The Perseus Books Group Podcasts

Questions & Answers

What is a podcast?

A podcast is a downloadable audio or video file (or series of files)—for example, interviews, audio excerpts, recorded lectures, music, or news reports—that you can download individually or subscribe to receive automatically. You can then listen to or watch those files with software like Apple’s iTunes or a portable device like the iPod.

What is a podcatcher, podcast receiver, or podcatching software?

Podcatching software is usually a program, like iTunes, that you install and run on your computer. Podcatchers can also be Web-based services, such as Yahoo! Podcasts or Google Reader. Other popular podcatchers include: Juice, Fireant, and jPodder. You tell podcatchers what you want to listen to (or watch) regularly, and they automatically collect and store updates and new episodes of your favorite podcasts in a central location where you can find them any time you want. When you subscribe to any of the Perseus Books Group podcasts, you don’t have to constantly check our website for new content—your podcatcher will do that work for you, finding the latest podcasts and downloading them on a regular basis.

What is RSS? What’s an RSS Feed?

RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication. It’s the standard used to convey podcast information and files from the podcaster to the podcatcher. Basically, it’s a subscription-service tool that makes it easy to get podcast updates automatically in your podcatching software. An RSS Feed is just a file (technically, an XML file) containing all of the information your podcatching software needs to bring you podcasts.

How do I subscribe to Perseus podcasts?

Subscribing is especially easy if you have iTunes, but you can use any podcatching software or service you prefer. Just visit our subscription page to find the podcasts you’d like to receive. Then follow the instructions and links for each of those podcasts.

Do I have to subscribe? (Do I have to download?)

No—you can listen to or watch any of our podcasts right here on our website at any time. Visit our homepage to find the most recent podcasts or browse our books for deeper content, both audio and video. If you’re specifically interested in videos, try our videos page. Any time you click a button that says ‘Listen,’ ‘Listen Now,’ ‘Watch,’ or ‘Watch Now,’ the podcast will begin playing right in your Web browser. No need to download or subscribe.

How much do the Perseus Books Group podcasts cost?

They’re all free, all the time. So subscribe away!