WHYY Listen App Help
Livestream and audio player controls | Queue | Saving and downloading content | Troubleshooting and settings
If you can’t find an answer to a question you have or an issue you are facing, please fill out this form to submit your problem to the WHYY Digital Products and Services team.
Livestream and audio player controls
-
How can I play the live radio?
You can play the livestream from the Listen Live tab. You can either tap the program tile logo of the show currently airing, or you can tap the play icon on the WHYY Live Stream bar.
collapse -
How can I rewind the livestream?
You can rewind the livestream three different ways:
- Tap the back 15 seconds button
- This will rewind the audio 15 seconds
- Tap the start button
- This will rewind the audio back to the start of the current program airing
- Scrub back in the audio play bar
- This will take you to any past moment in the current program playing
When you rewind, you will see a timestamp indication of how far behind you are from the live moment of the radio. To get back to the live moment, you can tap the live button, or use the scrubber. You cannot fast forward past the live moment.
collapse -
How do I know if I’m listening to the currently airing program? How do I get back to the live moment?
If you are listening to the live program, you will see a red “LIVE” badge above the program name in the full screen audio player.
If you are not listening to the live program, a behind time tracker will you how far behind you are from live air, and the red “LIVE” badge will not be present.
If you pause the livestream and leave the app (without force closing it), when you return and resume playing, the stream will pick up right from the moment you paused.
You can get back to the live program within the full screen audio player by pressing the live button.
collapse -
Where is the sleep timer?
The sleep timer is the moon icon in the full screen audio player in the bottom right corner. It is available to use for both the livestream and any other on demand audio in the app.
To use the sleep timer, you first have to start playing audio (livestream or on demand). To then set the sleep timer, tap the moon icon.
This will open the sleep timer menu where you can set the time.
After you set the time, you will see the progress of the sleep timer in the full screen audio player. When the time is up, the audio will stop playing.
collapse -
Livestream player controls
Select the back 15 button to rewind 15 seconds.
Select the fast forward 15 button to skip ahead 15 seconds.
Select the start button to go back to the top of the hour of the show currently airing.
Select the live button to go back to the live moment airing.
Press the pause/play button to stop/start audio playback.
Select the podcast icon (located bottom left) to go to the show/podcast screen of the show currently airing.
Select the AirPlay icon (located bottom center) to connect to an external device.
Select the Moon icon (located bottom right) to set a sleep timer.
To minimize the full screen audio player, select the back arrow in the top left, or swipe down.
collapse -
Why is a show listed as "unavailable for replay" in the radio schedule?
Some shows are unavailable to be replayed/rebroadcast because of copyright terms.
collapse -
On-demand player controls
Select the back 15 button to rewind 15 seconds.
Select the fast forward 15 button to skip ahead 15 seconds.
Press the pause/play button to stop/start audio playback.
Select the 1x (located bottom left) to adjust playback speed.
Select the AirPlay icon (located bottom center) to connect to an external device.
Select the Moon icon (located bottom right) to set a sleep timer.
To minimize the full screen audio player, select the back arrow in the top left, or swipe down.
collapse -
How can I listen in the car?
Changes to your network connection (switching from Wi-Fi to cellular data or switching Wi-Fi networks), may disrupt the livestream or the progress of on-demand audio being played on your device. If you are unable to resume playing, try force closing the app and reopening.
To listen to on-demand audio offline, you can download any podcast episode, WHYY Newscast, NPR Newscast, or local audio news story for uninterrupted listening. You can access your downloads on the My WHYY screen.
If you are still having trouble playing audio in the app, please contact us.
collapse
Queue
-
What is a queue?
Your queue is a temporary, personalized play order for on-demand audio. It lets you line up episodes to play one after another without interruption. Unlike a playlist, your queue is not something you can save or share — it resets once all queued items have played.
For example, if you want to listen to the WHYY Newscast first and have the Livestream start automatically afterward, you can use your queue to make that happen, hands-free!
collapse -
How do I access or play my queue?
Your queue is always available in the audio player when playing on-demand content. When you start playing on-demand audio, you will see a button in the player that says “Queue”.
- Tapping on this button will open your queue.
- You can close your queue by tapping the “Queue” button again.
Note: You cannot access your queue from the livestream player.
collapse -
How do I create my queue?
When you start playing an on-demand audio content — such as a newscast, podcast episode, or local news story — it automatically becomes the first item in your queue. You can add more items in two ways:
- Tap the queue icon on a Newscast or local news story.
- A message will pop up confirming the audio was added.
- The queue icon will change from three bars and a plus sign to three bars and a minus sign.
- Select “Add to Queue” from the (…) audio menu on any podcast episode.
- A message will pop up confirming the audio was added.
- The menu option will change from “Add to Queue” to “Remove from Queue”.
Additionally, you can enable “Autoplay Livestream” in your queue, which will automatically play the Livestream after your on-demand content finishes.
collapse -
How do I remove audio from my queue?
There are three ways to remove audio from your queue:
- Inside the queue: Each episode will have an X icon on the right side. Tap this to remove it.
- For a Newscast or local story: Tap the queue icon again.
- A message will pop up confirming the removal.
- The icon will change back from three bars and a minus sign to three bars and a plus sign.
- For a podcast episode: Select “Remove from Queue” from the (…) audio menu.
