I use Google Listen. Bloody marvellous; downloads all my podcasts wirelessly while I'm asleep.

Here's the feed for the Word podcast:

http://laxman.audioblog.com/rss/wordpodcast.xml

I find it much easier to organise all this in Google Reader (http://reader.google.com). At the top left of Google Reader, hit the Add Subscription button, then paste in the feed address above. This will add a subscription.

What you then have to do is move this link into the folder called 'listen subscriptions'. And that's it really.

You can do this for all your podcasts and manage everything online. When your Android phone syncs, it should download everything automatically. I'd advise you make sure the 'wi-fi only' download option is checked, in case it tries to download it over 3G (which could be expensive depending on your tariff).

I seem to remember the 'listen subscriptions' folder isn't there at the beginning and gets created the first time you sync your phone with Google Reader.

Ta la, great guide. I'll soon have Heppo & Ellen coming in my ears.
Job done, superb.

I wish I had the faintest idea what this post , & its replies are about.

I honestly dont think I understood a word.

I was once told that the difference between a computer & me is that information only needs to be punched into a computer once.

Android is the operating system that runs Google-powered smartphones (analogous to the iOS which powers the iPhone).

Google Listen is an application that automatically downloads podcasts via wi-fi onto Android phones.

Podcast listeners can subscribe to podcasts by adding a feed to their podcast software (iTunes for example), which checks for new content and downloads it automatically.

Have found this a useful thread and now know how to get both Desert Island Discs and Word cast on my Android phone. Can anyone advise what correct address to use would be to subscribe to the Guardian's film one---I am trying to get the Werner Herzog one here:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/audio/2011/apr/28/film-weekly-podcast-wer...

For some reason it isn't being recognised as audio or the right format.
Looking at how it shows up in Google Reader I don't see a play widget of the same type as one sees with the Word 'cast. But I also don't see a way to get one. Is it just not presented in a useable way ?