate's Spoiler Specials ("postviews" of current movies):
RSS ∙ iTunes

Slate's Audio Book Club (also included in Slate's Daily Podcast):
RSS ∙ iTunes

Slate's Today's Papers Textcast (a text-only podcast embedded in a silent audio file):
iTunes

Click here for Slate's Podcast Archive (currently under construction)

Tutorial:

Simply put, podcasting allows you to receive pre-recorded audio programs on your computer or MP3 player automatically. You decide which programs you'd like to get—they range from amateur audioblogs to professional radio programs—and then "subscribe" (for free) to those feeds. Your podcasting software will check periodically for any new audio files that become available and download those files to your computer—or directly to your audio player if you prefer. You can then carry hours of audio programming to help you through your commute, your work-out, or your downtime.

(NOTE: Podcasting is designed for use with broadband, or high-speed, Internet connections. Dial-up connections are too slow to download the large audio files.)

Here's a step-by-step guide:

Step 1: Download the Podcasting Software
If you already use Apple's free iTunes software (for Windows or Mac, Version 4.9 or later), just look for the Podcasts section of the iTunes Music Store. The software now supports one-click subscriptions to a growing number of free podcasts (here are the iTunes links for Slate's podcast home page, our Daily Podcast and our Explainer Podcast).

Another easy way to receive podcasts is to use a Web-based podcasting service like Odeo. They allow you to play podcasts right from their Web pages, no downloading required.

Finally, the first mainstream podcast program still works well, and it's also free. It's called Juice (formerly iPodder), and you can download Windows and Mac versions here.

Step 2: Choose Your Feeds
The software programs mentioned above include directories of podcasts, and the lists get longer by the day. One helpful list for discovering new podcasts is the iTunes Top 100 Podcasts. If you like the news and talk shows offered on public radio, check out these lists from NPR and KCRW.

Step 3: Subscribe
Again, if you're using iTunes, you can find all of Slate's podcasts here (or search for "Slate" within the iTunes Music Store), and then simply click "Subscribe." You can also manually paste a podcast feed's URL—also called the RSS or XML feed—into most programs (in iTunes, just open the "Subscribe to Podcast" section of the "Advanced" menu). Here are the URLs for Slate's two main podcasts:

Slate's Daily Podcast: http://www.slate.com/podcast/
Slate's Explainer Podcast: http://www.slate.com/podcast/id/2129874/

In the Juice software, paste those URLs into the window that pops up when you click "Add new feed" (here's a screenshot). Then just tell the software how often you want it to check for new shows and where to put them (in your iTunes folder, for example), and you're ready to go.

And after you've given podcasting a try, send your thoughts or comments to . (E-mail you send may be quoted unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

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