Apple Podcasts Reviews

by Virtualsub1

I have been a loyal Apple customer since buying an Apple IIe computer in 1982. For the last 5 years I have been using this podcast app for 6-8 hours a day at work. I would take 20 min to set up MY playlist. I would sometimes binge on a new podcast I found. Other times I would set up the order to match the types of work I was doing that day. Then Apple decided that it knew best. If I set up a playlist, it disappears and Apple’s Up Next order will be all that’s there. Sometimes it will, for some reason , download 20 episodes of a podcast I only play occasionally. I fought it for a while, even using their tool to tell them that nothing is working. I’ve tried to just listen to the order that they decided was best and even that doesn’t work! It won’t go from one to the next, or it starts playing multiple episodes. I can’t pause in the middle of an episode, even for a minute or two, without it jumping to a new podcast. Heaven forbid that I try to go back to the podcast I was listening to because it will then play multiple episodes of that podcast. I hate to go to a new app as I have invested so much time in finding content. Please Apple, just fix this already!

by Neostryder

I used to use ApplePodcasts every single day to listen to hours of my backlog of my favorite podcasts, then Apple suddenly switched directions and completely removed the ability for users to load and store old episodes of podcasts and manage them as they like. I spent countless hours trying to find a hidden feature to do what used to simply be the natural function of ApplePodcasts , when it was built into iTunes, but to no avail. My huge library of podcast content was simply lost to me. It was first scrambled by the broken Podcast app for macOS, so I could no longer access the files directly, then ApplePodcasts failed to support playback of the files I did have.

Archives of older episodes are often very difficult to come by, as many providers truncate the older files, or creators switch services and don’t bring their older episodes over to the new service. My years-old collection was lost. I ended up scouring the Internet to gather up as many of the raw MP3 files as I could find, and am awaiting someone to give me a way to organize and listen to them. Finally, recently, I discovered that iMazing may be a solution to load podcasts directly into ApplePodcasts manually, but my first attempt got some into my library, then they disappeared after I synced my phone again.

I just don’t understand they need to remove a core functionality from one of their apps that is used by so many people. :(

by Old 86

How can Apple, on of the first companies to realize how important user interface is, make such a convoluted and confusing app. Is there really no way to auto play a season from beginning to end? Unless a que up the next episode when I finish an episodes the podcast app doesn’t play anything or starts the newest episode from a podcast I haven’t listened to in over a year. There isn’t even a “recently listed to” menu. I have to search for it every time and figure out what episode I’m on. It has also stopped keeping track of what episodes I have already played. So I put a bunch of episodes in que, this afternoon they dispersed and it started playing a podcast I subscribe to but don’t listen too. I suspect subscribing to the new podcast I want to listen to would fix some of this, but at least auto play the next episode of the podcast I’m whether I am subscribed to or not. I listen while working and sometimes I want to try a podcast before subscribing… I can’t be stopping every half hour to find the next episode if I forgot to air on up. Anyways, ApplePodcasts lacks a intuitive interface and takes to much effort to figure out. I will find another place to listen to podcasts… just hard to believe the company that made podcasts a thing can’t make a worthwhile app for them.

by Bakerfella

I listen to between 10 and 15 podcasts every week on a regular basis. In recent weeks I have noticed that even though I add podcasts to my queue it is constantly reverting back and playing episodes that I have either previously listened to or have even deleted because I wasn’t interested in that one. They do not play in any sort of logical order so I will often find a podcast that’s several days old that has been skipped over if I’m not paying attention. It has also dropped extremely old episodes into the Up Next section because I’m currently subscribed to that podcast. I don’t understand what is so difficult about providing an app that plays the specific podcasts that you subscribe to in the order that they are received and to be able to re-order those easily if desired.
Perhaps it’s Apple’s desire to have you “explore” more podcasts, and so they make it much more difficult to listen to the ones that you already subscribe to and throw in other random episodes that you have not asked for. If I wanted to find other podcasts and add more to my collection, I would go to the explore page, but I do not. Generally I’m a fan of Apple products, but the podcast app has become very frustrating of late.

by GSIV

I normally listen to podcasts on my old iPhone 5-that podcast app makes sense and is easy to use. Contrast the current app - doesn’t make sense and difficult to use. The Up Next doesn’t seem to consistently have current episodes. The old app opens to a list of the newest episodes of your subscribed podcasts (why suddenly the switch to “follow”?) I can’t make a play list -only the current one playing plus one “play next”. I can’t easily find current and/or unplayed podcasts. With the old app you can call up a list of your subscriptions and by clicking on each one see your unplayed episodes or with an easy tap on “feed” you can see all available episodes. Somewhere buried in the newer app are “all available episodes” but it requires hunting. Also, if you tap on one of the giant icons (I don’t need giant pictures of the podcasts-better a little smaller and fit more in a window) the episode just starts playing before you can see the full description.

