It follows a major update to the app in November -- just months after its acquisition by a collective of public radio stations, including NPR -- that brought with it Siri Shortcuts, enabling iPhone users to set up voice prompts. Other notable features included episode search and improved syncing across mobile and desktop. The app costs costs $3.99 on iOS and Android and $9 on the web.

Beyond Pocket Casts on Echo, users of rival smart speakers can also fire up podcasts using just their voice. Google Home, for instance, syncs up with the dedicated Google Podcasts app to let you request playback from Assistant. And Siri on HomePod lets you listen to any show in Apple's massive podcasts library.