I'm deGoogling. What's my new Podcast app?

I've been warming up to switching to GrapheneOS for months. Last month I bought a Pixel 8 (which is the buggiest effing phone I've ever owned, good job Google). I've just been waiting to have the bandwidth.

But with Google sunsetting Google Podcasts, I've decided to make time next week. Podcasts are a MAJOR part of my daily functioning.

93 comments

Antennapod hands down.

Works great and have been using it for years.

113
- Its also what i'm using. Its the best podcast app I've used.
  
  8
  
  I especially like the volume options for individual podcasts. Some are a standard volume and then others are quiet as fuck and the few are loud as hell.
  
  Knowing these allows me to play different podcasts after another without having to either raise the volume or frantically lower the volume to prevent hearing loss.
  
  I honestly can't see myself using any other podcast app after discovering AntennaPod
  
  3
Antennapod is good

64
- Agreed, grab AntennaPod from the f-droid store.
  
  22
AntennaPod is pretty great. They even have an article on migrating from Google: https://antennapod.org/blog/2023/11/google-podcasts-migration

49
- Have you heard of Escape Pod? It is really simple. And I enjoy it because of its simplicity. Its on fdroid.
  
  4
  
  Escapepod is the best.
  
  1
- It is paid?
  
  2
  
  foss
  
  13
  
  Just downloaded it, loads of features, free and doesn't have a premium option.
  
  I was using Pocket Casts which locks few features behind a paywall and pushes it. I don't really like having things in the UI that are locked by a paywall, it's fine if the app has more features and an option somewhere to pay for them but don't clutter my general day to day use with advertising.
  
  6
AntennaPod is great and Audiobookshelf is my preferred app, if you're into self hosting services.

30
Antennapod on Android and Kasts on Linux, synced via Gpoddersync on Nextcloud.

29
- Just recently switched from spotify to antenna pod and can recommend it so far, especially as a lover of any app that will give you stats/graphs.
  
  Only small issue is when playing there are two options: stream, and download. It seems that unlike spotify, stream does not buffer at all, so if you lose connection the player immediately stops. For me I can resolve this by downloading the episodes before I leave for my commute, but something to be aware of.
  
  5
- AntennaPod has been working really well for me.
  
  4
- My setup as well, and happy with that.
  
  2
- This is a great combo choice.
  
  2
Check out Antennapod.

27
I use PocketCasts but all of the responses here are making me consider trying out AntennaPod.

23
- I was a pocketcast user for years, switched to antennapod a few months ago. Here's what's bothering me:
  
  Antennapod has a weird separation between new episodes (inbox) and what you're listening to now (queue). PC has that abstracted away where you only have to check one place for your podcasts.
  
  There is no simple service to sync your subscriptions and listen progress. Gpoddersync is basically abandoned and the protocol lacks features. Hopefully this will change with openpodcastAPI, but they haven't managed to secure funding yet.
  
  I've been spoilt by having a server doing the heavy lifting of refreshing my podcasts. It's a minor annoyance that I need to wait approx. 1.5 second per feed to refresh. It's just the way it is.
  
  There are also things that antennapod does better:
  
  chapters actually works in AP.
  
  episode pictures also works in AP, PC only showed the static image of the feed.
  
  search is just as good as PC.
  
  its FOSS and hopefully resistant to enshittification (unless all producers go into a closed ecosystem like Spotify tried with their recent purchases of pod-studios).
  
  Best of luck from another pod-nerd.
  
  8
  
  Thanks for the detailed info!
  
  2
  
  I’ve been spoilt by having a server doing the heavy lifting of refreshing my podcasts. It’s a minor annoyance that I need to wait approx. 1.5 second per feed to refresh. It’s just the way it is.
  
  In the podcast settings for each podcast, does "Keep Updated" not handle this for you? I don't think I ever manually refresh my podcasts. Apologies if I'm misunderstanding.
  
  Antennapod has a weird separation between new episodes (inbox) and what you’re listening to now (queue). PC has that abstracted away where you only have to check one place for your podcasts.
  
  I don't like the queue myself, though possibly for different reasons than you. Again possibly misunderstanding your concern, but I have "Enqueue Downloaded" and "Continuous Playback" both disabled in the Antennapod settings, and I just pretend the queue doesn't exist.
  
  Just throwing those things out there in the hopes they may help.
  
  2
- I use pocket casts and I tried switching to antenna pod because of a thread like this one and came right back to pocket casts. The deal breaker for me was no skip forward 30 seconds (e.g. ads) from the lock screen.
  
