Set Apple Podcast to play from earliest episode

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I continue to use Apple Podcast today to manage my podcast library as the app is deeply integrated with the Apple ecosystem. However, it is not one the best app to do so. Podcast apps like Overcast and Castro does a much better job, albeit, being on a paid subscription model today. And as the title of this post implies, it took me a while to figure out how to get Apple Podcast to play from earliest episode of a podcast series!

Apple Podcast library on iPadOS

Step by step guide to get Apple podcast to play from earliest episode

The following screenshot walkthrough will show you how to get to the playback settings for the podcast. I sometimes wish that the Apple apps are as intuitive to use like the hardware and iOS or iPadOS in general. Unfortunately, it is not and the Apple Podcast app is an example of one that is relatively clunky to use.

  1. Go to the Library section of the Apple Podcast app.
    Apple Podcast library
  2. Click into the Podcast that you want to change to play from from the earliest episode. Click on the circle with 3 dots which will bring you to the context menu.
    Apple Podcast series/show page
  3. On the context menu, click on settings.
    Apple Podcast series settings
  4. Here is where you will find the playback settings you can change to get Apple Podcast to play from the earliest episode.
    Apple Podcast series playback settings
  5. You can also define how you want Apple Podcast to download the episodes in the custom settings.
    Apple Podcast series custom settings

While most of the podcast I listen to don’t necessarily require a play from earliest sequence, podcasts like Battlestar Galacticast which talks through all the series episodes really needed to be heard from earliest to newest.

So there you go. That’s how you get Apple Podcast to play the episodes in the sequence that makes sense for the series!

If you need a video walkthrough, as usual, here is a screen recording I’ve uploaded as well.

Changing playback settings on Apple Podcast app


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