Help: Audio and Podcasts
Questions:
- What is the Notes in Spanish Podcast?
- How do I listen to the audio / podcasts?
- The Audio is not loading properly on the webpage / it is stuck on ‘buffering’
- How do I subscribe to the podcasts to receive each new show automatically? How do I put them on my iPod / Mp3 player?
- Are the podcasts free?
- How long are the podcasts?
- Are all your podcasts all only in Spanish?
- There are lots of podcasts, where do I start?
- On iTunes and in the store it seems that the Advanced podcast begins with episode 35, do 1 to 35 exist, or are those the Intermediate?
- What are the first 30 charity podcasts in the Advanced level?
Answers:
What is the Notes in Spanish Podcast?
Our Spanish audio shows, or Podcasts, are just like radio shows, except they are delivered over the Internet. Our Spanish podcasts are always free and always available. They are split into three levels, Inspired Beginners, Intermediate, and Advanced, each of which provide weekly ten to fifteen minute programmes. The programmes consist of real, 100% natural Spanish conversations, usually between Ben and Marina (who run this website), with special appearances by other Spanish speakers. For a full description of each level, click here.
How do I listen to the audio / podcasts?
You can either listen to them straight from this site, or by ’subscribing’ to each podcast series individually - then you can easily put our podcasts onto your iPod or other Mp3 player (see below). Both methods give you the podcast audio on-demand and for free.
To listen straight from the Notes in Spanish website, look for the play button (as shown here on the left) or ‘play in popup’ link at the top of each podcast post in the podcast archives. Click on one of these and the show will start playing straight away on your computer. Choosing the popup option lets you continue browsing the web while you listen.
Alternatively you can right-click on the ‘download’ link and you will be given the option to ’save link as’, or ’save target as’, allowing you to download the podcast to your computer. Then you can listen to the podcast later or transfer it onto an iPod or other mp3 player.
The Audio is not loading properly on the webpage / it is stuck on ‘buffering’
This does occasionally occur and there are a couple of possible solutions. Firstly you can try doing a hard refresh of the web page (ctrl+f5 on a PC, Apple+R on a Mac). If the audio still does not load completely, the next thing to try is to empty your browser cache - this is usually done in the privacy section of your browser software preferences. Finally, if neither of these two options work, very occasionally the service that stores our audio files may be down, and it may be worth checking again later or the next day.
How do I subscribe to the podcasts to receive each new show automatically? How do I put them onto my iPod or Mp3 player?
Some software, such as iTunes (recommended), or Juice, lets you ’subscribe’ to the podcasts and receive these automatically (and for free of course!) each time we publish a new one. For iTunes and Zune users this is especially easy, just click on the silver iTunes or Zune buttons on the podcasts subscription page, and follow the instructions on-screen. For other software or services you will need to enter the shows’ RSS feeds, which are also listed on the podcasts subscriptions page.
From iTunes or Juice it is easy to put our podcasts onto your iPod or portable mp3 player, so that you can take our podcasts with you when you are on the move. See the iTunes of Juice help files for specific instructions.
Yes! The audio is completely free, no matter whether you listen straight from the web site or subscribe via iTunes.
The Inspired Beginners podcasts are around 15 minutes long. The Intermediate and Advanced podcasts are around 10 minutes long.
Are all your podcasts only in Spanish?
The Intermediate and Advanced podcasts are in Spanish. The Inspired Beginners podcasts use English as well to help you progress faster.
There are lots of podcasts, where do I start?
With so many podcasts now available in our archives some people don’t know where to start! Let’s have a look by level:
Inspired Beginners: Start at podcast number one and work your way through the archive - with this level you will probably find it easier to start at the beginning.
Intermediate: The Intermediate podcasts do not necessarily have to be listened to in order. In fact you might like to start with the latest podcast, then listen to the new weekly installments, while working backwards through the archives as time permits.
Advanced: As with the Intermediate Spanish podcasts, the Advanced podcasts do not necessarily have to be listened to in order. You might like to start with the latest podcast, then listen to the new weekly installments, and work backwards through the archives as time permits.
On iTunes and in the store it seems that the Advanced podcast begins with episode 35, do 1 to 35 exist, or are those the Intermediate?
Advanced podcasts 1 to 35 do exist and are quite seperate to the Intermediate podcasts. The reason that the first 31 Advanced podcasts are not shown in iTunes is that they were for a charity event - the information about the event is now out of date, and the format changed slightly after these first 31 podcasts. They are still great podcasts though, and you can listen to them in our Advanced Podcast Archives. The reason why the Advanced worksheets only begin at number 35 is simply because that was the first podcast that worksheets were produced for. The Intermediate podcasts and worksheets are separate - the full Intermediate archive is available here.
What are the first 30 charity podcasts in the Advanced level?
The Notes in Spanish podcast came to life to help me raise money for a charity motorbike trip - 2000 km across rural Southern India in two weeks on a Royal Enfield! You can listen to the podcast, read all about it, and see the photos here. Our idea was to do one podcast every day for a month before the trip, a sort of sponsored podcast marathon. After I came back from the trip, we decided that the Spanish podcast was worth continuing. At the moment we are not podcasting for charity, though we hope to do things for good causes from time to time on this site.