There are a few problems with this, of course. The first is choice; since there are literally thousands of outlets for free content, choosing what is good is very difficult. The second issue that us culture hounds have is the storage of such a massive pile of content, which can rapidly get out of control. So, in addition to some listening behaviours and thinning down techniques we find useful, we’ll first look at a few iTunes settings that can keep your stash in check without you missing out on too much, whilst not being overwhelmed either.

1. Rate the items you’ve listened to.

If you’re using iTunes, make sure you add a star-based rating column in your podcast library (right click any column header and select “Rating”) – that way you can mark which episodes you want to keep when you listen on the go or at your computer, and which you’re happy to delete. We tend to rate either 5 Stars (keeper) or no stars for ones we’re binning.

Right clicking allows you to add columns

2. Stream instead of Download

If you’re at your computer, or have an iPod or iPhone with Wifi available, most podcasts can be streamed as well as downloaded. On your iPod/iPhone, click the title rather than the download button, and the episodes will play over your connection. Saves space, and retains the quality. See more here. And here.

3. Set time-sensitive episodes for auto-deletion after a certain time

iTunes lets you set auto-delete options after a certain time unplayed. If you have news or current affairs podcasts, let them expire after a week or two. iTunes has a setting for this, and the rule can be applied to specific podcasts or all podcasts by default.

4. Order your mp3 player’s menu to bring podcasts to the forefront

iPods have been customizable since the word go when it comes to menus. The Zune seems to be able to do this too (mostly through the use of building “quicklists”), although most of the Youtube videos on the subject are inscrutable on layout customization. If you’re a Zune owner, however, you probably know your shit on this subject anyway. If you don’t, Engadget’s Zune interface video seems the most comprehensive.

5. Conglomerate your podcasts with one application

If you have some podcasts in iTunes, some in Odeo, a few on BlogTalkRadio and maybe a batch of channels in iPodder (now called Juice, or Juice Receiver) chances are that, unless you’re massively disciplined, you’ll never sign into all those platforms. We tend to use iTunes, but, as long as there’s a “subscribe to feed” ability, any and all aggregators tend to be equal. Check out The Apple Blog for a roundup of apple-based aggregators, many of which (like Juice, which is cross-platform) are also available in some form for the PC.