How do I know I've subscribed to a podcast?

Question

How do I know I've subscribed to a podcast?

When I subscribe to a podcast in the iTunes store,there is no indication there that I've done so. When I return to the iTunes store later and view that podcast, it asks me again to subscribe to it. I can subscribe to it over and over again, and it never seems to matter. Shouldn't iTunes know that I've already subscribed to it and tell me so? Is there a place where I can view my podcast subscriptions and manage them?

A problem is that I did a Ctrl-A on the podcast window and deleted all of my old podcasts. But this also deleted all the names of the podcasts I was subscribed to. By deleting everything in that window, did I delete all my podcast subscriptions as well? if I didn't, then where can I view a list of my current subscriptions?

Any help or advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

doug

iPod nano, Windows 8

Posted on May 27, 2015 5:04 AM

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Answer 1

the fiend

Level 7

22,458 points

May 27, 2015 12:45 PM in response to Doug Nienhuis

Highlight the Podcast in your iTunes/Podcasts Library and look for the Subscribe/Unsubscribe button in the lower right corner.

In my screenshot, I am not currently subscribed to that particular Podcast. If I was, then Subscribe button would say Unsubscribe

Edit: Notice that next to the Refresh button, it states Les Adams Dance... because that is the particular Podcast that is being referred to.

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Answer 2

May 27, 2015 8:33 PM in response to the fiend

Thank you, "the fiend". I appreciate the info and the help. It's great that you included a screenshot.

I was actually aware of the subscribe/unsubscribe button in the iTunes Podcast Library window. My confusion came after I deleted all the podcasts in that window. I figured the fastest way was just to select everything (Ctrl-A) and hit delete. That deleted all the episodes, but it also deleted the lines that listed the names of the podcasts. It was just a blank screen. No episodes and no podcasts listed.

So I wondered if that meant I had also deleted all my subscriptions at the same time. If I'd known deleting all that ALSO meant I was deleting my subscriptions, I wouldn't have done it. I assumed I could just hit Refresh and get all the most recent episodes again.

I just assumed that this window listed podcast episodes and that there was another window that listed and controlled my podcast subscriptions. It seems weird to have them listed in the same window. Then you end up deleting the episodes AND the subscription when you don't intend to.

Anyway, it looks like that is the way it works. It just doesn't make any sense to me. When you highlight the line that lists the name of the Podcast, you get the subscribe/unsubscribe button at the bottom right. But when you highlight just an EPISODE of that podcast, you ALSO get that subscribe/unsubscribe button. The two even look exactly alike: The subscription line and the episode line both have the exact same blue dot beside them. They look identical. It would make more sense to differentiate between the episodes of a podcast and the subscription to that podcast, but it seems that iTunes treats them exactly the same way.

But I'm slowly figuring it out.

Thanks again.

Doug

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Answer 3

May 27, 2015 9:38 PM in response to Doug Nienhuis

The plot thickens.

While looking into this, I noticed the little "Episode List" option at the top right of the Library screen. I'd never understood what that option was all about, but I just realized that it controls how you view your podcasts. There is an Episode List view and a Podcasts view.

The Episode List view appears to be the default. It's the normal view of the Library that people are used to. But the Podcasts view is interesting. It gets close to what I was talking about. It puts a list of items and podcasts in a column on the left. Clicking on these changes what you see in the right column. You can view a chronological list of events or a list of unplayed episodes.

And when you click on one of the podcasts in the left column, you are presented with a set of controls for that podcast in the right column. You can list the episodes currently on your computer or see the "feed", which lists available episodes from the iTunes store. You can play the podcast, download new episodes from the "feed", refresh, add to playlists, sort, and set other default controls.

It's an interesting - if bewildering - design for these controls. But it does make it clear that the subscription to a podcast is a feature of the podcast listing, not the other way around. You can have podcasts listed in your library whether you are subscribed to them or not. In this view, the subscription control is actually a little sliding knob. You can slide the knob to the Off position on the right or the On position to the left to control whether you are "Subscribed" to the listed podcast or not. So if you delete the listing of a podcast, by default you are also deleting the ability to subscribe to it. The subscription is not a thing separate from the podcast itself. It's a control/setting built into the listing.

(Now if anyone can ever explain to me how to get rid of that evil little "cloud" icon that haunts me throughout iTunes and which I can never understand, I'll be on my way to learning how to use iTunes.)

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Answer 4

the fiend

Level 7

22,458 points

May 28, 2015 2:30 AM in response to Doug Nienhuis

To pick up on a couple of your points:

I'm not a fan of the current Podcasts default view after it was updated a few versions ago. Consequently, I changed it back to the one I used in my screenshot.
The blue spot next to the Podcast header indicates that you have episodes in that Podcast that you have not yet heard. This is a useful feature if you have just the header showing and the the episodes hidden from view.
The blue spot next to an episode indicates that you have not yet begun listening to that episode.
The blue spot changes to a half-filled blue spot if the episode is part-listened to. Again, very useful, to me anyway.
Apple have added new features to the iTunes interface over the years, not all of them have been good, easy to understand, or logical.

Doug Nienhuis wrote:

(Now if anyone can ever explain to me how to get rid of that evil little "cloud" icon that haunts me throughout iTunes and which I can never understand, I'll be on my way to learning how to use iTunes.)

You're spot on about the evil little cloud icon. It's a mystery why it's there for Podcasts! (Well, I know why it's there - I just don't understand why anyone thought it was a good idea.)

Until recently, a user's iTunes Podcasts Library showed only the episodes that had downloaded into the Library. It was possible to show the additional episodes, but it was fairly clear that they were not downloaded into the user's Library because the text was greyed out - plus, they did not have a blue spot next to them. Also, the Podcasts Count (which was always visible) indicated only the unlistened episodes in your Library.

But now, one tiny slip and iTunes insists on showing every single episode available, even in the cloud, and all the additional ones not only show the blue spot, but the Podcast Count in your Library now includes all those online episodes. A more recent update hides the Podcast Count (probably because it annoyed users), but if you hover over the Podcast icon at the top of iTunes' window, there it is - but with a completely misleading and totally useless count!

But positively the worst aspect of the current display is that episodes in the cloud (i.e. not in the user's Library) are no longer greyed out, making it far more difficult to see which episodes are actually in the Library.

Over the years, Apple appear to have lost the plot with the Podcasts Library. Perhaps none of their current designers listen to Podcasts. Those who do have certainly never done so on an iPod Classic because on the Classic, Podcasts are listed, and therefore play, in reverse date order. So one ends up listening to the newest episode, followed by an older episode, followed by an even older episode. (Since "episode" indicates a sequence of events, why would anyone think that playing episodes in reverse order was in any way credible?)