![](https://help.apple.com/assets/5E1918500946226E5219F6E7/5E1918530946226E5219F6EE/en_US/96bd817dc34850c6e4f251e44a053497.png)
Listen to podcasts on Mac
Podcasts are free audio shows that you can stream and play on your Mac. You can listen to individual episodes, or you can subscribe to a show so that new episodes are automatically downloaded as they become available.
![The Apple Podcasts window showing the Listen Now screen on a Mac and iPhone, with a HomePod in the background.](https://help.apple.com/assets/5E1918500946226E5219F6E7/5E1918530946226E5219F6EE/en_US/420ca623316f44a31133ef8562099a1e.png)
Your podcast subscriptions, stations, and current play position sync to the Podcasts app on all your devices when you sign in with the same Apple ID. Refer to See your podcasts on all your devices.
Listen to an episode
In the Podcasts app
on your Mac, click Listen Now (or any item) in the sidebar.
Hold the pointer over the show or episode you want to play, then click the Play button
.
When the episode plays, you see the playback controls at the top of the Podcasts window.
Do any of the following with the playback controls:
Skip ahead or skip back within the episode: Drag the progress handle right (to skip ahead) or left (to skip back), or use the Touch Bar.
You can also use the Skip Back button
to go back (in 15-second increments) and the Skip Forward button
to skip ahead (in 30-second increments) in the episode.
Tip: You can customize the amount of time an episode goes back or skips ahead. See Change Playback preferences.
Pause the episode: Click the Pause button
(or use the Touch Bar).
Click the Play button
to resume playback (or use the Touch Bar).
Change the playback speed: Choose Controls > Playback Speed, then choose a speed.
Change the audio output: Click the AirPlay button
to choose which speakers to use to listen to the podcast.
Manage the episode (for example, copy the link, share the episode, or go to the Show page): Hold the pointer over the episode playing, click the More button
, then choose an option.
Note: If you added the episode to the library, you can do even more to manage the episode—for example, add it to the Playing Next list or save it. See Choose episode settings.
Read the episode description: Click the Episode Notes button
.
You can also press the Space bar to play, pause, and resume playing a show (or use the Touch Bar).
Ask Siri. Say something like:
“Forward 15 seconds.”
“Continue playing the last podcast.”
Use the Playing Next list
While listening to podcasts, you can use the Playing Next list to view and change which episodes (or chapters within an episode) play next.
In the Podcasts app
on your Mac, click any option in the sidebar.
Hold the pointer over a show or episode, click the More button
, then choose Play Next or Play Later.
The show or episode is added to the top of the Playing Next list (if you choose Play Next) or the bottom of the list (if you choose Play Later).
Click
in the top-right corner of the Podcasts window, then do any of the following:
Play an episode (or chapter within an episode) in the list: Click the episode or chapter.
Note: Some podcasts include chapters within an episode, which allow you to jump quickly to a specific part of the episode.
Change the order of episodes you manually added to the list: Drag episodes with the Reorder button
.
The Playing Next list appears onscreen until you click again to close it.
To control other aspects of playback, including whether to continue playing the next episode or what action is taken when you use headphone controls, see Change Playback preferences.