It's easy to find and download a free podcast. The best way to find free ones is probably to check a podcast directory. The directory is a listing of many, sometimes thousands of different podcasts. The directory will usually organize the podcasts by topic and genre, making it easy to find the type of podcast that is sought.

In addition, podcast directories often allow the visitors to comment on the listed, and provide a list of the favourite podcasts on the site, making it easy for users to find the best available. These podcast directories can be used to browse through, introducing users to many different ones that otherwise would not have found.

Once a podcast has been found that interests the user, it is necessary to download it free. The vast majority of podcasts will be free, but there will be a few that may cost a small amount of money. The process to subscribe to and download them is the same in either case. First, a podcast client needs to be found and installed. There are many free podcast clients available, all providing a slightly different user interface and range of options. They come with many different names, such as Podscape, or Nimiq, and searching for 'free podcast client' or something like it will turn up many possibilities.

When the podcast client has been installed, inputting the feed address will allow the podcast to be downloaded. The client software will check the address given for a small, machine readable file called an RSS file. This file will contain information about the podcasts, perhaps some text about the individual episodes, as well as the location of the episode file. Once the client software has been located the file referred to in the RSS feed, it will be downloaded and stored on the users computer until the want to view it.

Sometimes, of course, access to a personal computer is not available, but it is still necessary to check a certain podcast. Fortunately, many of these directories offer built in podcast readers in the site. Not only do they often show each recent episode that is available, they may also offer a way to view or listen to those episodes from within the site.

By using the viewer contained within the site, it is no longer necessary to even download the podcast episodes. However, the ability to move and share the episodes after downloading is one of the wonderful things about podcasting. The files can be placed on almost and media player, ranging from iPods to the new Playstation Portable. This flexibility is one of the reasons they have succeeded, despite other technologies like streaming music and video. The desire of consumers to have control over technology cannot be over estimated.