Why LISTND

Take back your podcast listening

When did we decide to concentrate so much of our online activity into such a small number of companies?

Podcasts are already free

The foundational technology of podcasting is free and egalitarian. Every podcast is available on an open feed. Much like an apple from a tree or healthcare from a doctor, there is no technical reason that a giant corporation needs to sit between you and it.

No matter what app you use to listen to podcasts, the experience of listening is largely the same. The difference is who's watching you do it, and what they do with what they learn.

LISTND is not run by Spotify, by Apple, or by any big tech company tracking your every move, selling your data, or keeping you trapped inside their walled garden.

We are proud to use Podcast Index for our podcast feeds. The Podcast Index preserves, protects and extends the open, independent podcasting ecosystem.

Like Letterboxd for podcasts

How often has a podcast made you think of someone? How many of your favourite podcasts have been recommendations from people you trust?

On LISTND, that's all built in. You can curate lists, like episodes and share with friends, and use their lists, likes and shares to discover new voices and stories.

There are no public comments or low ratings. Nothing here is gamified and there is no feed engineered to hold you. This is simply somewhere to discover, share and listen to podcasts.

Guiding principles

Competition is good for everybody.What happened to a free and open market? Don't we all kind of agree that we prefer being able to choose between different products and services? Consumers always benefit when companies are vying for their attention, and not just through undercutting or buying up the competition.
No shadow banning.Everything surfaced comes from the people you choose to follow. There's no room for quiet tipping of the scales from an unknowable algorithm.
No war crimes.We promise to never, ever, invest in AI military technology companies.
No video podcasts.Let's give our poor eyes a break, shall we?
The only thing we want from you is good taste.There are no ads, trackers or third parties watching over your shoulder. We intentionally chose to not build the tools that secretly collect your user data.
Friend activity without the rage bait.We've learned some things from social media. There are no low ratings or public comments here.
What you listen to is your business.Your subscriptions and your history stay private. What you make public through lists and likes is 100% up to you.
Leaving is easy and up to you.We are happy to share your OPML file. If you ever find something better, take your subscriptions with you, no problem.

How we pay for it

We do not, yet. Listening is free and staying free. One day, shows will be able to pay a small fee (actually small!) to manage their own page on LISTND, creating custom show lists and more. This will not interfere with discoverability: Discovery is not for sale at any price.

Bring someone with you

Know someone who also wants to take back this one small part of their digital footprint? Send them listnd.app/invite.