I used to listen to podcasts religiously on commutes to and from school, and I always found it was best to connect my Bluetooth headphones to my iPad and listen to podcasts from it. After all, the Apple Podcast app auto-downloaded podcasts and ensured I didn’t lose service.

The downside was that it only works on iOS and Apple devices, and all my podcast curations were for naught. Now I had to switch to another app. This time, I chose Spotify, which is available on all platforms, even the web, and can also download podcasts. At first, every time I opened Spotify, it was ingrained in me to listen to music rather than podcasts, but after a while, it stuck.

Then my favorite creators moved from audio to video formats and would refer to things in the video that I couldn’t see on Spotify. So I had to move to YouTube to see that video reference, then I subscribed with notifications. Once I moved to YouTube, most of my Spotify needs were satisfied, but I lost all the extraordinary podcast stories I used to find on Spotify. Especially since YouTube Premium comes with YouTube Music, my Spotify subscription was no more.

The main issue with podcasts is the ability to keep track of which episodes I heard or didn’t hear across platforms, listening to podcasts has become a hassle on its own. Two years later, all I need podcasts for is to hear something while programs are starting up or compiling; for that, I play KERA NPR 90.1 radio and the select few I subscribed to on YouTube.

From now on, I still go on Spotify once or twice a month, but the catalog is so tiny I finish all the podcasts I like in less than 8 hrs. In comparison, on YouTube, I open daily to find videos I like and sometimes get greeted by a podcast. Feel free to give your thoughts below or vote on which podcasting app you think will win on my poll website here.