- A message will pop up confirming the removal.
- The menu option will change back to “Add to Queue.”
-
How do I reorder my queue?
To change the play order:
- Open your queue.
- If an audio item can be moved, you’ll see an icon with three stacked bars on the left.
- Tap, hold, and drag the audio to change its position.
Note: The Livestream cannot be reordered. It will always be the last item to play.
collapse -
How do I skip past items in my queue?
To skip ahead:
- Open your queue.
- Tap the item you want to play.
This will bypass and remove any earlier episodes in your queue.
collapse -
Will my queue be saved forever?
No, your queue will clear after the audio episodes have played.
collapse -
Is there a limit to how many items I can add in my queue?
No! You can add as many audio episodes as you wish.
collapse -
How does the livestream work in the queue?
If you add the livestream to your queue, it will always be added as the last item and will play after all other on demand items have finished.
collapse
Saving and downloading content
-
Downloading audio
You can download any on-demand audio item by selecting the menu icon (…) on any audio listed on the Podcast tab, or any podcast episode listed on a show screen and selecting Download Episode. You can also download any on-demand audio by selecting the menu icon (…) in the full screen audio player while the audio is playing and selecting Download Episode.
When the audio has been successfully downloaded, the text will change from “Download Episode” to “Delete Episode”.
To remove the audio from your downloads, you can select “Delete Episode” from the menu, or you can go to the My WHYY screen, select the Downloaded tab, and select the X icon on the downloaded audio item.
You cannot download the livestream or articles.
collapse -
Favoriting shows
You can favorite any show for quick access by selecting the heart icon on any podcast tile on the Podcast screen, or by selecting the heart icon in the right hand corner on a show screen. You can also favorite a show by selecting the menu icon (…) on any audio episode listed on the Podcast screen, show screen, or episode details screen, and selecting “Favorite Podcast”.
When you have favorited a podcast/show, it will appear on the Live screen under the NPR Newscast. It will also appear at the top of the Saved tab on the My WHYY screen.
To unfavorite a show, you can deselect the heart icon, or open the menu (…) on any audio episode, and select “Unfavorite podcast”. This will remove the podcast from the Live screen and from your Saved tab on the My WHYY screen.
collapse -
Saving articles and audio
You can save any article to read later by selecting the bookmark tab on any article on the news screen. When you have saved an article, the bookmark icon will turn black.
To view all of the articles you have saved, go to the My WHYY screen and select the Saved tab. If you have saved more than 5 articles, select View All to see the full list.
You can unsave any article from the Saved tab on the My WHYY screen by selecting the bookmark icon again. You can also unsave an article directly from the News screen by selecting the bookmark icon again. When you have unsaved an article, the bookmark icon will turn white. Unsaved articles will automatically be removed from your Saved tab.
You can save any on demand audio item by selecting the menu icon (…) on any audio listed on the Podcast tab, or on any podcast episode listed on a show screen and selecting Save Episode. You can also save any on-demand audio by selecting the menu icon (…) in the full screen audio player while the audio is playing and selecting Save Episode.
When the audio has been successfully saved, the text will change from Save Episode to Remove Episode.
To view all of the audio content you have saved, go to the My WHYY screen and select the Saved tab. If you have saved more than 5 audio items, select View All to see the full list.
You can unsave any audio from the Saved tab on the My WHYY screen by selecting the bookmark icon again. You can also unsave any audio item by selecting Remove Episode from the menu. Unsaved audio items will automatically be removed from your Saved tab.
collapse
Troubleshooting and settings
-
Searching for content
You can search for podcasts in the WHYY Listen app by navigating to the Podcast screen. The search bar at the top allows you to search for podcasts/shows only; it does not search for news articles or specific audio episodes/segments.
Currently, there is no way to search directly within the app for news articles or individual audio episodes/segments.
That being said, you can access search from WHYY.org in the app to search for news articles. To do so, first open any news article.
Then, open the hamburger menu (≡) to reveal the website’s search bar, where you can search for news articles.
After searching for a term in this bar, you will see the search results page from WHYY.org.
collapse -
Start or stop receiving push notifications
Push notifications alert you of daily news stories or special programming from WHYY. To adjust your notification settings, tap the gear icon in the top right of the My WHYY tab. From there, toggle to select whether you would like to receive notifications or not.
If you are not receiving notifications but believe you should be, please contact us.
collapse -
Trouble playing audio in the app
Changes to your network connection (switching from Wi-Fi to cellular data or switching Wi-Fi networks), may disrupt the livestream or the progress of on-demand audio being played on your device. If you are unable to resume playing, try force closing the app and reopening.
To listen to on-demand audio offline, you can download any podcast episode, WHYY Newscast, NPR Newscast, or local audio news story for uninterrupted listening. You can access your downloads on the My WHYY screen.
If you are still having trouble playing audio in the app, please contact us.
collapse -
Why is the WHYY Listen app using so much space on my phone?
Audio that you have downloaded for offline listening is temporarily downloaded to your device.
If you need to make space, you can remove items individually from your downloads on the My WHYY screen on the “Downloaded” tab.
collapse -
Report an issue
We encourage you to submit an inquiry through the WHYY App Feedback Form. This form is available in the WHYY Listen app under the Settings menu. You can access the Settings menu by selecting the gear icon in the top right of the My WHYY screen.
collapse