Kindle devices (Paperwhites and Kindle Fire) have been designed to make reading different texts extremely easy.
If you pick up one of these devices you’ll find it intuitive to pick up new releases and get started right away.
But listening to audiobooks or podcasts can be a little more complicated. Although some models do include the capability of playing back mp3 files, it can be difficult to find out just how to do this.
So then, if you’re looking for a way to listen to your favorite podcasts on a kindle device, you’ve come to the right place!
We’re going to break down how you can do this in a few simple methods.
How To Listen To Podcasts On A Kindle Paperwhite
Just a heads up before we begin. In order to listen to podcasts on a traditional kindle paperwhite, you’ll need to have a speaker that you can connect via Bluetooth.
There are versions of the kindle that will allow you to play back audio, and if this is the case then you can simply skip step 4 of our guide here.
Step 1 – Choose The Podcast You’re Looking For
The Amazon Kindle store has a wide variety of podcasts that you can choose from.
First, navigate to the ‘store’ section that you’ll be able to find in the top right corner of your kindle.
Next up, navigate to the Audible store.
While Amazon doesn’t have a dedicated podcasting store, it instead stores all of the available podcasts within Audible.
From here, select the podcast you’re looking to listen to.
Step 2 – Download The Podcast
If you’ve downloaded a book from Kindle, you’ll find the process to be almost exactly the same. All you need to do is select the podcast you want to listen to, purchase, and download it.
You’ll have to wait for a while for it to download depending on its size, but generally, all podcasts download in under five minutes.
Step 3 – Play The Podcast
Before we get onto the audio capabilities of your device, you’re going to need to double-check that it’s properly downloaded.
It should show up in the recent purchases on your kindle home page.
Simply tap on the new podcast and you’ll be presented with a screen that will allow you to pause or play the podcast, skip forward 30 seconds or back 30 seconds, navigate through chapters, add bookmarks, and determine speed.
Step 4 – Connect An External Speaker
If you have a traditional Paperwhite without audio playback capabilities, you’ll notice that there isn’t any sound coming out of your device.
We can get around this by making use of its Bluetooth capabilities. Connect a speaker by navigating to settings, then ‘all settings,’ then ‘Bluetooth devices.’
From here all you need to do is make sure your Bluetooth speaker is turned on and ready to pair, and then pair the two of them. There will be a visual prompt that the two are connected.
Now you can press play on your downloaded podcast and you’ll be able to listen without any additional steps!
How To Listen To A Podcast On A Kindle Fire
A Kindle Fire is a much more dynamic device that will give you a few different options for how you can download and listen to podcasts.
While a Kindle Paperwhite is an e-reader with some additional capabilities, a Kindle Fire is a tablet that has been designed with audio capabilities as one of its main functions.
In the sections below we’re going to give you a few different options for how you can access podcasts on a Kindle Fire tablet.
Just to note here, we’ve omitted using Audible to download podcasts on a Kindle Fire Tablet, as all you’ll need to do is follow the steps we outlined for our Kindle Paperwhite guide above.
The only difference is that you’ll be able to instantly playback the podcast without having to connect an external audio device.
Method 1 – By Using USB Transfer
If you have any form of Desktop or Laptop computer, you can simply download podcasts and transfer them to your Kindle Fire through a USB connection.
Download the podcast you’re looking for and connect your Kindle with its included USB cable.
Next, you’ll want to open up your Kindle’s storage on your PC.
Next, open up the ‘Audible’ storage folder if the podcast you’ve downloaded is an AA or AAC file, or the ‘Music’ folder if the podcast is an MP3 file.
From here, all you need to do is drag and drop the file you’ve downloaded into the folder.
From here, you’re going to be able to find it on your Kindle Fire and will be able to play it back through either audible or the music player on your tablet.
Method 2 – By Using A Dedicated App
If you want to have all your podcasts in one place, then you can simply use a dedicated podcasting app.
There are a few options available for you here outside of the section of the Audible store we’ve already outlined above.
Spotify: Spotify is a music streaming service that also deals with podcasts. All you have to do to listen to podcasts on Spotify is to download or stream them after searching for them. It’s very simple and some will even come with video accompaniments so you can watch along.
Stitcher: This is another app that allows you to easily find and listen to podcasts. Like Spotify before, all you’ll need to do is download the app, select the podcast you’re looking to listen to, and start playing it back right away.
Method 3 – Via the Experimental Browser:
Your Kindle has a feature known as the Experimental Browser, which is essentially a rudimentary web browser. This can be used to listen to podcasts that are hosted online.
To do this, first, navigate to the browser on your Kindle.
Type in the URL of the podcast you want to listen to.
When you’ve located the episode you want, click on it, and it should start playing.
However, keep in mind that this is a very basic browser and it may not work with all podcast hosting websites.
Final Thoughts
So there you have it! We hope that this guide has helped you to see the different options you have available to you when trying to access podcasts through an Amazon Kindle device.
The only podcasting platform that you won’t be able to easily access is Apple Music, as this is not supported by Kindle Devices.
However, if you use this on your laptop or desktop PC, simply download the files and transfer them with the ‘USB Method’ we outlined above! Good luck and happy listening!