I don’t want to beat a dead horse. Bottom line is please just admit this new app is a big mess and go back to the old one. This is the company whose product “podcast” is named after. Why not have a great app to play them?

by Serenityb2001

I’ve used ApplePodcasts since 2016, and the most recent interface update has really ruined my listening experience. First, it’s hard to manage all the podcasts I listen to thanks to this weird change. Second, I’ve accidentally listened to the whole first episode from the most recent season of the podcast (S3E1) instead of logically going from S2E1 to S2E2. While that episode wasn’t too spoiler-y, S3E2 was, so I’m rather angry that some of the plot was spoiled by a stupid technical difficulty. I don’t understand how this keeps happening, but it did this to me a lot with another show, but thankfully I never listened to more than the first few minutes before realizing what happened. I use ApplePodcasts everyday, so I can say for certain that it’s gotten worse with time. I would really like to get back to enjoying podcasts instead of worrying about whether or not ApplePodcasts is going to work properly or not. I’m not even upset by the added subscription service (seriously podcasters need money like the rest of us), but I think it might have caused some of the many issues I have with ApplePodcasts . I’m not trying to say to take the feature away, but this needs some serious work to fix everything that this update caused.

by Alieo24

In looking through reviews, it seems that a lot of the five star reviews are people who think they are leaving a review on a specific podcast, not this actual app. I feel like the overall rating is very skewed because of this.

I’ve used ApplePodcasts for podcasts since 2015, and use it almost daily. The recent changes that made it so you see all unplayed episodes of a show were annoying enough. I have shows I’ve listened to for years that I’ve deleted episodes I didn’t want to listen to, and now they are all back all of a sudden. We are talking hundreds of episodes I’m weeding through to find episodes I want to hear. Now, it’s even worse! ApplePodcasts won’t save my playlist anymore, AND if I close ApplePodcasts in the middle of an episode, and I restart, it just keeps picking the same episode of a random podcast that I already heard months ago!

I’ve tried other podcast apps and just haven’t liked them enough to go through the hassle of subscribing to all my podcasts again because I really did love how ApplePodcasts USED TO organize my episodes and I hoped they would fix all of the problems with ApplePodcasts. It might be time to give up, unfortunately, since it’s been months and Apple has only made ApplePodcasts worse.

by Older_Wiser_More_Cynical

If Apple is wanting Podcasts to be a best-in-class app, it is clear that they don’t actually know how to accomplish that. Interaction with Airplay 2 is buggy (speaking politely). Often, when playing through HomePods, streaming is handed off to the HomePods, which take the bit in their teeth and stop responding to the controls in the Podcasts app. Additionally, the Podcasts app seems to wind up completely out of the loop with no clue as to what is actually being played. Sometimes ApplePodcasts can’t seem to get a HomePod to start playing, though sometimes a workaround is to get Apple Music to get the HomePod started streaming then switching back to the Podcasts app. On another note, I have been used to selecting a podcast to play and actually hearing the podcast start laying before the currently playing display gets updated to show what is playing. I will add the caveat that this does not seem as bad under iOS 15 on an iPhone 13 than under iOS 14 on an iPhone X. If I were on the team developing the Podcasts app and looking to move to a job outside Apple, I don’t think I would mention that I worked on that team in case the hiring manager I was talking to actually used ApplePodcasts .

by Abq Michael

I like the Podcasts App the best for listening to podcasts. I stopped using it for the past year when I discovered that a bug was causing it to burn up the battery on my iPhone. I then switched to the Google Podcasts app.

