Pocket Casts now lets you create a playlist of your favorite podcast episodes

Pocket Casts, the podcast application under Automattic, has unveiled an exciting new feature that allows users to craft personalized playlists of their favorite podcast episodes. This innovative addition enables listeners to arrange episodes in their preferred sequence, enhancing the overall listening experience. Users have the option to create playlists manually or let Pocket Casts generate them automatically. These playlists aim to offer a more tailored experience for listeners, as Pocket Casts looks to expand its paid subscriber base and compete with giants in the industry. Currently, the app boasts around 60,000 subscribers, a figure dwarfed by Spotify's impressive 281 million. The introduction of playlists facilitates the curation of content based on particular themes or topics. It can also serve as a great way to compile episodes featuring your favorite guests across various shows. Whether you’re preparing for a long flight or looking to fill your commute with engaging content, this feature is designed to enhance your listening pleasure. To create a manual playlist, users can navigate to the Playlists tab on their main screen. By tapping the “+” icon on mobile devices or selecting “New playlist” on the web version, you can browse through your favorite podcasts and select the episodes you wish to include. For those who prefer a more automated method, Pocket Casts offers Smart Playlists. With this feature, you can set specific rules that dynamically gather episodes based on criteria you define. For instance, if you prefer shorter episodes, you can create a rule to include only shows under 25 minutes, or filter for unplayed or downloaded content. This is particularly beneficial for busy individuals looking to maximize their downtime. Currently, the Playlist feature is accessible on the web version and desktop applications, with a rollout for Android users already in progress. iOS users can expect the update to arrive soon. This enhancement follows Pocket Casts' recent decision to offer its web player for free, further solidifying its position as a competitive player in the podcasting arena against platforms that typically keep their content behind paywalls.