Podcast App

Podcasts that adapt to you, day and night.

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I’ve been working on an app called SleepCast, and I thought some fellow podcast listeners might find it interesting. Despite the name, it’s a complete podcast app rather than just a bedtime player. It includes podcast discovery, subscriptions, a smart inbox, custom playlists, offline downloads, queues, chapters, playback-speed controls, CarPlay, notifications, and detailed listening statistics. There are also Simple and Expert modes, depending on how much control you want. One of my favorite features is the bookmarking system. You can save a moment together with an editable audio clip, add a note, generate a transcription, fine-tune the selection using a waveform, and share the clip with someone else. The app can also transcribe full episodes, create AI summaries and timestamped chapters, read summaries aloud, and combine selected chapters into your own audio remixes. On supported devices, the AI work is processed on-device. I’ve also put quite a bit of effort into the design. The player automatically derives its colors and background from the current podcast artwork, while still keeping the controls readable in light and dark mode. The sleep timer is probably the most unusual part. It can stop after a chosen duration or at the end of an episode, fade out gradually, run only during scheduled hours, and appear as a Live Activity. It can also play a subtle alert near the end and use motion detection to determine whether you’re still awake. If you move, the timer extends itself. If you don’t, SleepCast can switch to a soundscape while continuing to monitor for movement. When you return, it can even announce the time and give you a short recap of what you heard before drifting off. It has grown into a much bigger project than I originally expected (1.5 years in development), but I’m really happy with how the different features now work together. I’d be interested to hear which of these features you would actually use, and what you consider essential in a good podcast app.