Comparing the two, Google’s app did not have the battery problem but is a comparatively weak app for listening to podcasts. For example, while both this and Google’s app has a feed, and each lets you subscribe to podcasts, the google one makes it hard to get to your subscriptions and the main feed only lists subscribed podcasts sorted by release date. Worse, the feed list includes podcasts you’ve already heard (e.g., things you’re not likely to want to listen to twice). So basically you have to spend a bit of time finding podcasts you want to listen to at any particular time.

One thing google has that Podcasts doesn’t have is the ability to make a playlist that will run to completion. That’s useful when I’m planning to listen for an hour or more but actually gets in the way when I want to listen to a single show (as the next show on the list automatically starts up when I finish the first). Still, I wish/hope Apple Podcasts has or gets some sort of playlist (and hope it’s not as terrible).

by Connie-Paralegal Cint., OH

I’m half way through the Vallow update and to be honest, most podcasts I try to listen to, I’ve already turned it off by this point! Why you may ask? I’m not interested in listening to 20-25 minutes of the hosts talking about their lives. It’s fine that they do, but then they need to change the title of their podcasts for Pete’s sake (trying to keep it PG here). These girls get right into it. I’m a Paralegal and understand all the logistics but it’s so nice they explain what things mean to the listeners and they do it in a short amount of time. The detail is great. I’ve followed this case from the beginning and am hearing things here I had no idea about! Thank you! I have finally found a podcast that shares my level of legal inquisitiveness into this case! One that doesn’t test my patience level! The only other podcast I listen to right now is Nancy Grace and I’ve listened to her since the Casey Anthony ‘era.’ I gotta hear my “ BOMBSHELL TONIGHT” cracks me up. Even she goes on and on and on about her kids and hey, it’s okay to throw a blurb or two in, it’s going to happen, but I don’t need to hear a diatribe on every single show about them that takes up 10 minutes of the shows time! Lol I fast forward. Anyhow, thanks girls! You had me at hello!!

by Zurgurl

I am SO thankful for this podcast! I’m not really a podcast consumer (can’t get into it and listen to a lot of audiobooks and music instead). But this podcast!!! I’ve subscribed and listened to several just this weekend and shared with others, including my parents, one of my pastors, and our church communication platform! (The episode I shared was the interview with Rosaria Butterfield and Christopher Yuan- GOOD STUFF!)

I have a brother that has recently “come out” and it’s broken the hearts of me and my parents while my siblings have been allies with him- the Word of God and the church has been SO helpful. And the Lord shows the power of the gospel to save through lives changed- I’m thankful for the testimonies shared through Beckett and many peoples he hosts! Praise the Lord for this work He has done and your obedience to share! Because we all were dead only being made alive by the finished and saving blood of Christ, and these testimonies add to our thanksgiving to the Lord!

by Cradlle_catholic1965

I just want to say how amazing the Bible in a year podcast and study with father Mike is. I have read my Catholic daily Bible the new living translation for the past five years and this is the first year that I am joining the Bible in a year with father Mike. And reading my Catholic daily Bible for the past five years I had to do my own research and sometimes it became so overwhelming because I didn’t understand something and even after researching I still didn’t understand but with father Mike he explains it and breaks it down. And if something isn’t meant to be understood he clearly says it. We just have to continue to have faith and trust in what God has laid out for us. Another important thing is to have a Catholic priest which is so important for us Catholics because I was finding myself during my research turning to protestant Bibles and protestant apps and trying to find answers. So this podcast and the study is so amazing I cannot recommend it enough my entire family is doing it.

by Android Use Causes Rabies

Stellar talk across literally every thing imaginable. I get my Alan Watts, I get my Marital advice. I can study any topic which interests me. We could use a little more Pythagoras. But as soon as a I type that someone has probably put one out in the cyber realm. Of course my music desires are jealous and teenagers are bored with all these old people topics. Hey when I was a kid you would have to have a cassette tape and recorder and be physically present to start the recording at a specific time in order to back up and be able to hear something repeated. 7 thumbs way up. The ambience is out of this world knowledgeable speakers. I could go in forever. Love this. With all that being said I would like to make a request of the developers.
When I find a new podcast to listen to and I go back and start it on episode 1 it will play and then at the end of the podcast it stops and i am Bombarded with pervasive and persistent silence. However if I I find a new podcast and just start on their most current episode and it reaches the end it automatically pleases my ears by playing the episode prior to that one and could continue playing episode after glorious episode until we reach the very first one.
Hopefully we could find that in a future update. And my words are more effective than “Yo podcasts are the bomb. But we should be able to play the podcasts from the oldest to the newest. Fix this nerds.

