Everything You Need to Know about Podcasting
What are podcasts?
Podcasts are archived media files (MP3s) that can be downloaded and played on specialized computer software or other devices. Podcasting usually means audio files, although there are some video podcasts available. The "pod" in "podcasting" comes from Apple's iPod, which is one of the most popular MP3 players available.
What distinguishes podcasts from simple downloads of MP3 files is syndication. Web syndication refers to XML files known as "feeds" that are updated by a website's content manager whenever new content is added to the website. Internet users subscribe to these feeds through special software called news aggregators or readers, which retrieve the updated XML files at regular intervals or whenever a user requests it. Aggregators relieve users of having to visit different websites for updated content, instead bringing updates from the websites to the users in one location on their PCs. Blogs, vlogs, and mainstream websites use feeds to keep users up-to-date on their content in this way.
What's needed to begin?
You'll need an Internet connection (the faster the better, MP3s can be big files), a browser (any browser will do), an MP3 player (a device or software on your PC) and a news aggregator.
Where can I find MP3 players and news aggregators?
MP3 Players
MP3 players can be devices, such as iPods, or software, such as iTunes. Wikipedia provides lists of available products for both:
Major brands of digital audio players (Wikipedia)
List of audio players (software)
News Aggregators
List of News Aggregators— Choose one that matches your operating system or browser or mobile device.
I've installed everything, what next?
After you have downloaded and installed the software, you are ready to start taking advantage of Cato's podcasts.
To subscribe through a news aggregator, all you need to do is copy the feed address of the Cato podcasts (http://www.cato.org/rss/event_podcasts.xml) and add it to your aggregator application. You can do this by clicking on the 
icon on the Events Podcasts Archive page, opening up your news aggregator and following its instructions on how to add a feed or new content.
You can subscribe through iTunes, too. if you have the iTunes application:
- Open your iTunes application.
- Go to the "Advanced" menu located on the very top menu bar and click on it.
- In the drop-down menu, click on "Subscribe to Podcast..."
- In the resulting text box add the link to Cato's podcast feed (http://www.cato.org/rss/event_podcasts.xml)
- Click "OK"
iTunes will open a new screen, update it with a list of new Cato podcasts, and start downloading the podcasts. You will see a menu item for "Podcasts" in the left-hand navigation column that will allow you to access your downloaded podcasts anytime you are in iTunes.
You can also subscribe via iTunes by clicking on the 
icon on the Events Podcasts Archive page. This will open up your iTunes application and put you on the Cato Events Podcasts page of the music store. You can click on the subscribe link on that page to subscribeto updates.
I've followed all the directions, but still have questions...
If you have any additional problems or questions, email webmaster@cato.org.
Please note: the Cato Institute—especially in matters related to downloaded software and MP3 players—is not responsible for the content of other websites and does not advocate or recommend any particular software or device.