Podcasting is a combination of internet radio and RSS feeds.  Podcasts are recorded segments of audio or video that listeners can subscribe to and have delivered to their computer whenever a new episode appears.

Evan has written about RSS feeds before.  The best analogy for podcasting is radio shows that you can listen to on-demand that you download from the internet.  Many popular news outlets and radio shows have podcasts.  Nowadays, some podcasts come in the form of videos and are sometimes referred to as vodcasts.

Most websites with podcasts will have a way for you to download or stream the episode straight from the site itself.  If there is a show you like or that you may want to listen on say, your iPod, as you ride the bus/train to work, you can subscribe to a podcast in iTunes.  iTunes has a large library of podcasts that you can choose from, anyone can submit a podcast to be on iTunes.  Once you subscribe to a podcast, iTunes will download the latest episode whenever it comes out.  You can then listen to it on your computer or put it on your iPod for portable listening.

Other music managers for MP3 players have similar features, and you can always download the audio file and put it on your MP3 player manually.

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