But still 7 Thumbs way up!!!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️👍👍👍👍👍

by Sean Oc

Generally I don’t like the whole golf “influencers” scene but the Foreplay crew offer something different to the rest that I can’t get enough of. I like how honest they are with their position in the golf world in that none of them claim to be any better at the game than they are and that at the end of the day all their opinions and insights are coming from the position of 4 amateur golfers. With that said though when they get access to some of the coolest experiences in golf I really appreciate that they see it through the lens of golf fanboys like the rest of us and not as some professional golf analyst type which makes them so much more relatable. And when they discuss the latest events in the golf world their discussions feel like one I would have with a group of friends which is a great break from some of the more “professionally” oriented channels out there (and Frankie’s tangents about how the Universe works are always great to listen to). They’re relationships with some of the golfers on tour is great too cause they really showcase how cool and relatable some of these pros are (and how insanely much better they are than the common golfer). So if your lookin for a podcast that takes pride in catering to the “average” golfer that loves following the latest golf trends and dramas Frankie, Riggs, Trent, and Lurch got you with us one.

by Charito0920

I found Leti and Kenji’s podcast when I got Covid infection from the hospital 2 days before the first vaccine came out. Needless to say, I was devastated as I had to stay off from work as a nurse and be away from my family. I was sick for a while, thought I’d make the most of it by learning more about real estate. I found their podcast, and their interviews and topics resonated with my growing desire to invest in real estate. They too worked at the hospital, but had the financial freedom to work on their own terms. Fast forward, I took their course, which more than paid for itself. I now have 5 properties, building 3 more, and in contract with another property. Their podcasts and classes gave me the tools and confidence to invest with as minimal risks possible. Leti and Kenji, as well as their team, and the community they built are so supportive and full of knowledge for all kinds of scenarios in most parts of the country. They are constantly reinventing themselves so I feel like I’m constantly getting new and updated content. I feel so blessed to have found them, they were the silver lining to my days of isolation. I wholeheartedly recommend their podcasts and real estate business courses they provide! Thank you Leti and Kenji!

by Princess Deadwood

This podcast has saved my life. I am a SAHM on a homestead MILES from other people who's -survived- brain surgery, TBI, c-PTSD, Having Will Neff and Hasan Piker (two beautiful humans, inside and out) by my side while I milk cows or while I’m being milked by my little baboon’s, means a lot and keeps me sane. I found out I needed brain surgery on my 7nth month of pregnancy. I was lucky enough to be poor and have medical insurance. That was 5 years ago. Now we do well enough to have me be a SAHM comfterbly but we do not have medical Insurance. I have been through so much growth and I am proud of myself. I decided to socialize more and just accept things while I bring more for health care. For me this means voting, ring educated, and socializing with like minded people so I can be better prepared to help others. This podcast, along with listening to Hasan stream is like such a good thing for me. I’d argue it’s good for the world. Keep spreading empathy for others and never stop fighting for others. Also the two handsome gentlemen Will Neff and Hasan Piker are so dang funny.

by Pipanoli

First time turning in because, despite all precautions, three jabs of Pfizer vaccine, I was exposed to someone at Xmas who hadn’t gotten the booster and brought the virus to our family gathering. I live alone and needed to have a listen to a voice I’ve long respected and found it here tonight in this podcast. From our family gathering three of us contracted the virus with strong symptoms.
Hearing this episode, I felt like Mike Osterholm was addressing (with much compassion and care) directly to me and answering my questions about several things. Not the least of which is about masking and using N95s now rather than surgical masks or cotton masks-so refreshing to hear him address these 8 points.
I feel truly miserable, and as I reach my 65th birthday on NYE, I find myself having anger at family and friends who have not taken care to appropriately tend to safety practices -and/or communicate that someone is not fully vaxxed to the group gathering. I am relieved to know this podcast exists and will continue to listen. Thanks for helping me feel less alone.

