I am a huge fan of podcasts. I listen to them all the time, in the car (unless my son objects), doing chores around the house or classroom, and any other time I can.

I used the built-in iOS podcast app for a while, but it was not amazing by any means. I found Overcast, and I never looked back!

Why Overcast?

There are a couple of reasons I like it so much, but hands down, my favorite is the effects. These options are listed in a menu at the bottom of each episode (see image).

Smart Speed

This works in the background to automatically shorten the silences in podcasts. This essentially cuts down on wasted time in podcasts. I know that some people like to listen to podcasts at 1.5X or 2X speed to get through them efficiently, but I have never been a fan of that; it feels a little oddly paced and pitchy. Smart Speed saves you time without messing up the experience of listening to the podcast.

You even get a handy running total of the time saved by Smart Speed in the Settings panel. So far, Smart Speed has saved me 43 hours!

Voice Boost

This is also a nice feature; I can go from podcast to podcast without having to worry about having a different listening experience.

In addition to these cool features, the app itself is just plain elegant. This is evident from the controls, which are clear and consistent, to the number of taps needed to play a podcast (it’s 1 to play your most recent podcast). The app does a great job of helping you get to content ASAP.

The other thing I like as a teacher who listens to podcasts, which often overlap with my classroom, is the sharing function. I can share a podcast to a specific starting point very easily to my class’s Slack Channel (in less than five taps), and my students don’t need any special software or accounts to listen to what I have shared.

Conclusion

Download this free app and plow through podcasts like never before!