  5
  
  For you or others who are curious and want to do this:
  
  AntennaPod settings > User Interface > Set playback buttons.
  
  You can decide what shows up in your notification on your lock screen.
  
  Also make sure to toggle Persistent Playback Controls on.
  
  23
  
  I did the same. I haven't switched back yet, but I'm very close. Audio doesn't continue playback when connecting to Android Auto, the screen shows suggestions instead of the queue, and silence trimming is all-or-nothing. Also, and this is just personal preference, the UI isn't as intuitive.
  
  1
- Same
  
  0
I have Podcast Addict, I think its free but I paid a few dollars because of the great selection of settings and options I never knew I needed.

(For example I have it configured so that after 5pm the Sleeptimer automatically makes the podcast fade down and pausing after 10' of listening, unless I move/shake the phone during the fade down-part, then it extends for another 10'. Perfect for using it in public transport or in bed and dozing off.)

20
- I also have been using podcast addict, probably for over 10 years now. You can autodownload new episodes (mine checks daily at 7a and 7p), create custom playlists for juggling multiple podcasts at once, has android auto support, and you don't have to deal with the bs of Spotify.
  
  I'm sure there are a 100 other features I don't know about, but that's what I use.
  
  9
  
  I like the ability to adjust playback speed. I listen to everything at 1.1 and it just feels like everyone tightened up their delivery a little bit and took out dead air. There was one podcast where the subject was interesting but the delivery was agonizingly slow, so I turned it all the way up to 1.5.
  
  3
- PodcastAddict is the way, but only if you're tolerant/patient with nerd knobs. I know a lot of people get turned off by those.
  
  6
  
  Not my wife
  
  11
- Shit I've been using PA forever too but I feel like I should try that other one everyone keeps posting about
  
  4
Antenna Pod is great. Podverse is also pretty decent, especially for downloading as an .mp3

17
- I've been trying podverse, but for some reason it uses Google Admob. So if he's trying to degoogle it's not a viable alternative
  
  3
  
  Permanently Deleted
  
  1
  
  Daaammn, good to know, thanks
  
  1
  
  @podverse@podcastindex.social
  
  Is this accurate? Last I recall, the F-droid version was free of any of Google’s tracking?
  
  1
AntennaPod.

Just search fdroid

16
Antennapod is good

15
Audiobookshelf! Self hosted and perfect for audiobooks and podcasts alike. And bonus: you ca archive all those hardcore histories before they get off the free stream.

11
- Hard disagree, unless I'm missing something. I just set up ABS in the last week to have all of my podcasts self hosted along with my audiobook collection. So far, I've seen multiple features missing that make it untenable for podcasts on my phone, including:
  
  App on my phone doesn't auto-download episodes
  
  App doesn't autoplay the next episode
  
  Hitting next only plays the last few seconds of my last episode
  
  Default sort is newest first, haven't figured out how to permanently set it to oldest first
  
  No automatic playlist of all episodes of a series downloaded
  
  I like it for audiobooks, but the podcast side feels very much like an afterthought. I'll probably be moving to another podcast platform at some point. ABS is usable for podcasts, but at this point I wouldn't recommend it for that feature unless they're ok with lack of standard features or already have it set up.
  
  2
  
  Yeah I think you might be missing something tbh. My Audiobookshelf auto downloads new episodes, playlist features work fine, sort features work fine. I don’t know if there’s a way to throw every downloaded but not yet listened to episode in a playlist, but I haven’t ever needed that feature. For keeping up with my podcasts though across platforms and for all my day to day podcast needs it has excelled.
  
  1
I use AntennaPod on my phone and Castero (TUI) on my computer.

9
Antennapod is really great, but I found that it's more complicated than I like. So I found another player called escape pod on fdroid that I really, really enjoy because of its KISS approach.

Edit: Oh, and congratulations. I have been degoogled entirely for about 2 years now and mostly degoogled for about 3 years before that.

9
Good job, you're making a good choice! I'm on a Pixel 6 running GrapheneOS, love it. Takes a bit if TLC at the beginning, but it's really nice and functional for me now.

For podcasts, I use Podverse. Works well for me, and runs well on GrapheneOS.

8
I recently switched from Google Podcasts to Podcini (fork of Antennapod) and it's great so far

5
Podverse is a solid choice. It’s also cross-platform if that matters to you. Antenna-pod is another good choice.

5
- I really love Podverse but ended up going back to Pocketcasts for the Android Auto support. They have a bounty out for the feature. I'll switch back if they ever get it.
  