by MetsMcK

The Way I Heard It with Mike Rowe is the absolute best podcast out there. Mike’s brand of informative & insightful, yet humble and homespun commentary on remarkable people and relevant subjects is deeply inspiring and a pleasure to listen to. Mike clearly has an enduring connection with each one of his guests and they are able to delve into the topics and issues contained in the book or project being promoted, without giving too much away. Mr. Rowe has the unique talent for engaging his guests on a personal level, as well as revealing the value of the missions of their organizations, making the listener want to know more, just as he did on Dirty Jobs, Rowe’d Trip and others. Who wouldn’t want to listen to Mike Rowe talk about anything? (which he does, by the way…).
Thanks, Mike! Besides being a fan of your wonderful mother’s hilarious and insightful literary and social media contributions, I continue to have a growing reading list to enjoy, based upon your guests’ books and projects, as I live abroad out here in a big, bold, ever-changing world. You help keep us grounded.

by Salvadiego

I recently discovered your podcast and I have to say, you stirred something inside me that was rather… unexpected.
Like any good American I knew nothing about communism, or rather I knew one thing, communism was bad. But I never quite meshed well with the exploitive nature the surrounding culture either, it always seemed that I was at odds with the established norms of the workforce. So I’ve grown to just kinda accept that this is life and it’s better than those other places out there so just be thankful you aren’t out there. For context I’m a plumber by profession, and I live in a state where the unions, well there are no unions anymore, and I always wondered why that is. Because of your podcast, now I know.
I could go on about complacently of the public in the face of doom, and the need to act soon before we’re all turned into corporate drones, or something to that effect. But I digress because mostly I wanted to thank you. Putting myself into other peoples shoes appears to have it’s benefits. And even if it turns out that those shoes happen to be red, I’ve recently discovered I like red.
Take care.

by Mnemocide

This was just a Lucky discovery, A bit of algorithmic good fortune. It came recommended to me but nine times out of ten apple recommendations are not in keeping with preferences. I like history podcasts-and there are so many to choose from, but inevitably I found that they are poorly researched, not up on the current consensus and debates on the scholarly side of things, or just poorly written. This podcast falls pray to none of those issues. The topics are broadly considered (from many different sources), they are as current as a popular history narrative can get, and the writing is breathtaking. it’s the last part that I find the most impressive. The prose are eloquent, even poetic, and I found myself quickly immersed in the evocative imagery presented by the very pleasant voice of the author. The first episode I listened to had ended and I was certain it had only been 20 minutes long; it was over an hour. It’s rare that I get transported so effectively. I’d saddened that I did not discover it until so recently, but at least I’ve got a backlog of episodes. I will call this subscriber worthy. In an environment of completely free content we all know who the true Radiohead fans are.

by WarriorKalinda

Every time I open ApplePodcasts , it spends a lot of time and data downloading the same 10 podcasts that were ready when I first installed ApplePodcasts . Over and over I mark them as played, only to have them return each time I start the program. It does the same thing on the built-in version for newer phones, but I hoped this glitch wasn't on ApplePodcasts . It makes it completely unusable. I'm about to delete it and try a competitor.

by [MG]WHATSIDE

I kinda did not get it at all
So I gess since yo made it I'll give you 3 stars
You just download it to iCloud not iTunes

by Mrs.brady

Sweet app, I have a 4, and I couldn't find ApplePodcasts until recently

by Racerhomie

It may slow down on really Old Hardware.But beside a few a bugs on iOS 7 ,it has been a joy to use .The UI is simple and The Content is Great. Both Liberals and Conservatives can enjoy the content , and so can independents.So I hope when I upgrade to iOS 10 in 2018 ,I will continue to get an A Grade Podcast Player.

by Ashton Reeves

I love listening to joe santagato,shane dawson and rhett and link its the best way to keep up with their everyday lives🙏❤️😍

by Tis I!

I'm running iOS 7.1 and have been using ApplePodcasts for all but one podcast. I like it a lot since I can "filter" what episodes I want to download to listen to as opposed to every episode downloading as soon as they're released. An example would be with the Myths and Legends podcast. Do I want to listen to every episode that comes out? Nope. If I were to go through Spotify I'd automatically have every episode added to my list of new episodes, which would be a pain to filter through. With ApplePodcasts, filtering is incredibly easy. I haven't hit any bugs when listening to podcasts or when browsing other podcasts, so to me the performance overall is great!