App Spotlight: Overcast (Podcast Listening App)

By: Mike Earl

Overcast has become my favorite app over the past year. If you have ever tried using Apple's native Podcast app (i.e. the app that comes pre-installed on your iPhone), you know that it's a clunky way of listening to your favorite podcast episodes on an ongoing basis. Most people quickly become overwhelmed/frustrated by Apple's Podcast app, which leads them to not listen to many (or any) podcasts at all.

Enter Overcast, "a powerful yet simple podcast player for your iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch."

If you are not already listening to podcasts during your drive time, you should start. Whatever your passion or interest is, you can find outstanding podcasts to help teach you more about that subject. Whether it's religion and spirituality, politics and news, personal development, or business, there are great podcasts to help you learn and grow. It's like an ongoing university education in your car.

Overcast also provides helpful summaries of the most popular podcasts in various categories, if you need help finding ideas to get you started. 

Let's say you have always wanted to watch/listen to more TED Talks. Well, there's a podcast for that:

Once you have subscribed to several podcasts, the Overcast app allows you to decide how many unplayed episodes you want to keep stored on your phone. I typically keep just 3 or 5 unplayed episodes of a given podcast saved; that way, my phone storage is not getting eaten up with dozens and dozens of stored podcasts.

I have now reached the point where listening to music in my car is a relatively rare event, because I know there is so much free information out there for me to download and absorb!