Welcome to the home of the ever-growing family of LITOPIA podcasts!

Our shows are produced by Litopia Writers’ Colony, one of the Internet’s oldest communities for writers.  We aim to inform, provoke, occasionally terrify… but mostly – we want to entertain you!  “Intelligent entertainment” would be a good way to put it: at a time when much of the media seems intent on dumbing us down, LITOPIA treats its listeners as if they have brains – and are keen to use them.

The advent of podcasting technology allows us to produce and distribute extremely high quality programs globally.  Until recently, that’s something that only the largest media conglomerates could do.

However, the technology can at first seem a bit daunting.  But don’t panic – this page contains all the help and advice you’ll need in order to start listening with zero stress.  And should you need some personal hand-holding  – well, we’ve even got that covered, too.

So no excuses – let’s get you connected!

What is A Podcast?

Here’s a 3-minute video that simply explains what podcasts are.  It’s a good, clear introduction.  If you already know what podcasts are, skip ahead to the next video below.

How Do I Listen, Then?

The nice thing about podcasts is that you can choose where, when and how to listen.  Once our shows are on your mp3 player, you can take us with you anywhere you choose to go.  For example, you might enjoying listening on your journey to work.  Or during your lunch break.  Or even in bed… we’re very broad-minded!  They key thing is this: podcasts can fit into your lifestyle easily.

There are lots of mp3 players, and lots of software to choose from.  But to start with, let’s just talk about Apple’s iPod, and the software that goes with it – iTunes.  This 2-minute video shows you what iTunes does (it will do a lot more than simply look after your podcasts) and explains how to download it.

How to Locate and Subscribe to a Podcast

Nearly there now.  Not too exhausted?  Good!   The final stage is again pretty straightforward – it involves “subscribing” to the podcast itself.  We use the word “subscribe” pretty loosely.  There’s no money involved – it simply means telling your software (in this case, iTunes) where to look for our podcast.  Once you’ve subscribed, iTunes will automatically download each new show as soon as it’s available.

The following video is a bit longer than the other – 9 minutes – and it does cover some of the same ground.  But it’s a clear and simple explanation.

And Finally…

Answers to a few common questions:

Q. Must I use an iPod or other MP3 player to listen to your shows?

A. No – you can listen on this site very easily by clicking on the audio player under each show.  The button you should click on looks like this:

Or you can use software such as iTunes to subscribe to our shows, then listen to them on your Mac or PC.  However, listening on an mp3 player gives you maximum flexibility to decide where and when to listen.

Q.  How do I manually subscribe to your shows?

A. If you want to add our podcasts manually to your podcast software, do it like this: In iTunes, go to the “Advanced” menu and select “Subscribe to Podcast…”. Then paste the following link into the box and hit OK.

http://www.litopia.com/podcast/litopia.xml

Other podcast software will have a similar procedure. After that, your podcasting software will automatically download all new programs from Litopia to your computer as soon as they are released.

Q. I’ve already got podcast software on my computer – how do I add your podcasts?

A. Easy! if you have iTunes installed on your computer, click here.  If you don’t have iTunes, but do use other podcast software, click here and follow the instructions.

Q.  What other free podcast software can I get?

A. Here are some common podcatcher programs:

• iPodderX for OS X. Handles audio, video, photos and optionally downloads to iPod.
• iPodder for Windows, Mac, Linux. Handles audio, integrates with Windows Media Player on Windows PCs.
• Doppler Radio for Windows. Handles audio, video, integrates with Windows Media Player.
• JPodder for Windows. Handles audio, optionally transfers to iTunes for download to supported MP3 players.

I’ve Still Got Questions!

Not a problem.  Issues can and do arise from time to time, and it’s nice to know that help in the form of real, live human beings is readily available.

To get help, simply go to the Colony (that’s what we tend to call Litopia) by clicking here, and post a message in the COLONY HELP forum.  You’ll have to join first – it’s free and it won’t take long to do.  Then ask away, and we promise not to stop helping you until your problem is solved!