What is a Podcast?

Think of a podcast as radio broadcast for your computer or MP3 music player. By subscribing to a podcast feed, you can automatically download your chosen audio or video content for listening or viewing whenever or wherever you like.

This is achieved by attached short audio or video files to an RSS, or XML feed. (For more information about RSS, please visit: http://www.ri.gov/rex/) That way, anytime the feed is updated, your Podcast software will automatically download the lastest podcast. Popular Podcasts can be found at many traditional and non-traditional news outlets alike, including from within the latest version of Apple's iTunes software. 

Podcasts at RI.gov:

Podcasts on RI.gov are marked in the right column by the POD button. Clicking on either the title link, or this button will link you directly to the Podcast feed.

Recommened Podcast Software:

• iTunes (PC and Mac)
• iPodderX (Mac)
• jPodder (PC)
• Juice (PC, Mac and Linux)

Instructions for use:

Feeds can be added to most Podcast software by copying and pasting the appropriate podcast link into your podcast application. For example, in iTunes this can be done by:

1. Select "Advanced" from the menu bar, then select "Subscribe to Podcast"
2. Copy and paste the following link into the Subscribe prompt
   For example: http://www.ri.gov/mypodcastfeedaddresshere.xml
3. Download the latest episode
4. Start Listening!

More information:

For more information about Podcasts, please visit:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podcasting

For a complete list of Federal Government Podcasts, visit:

• Podcasts from the U.S. Government, on FirstGov.gov