Use Apple Podcasts on your Mac

Learn how to use the Apple Podcasts app on your Mac to listen to audio stories.

How to listen to podcast shows on Mac

1. Open the Apple Podcasts app.
2. Find a podcast episode.
3. Click the play button.

Use the playback controls

When you play episodes in the Apple Podcasts app, the playback controls are at the top of the window:

• To fast forward or rewind , click the 15 second rewind or the 30 second fast forward button.

• To adjust playback speed , choose Controls > Playback Speed from the menu bar, then choose a playback speed.

Follow or unfollow shows on Mac

To learn when new episodes are released, find and follow the shows that you love. You can also purchase Apple Podcasts Subscriptions to listen to premium content in the Apple Podcasts app.

Follow a podcast show

1. Browse or search for a show in the Apple Podcasts app.
2. Click the show to see its information page.
3. Click Follow. Now, new episodes automatically download and you’ll get a notification as they become available.

If you stop listening to a show for a while, Apple Podcasts might pause your follow. The shows and downloaded episodes stay in your library, but new episodes might not be updated. To continue getting new episodes, follow again.

Unfollow a podcast show

1. Click a show to see its information page.
2. Click the More button  .
3. From the menu that appears, choose Unfollow.

New episodes won’t download to your Mac, but episodes that are already in your library won’t be deleted.

Choose the order in which episodes play

1. Go to the podcast’s information page.

2. Click the More button  , then click Settings.

3. Click “Oldest to Newest” or “Newest to Oldest.”

Download podcast episodes on Mac

1. Find an episode in your library, or browse or search for an episode.
2. Click the download button   next to the episode’s name.

If you see the downloaded icon  , the episode is already downloaded to your device.

When you aren’t connected to the internet, you can still listen to podcast episodes are downloaded. Episodes automatically delete 24 hours after you play them, or you can delete them manually.

Save podcast episodes

1. Open the Apple Podcasts app.
2. Select the episode that you want to save.
3. Choose the save episode button .

When you save an episode, it automatically downloads to your device and is not deleted after you listen to it. To see only the episodes that you marked as saved, go to Library > Saved.

Find podcast episodes in your library

Open the Apple Podcasts app, go to Library > Shows. Click the Followed tab to see the podcasts that you follow in the Apple Podcasts app and the ones that you added manually through a URL. To also see any shows that you saved or downloaded episodes from, click the All tab.

Turn off automatic downloads

Open the Apple Podcasts app. In the menu bar, choose Podcasts > Preferences > General. Next to Automatic Downloads, choose Never.

Delete podcast episodes

1. In the sidebar, click Downloaded.
2. Click the More button   next to the podcast with episodes that you want to remove.
3. Click Remove Downloads to delete all episodes for that podcast.

If you want episodes to automatically be deleted after you finish them, open the Apple Podcasts app. From the menu bar, choose Podcasts > Preferences. Click Advanced, then select “Automatically delete played episodes.”

Mark a podcast as played

1. Open the Apple Podcasts app and click the podcast that you want.
2. Under Episodes, click the more button   next to the episode that you want to mark as played.
3. Choose Mark as Played from the menu that appears.

Published Date: July 21, 2021

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