How To Listen To Podcasts On Sonos (Several Options)

Do you love podcasts as much as I do?

I used to always listen to them in my car on the way to work.

But ever since Covid, I’m been working from home. No more car rides.

Of course, listening to podcasts at home is even better.

And since I have a bunch of Sonos equipment, it only made sense to listen to my favorite podcasts over my Sonos speakers.

That way I would never have to pause them again.

Bathroom break? I have a speaker in there, so keep the podcast playing!

The problem was figuring out how to listen to podcasts on Sonos. It’s not all that intuitive.

But once you figure it out, it’s simple. Keep reading to learn exactly how to play podcasts on Sonos.

 

How To Listen To Podcasts On Sonos

I love that Sonos continues to expand its functionalities. It now has an option that many will surely appreciate, especially those addicted to podcasting like me.

As of the latest Sonos Controller App update, which takes no time at all to figure out, you can listen to podcasts, thanks to the integration of the Speakers service.

Just by accessing the application, available for both iOS and Android (depending on which one you have, of course), and entering you user account, you can start listening to the different podcasts available.

What’s more, if you have a Sonos device, you can also listen to Speaker’s podcasts through the independent application that the service has launched, also available for iOS and Android!

 

The Convenience Of Sonos

Sonos is one of the simplest and most comfortable systems to listen to music and podcasts at home. I love my system and really suggest that you start buying Sonos equipment, if you haven’t already.

This is especially true, if you really love listening to podcasts. Do you know how I find some great podcasts? I just have to send the content I want from the app to the speakers and that’s it!

I can also listen to music from my record player or radio on my Sonos. I can sit in my living room and enjoy surround sound with my subwoofer placed by my sofa, or listen to it throughout the house.

I have Sonos speakers in every room now, so I never even have to pause anything! I just play my favorite stuff on all speakers and can listen wherever I am in the house, no matter what I am doing.

If I need a bathroom break, I just keep the Podcast playing. Thanks to the speaker I have in the bathroom, I’m set, even when I’m in there. I even have two speakers out in my backyard, thanks to my recently acquired Sonos Boost.

As great as that sounds, there is one hitch in terms of the radio. Sonos doesn’t have a dedicated interface for connecting to Internet radios.

To do this, you have to take advantage of TuneIn, a well-known online radio application, which is quite easy to use and connect with Sonos.

 

Use TuneIn To Listen To Podcasts On Sono

Using TuneIn actually works out quite well. It can recommend new stations, tell us which ones are closest to us, or classify them by topic.

I guess there is no need to explain why the last feature is particularly great to us podcast listeners.

The integration between Sonos and TuneIn is very nice, but it raises a question: can you add your own radios to Sonos, regardless of whether or not they appear on TuneIn?

It is not an obvious function, but it is possible. And once you know how to do it, it is actually very simple.

But as far as I know, you can only do it through a computer. That is, with the Sonos Controller program for Windows and macOS. This article covers how to connect Sonos and a Mac computer. 

Or at least that’s the only way I was able to figure out. If you know another way, educate this simple man and let me know (you can leave a comment below). This is how I added online radios to Sonos:

• Open the Sonos Controller program
• Click on “Manage”, at the top of the screen
• Click on “Add radio station”
• Paste the URL of the online radio in the first box
• Put a name in the second frame
• Click OK

Once you do this, the radio will appear within TuneIn in “My radio stations”, with the name you have given it. You just have to click on it for Sonos to start playing.

The radios I added from a computer are available on all connected devices, including smartphones. Whoever thought about this should get a raise.

I did run into some problems along the way but I was able to figure everything out eventually. According to the Sonos support website, the system is compatible with streaming using MP3, AAC, and WMA formats.

If the link does not use one of these formats, Sonos will not be able to play it.

 

Use Sonos Radio For Podcasts

Another option is to use Sonos Radio, which is updated with more ad-free shows and podcasts. While you only have certain podcasts available there, it is still a good option that I take advantage of from time to time.

I’m a curious person and there can never be too many podcasts in my brain!

Back to the topic of Sonos Radio – it is a free music service that allows you to listen to more than 60,000 stations from around the world directly on your Sonos smart speakers.

To use it, simply search for it in the Sonos mobile app that controls smart speakers.

Sonos Radio has been around for a while and I’m sure that you have noticed it. But it has been updated to incorporate new programs and podcasts without advertising.

And the company has announced new programming updates that will arrive on this service during the winter, all hand-selected and presented by some of the most well-known artists and creators.

New to Sonos Radio is Object of Sound, a weekly music and culture podcast hosted by poet and cultural critic Hanif Abdurraqib.

This show dives deep into the music of the moment and the stories surrounding the songs, which is something like a music podcast. Quite cool stuff. Check it out.

You can now tune in to the first three episodes featuring international celebrities including Jenna Wortham, Kimberly Drew, Sudan Archives, and Jeff Tweedy. New episodes of this podcast will be released every Friday and each one will feature a special guest.

Something else that I like is Unsung, a five-year program presented by the independent British publication Crack Magazine. This program features conversations with contemporary artists about their musical heroes.

 

How To Play Podcasts On Sonos: Final Thoughts

Of course, with Sonos, you can find many popular podcasts and play them the same way you play your music, for example. You’re not limited to Sonos Radio stuff, although I must admit I took a liking to these music podcasts.

I also listen to The Joe Rogan Experience (love him or hate him, he has some great stuff), Crime Junkie, Stuff You Should Know, and many others. Anything you like, you can listen to it on your Sonos speakers!