  1
- +1 for Podverse
  
  1
Any of these

https://podcasting2.org/apps

3
Check out Podcini which is a fork of Antenapod but with all the latest android libraries and apis

3
Since a lot of people have recommended antennapod: does anyone of you also have that weird problem where podcasts randomly skip backwards from anywhere as little as five seconds to a minute during normal playback?

3
- I have this too on occasion! Although, I think I had this problem on another podcast player before I switched.
  
  3
- Yes! I thought it was just me. Any idea how to resolve?
  
  3
  
  Set playback speed to max. The podcast will now have less time to skip until it is over. taps head
  
  7
I love Player.fm

They have both an android app with a lot of good features (stream or download, can set how many episodes to download at a time, when to delete old ones, all per podcast and as global defaults, set up your own categories/lists, display order, play order, etc) and an actual web site where you can log in and listen to your stuff as well with synced history, so you can pick up pretty much at the exact spot you paused a podcast on your phone (or vice versa).

2
I'm using PodcastRepublic on Android right now. It does a fantastic job of organizing my daily playlist for exactly what order I prefer to listen to episodes. The down side is that there is no easy way to translate this nice playlist stuff to the browser website. The state of the website is "mostly functional" and plays audio. Not much else. There is no sync to the Android app.

What I am going to try next is Audiobookshelf with a python script on their API to get the same playlist sorting features. I've got the architecture written out, but haven't gotten the time to write the code.

Reading into gpodder here is making want to give that a try, but the only website listed on this table doesn't say it syncs playback progress.

So what I'm looking for is something this can sort playlists like PodcastRepublic and sync playback progress like PocketCasts. AFAIK that combo doesn't exist right now.

2
Audiobookshelf

2
93 nominations for the same thing, means I'm probably the wrong answer but I don't Graphene, but I was degoogling and found PlayerFM listed among good Free Open Source Software FOSS options. Hope it works as Graphene option.

2
- I don't use graphene (yet?) but Player FM is pretty good. I had their paid plan for years. I'm on PocketCasts now.
  
  1
I personally like Podverse.

1
If you self host nextcloud, another option is to put the rss feeds for your favorite podcasts into the news app. I listen to all of my podcasts through that.

However... I'd totally be interested in a better self hosted podcast app that allows me to see a record of everything I've listened to, while also allowing me to download the episodes to my phone, lol. That's the only reason I'm stuck on the news app still.

1
- Audiobookshelf is self-hosted and has an Android app. Playback is synced between everything.
  
  2
- Maybe the gpoddersync-nextcloud app is more your thing? You can use that with all podcastapps that support gpodder sync. Works with Antennapod on Android and Kasts on KDE/Kubuntu.
  
  2
  
  Oooo I don't know how I missed that one. Nice, I'll have to check that out, thanks!!
  
  2
I personally switched my mom over to Pocket Casts after the news that Google Podcasts was shutting down. I don't listen to podcasts, tho, and I really just picked it because it was rated well. It's also not FOSS

0
Nothing beats just downloading a podcast and listening to it in VLC or you audio player of choice - I don't really understand why podcast apps are needed.

But that said, if you need to use one AntennaPod has all the features and you can even get it on F-Droid.

-3
- A nice interface to search for shows, automatically download new episodes, listening history, options to trim silence, sync between multiple devices.
  
  Nobody needs them, but of course people want them.
  
  7
  
  The problem is for me that it usually downloads to some obscure folder, not to where I want to save and archive my podcasts.
  
  1
Podcasts? Idk i use only rumble and YouTube. My reply probably isn’t that helpful

-9
- "My reply probably isn't helpful" - replies anyway... CONFIDENCE.
  
  13
- Same. That said, I've been trying it Grayjay and like it okay so far. So far I only have Odysee and YouTube channels, and I'll be looking out for other services as well (thinking of trying a Nebula account).
  
  It's not useful for podcasts, but there are podcasts on services it supports, so depending on what OP is looking for, it could work.
  
  1
Spotify? I mean most are there

-16
- Spotify is terrible for podcasts
  
  7
- Spotify isn’t really a podcast app. Just a proprietary streaming service. Podcasts by definition are media files delivered by RSS and Spotify isn’t that.
  
  4
  
  I don't think RSS and filetype is what I would use to define podcasts...
  
  1

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