# How to Get Captions and Transcripts for Podcasts on Mac > Open an episode's transcript in Apple Podcasts, turn on Live Captions when there isn't one, or transcribe an audio file and export it as text or SRT. - URL: https://freelivecaption.com/en/posts/podcast-live-captions-mac - Published: 2026-10-01 - Updated: 2026-10-01 - Author: Vocena team (https://freelivecaption.com/en/about) - Topic: Podcasts (https://freelivecaption.com/en/topics/podcast) ## Summary - Look for the episode's own transcript first. In Apple Podcasts, choose View Transcript and click a paragraph to play from there. - No transcript? Turn on Live Captions and set it to Computer Audio. Apple lists it for Apple silicon Macs only. - For a transcript you can keep, with timestamps, transcribe an audio file you're allowed to use. In Vocena that's a paid feature. --- We make Vocena. The Apple steps below come from Apple's Mac support pages for Podcasts and Live Captions, read again on October 1, 2026, and the Vocena details from our own product documentation. We haven't tried any of it on a Mac for this article, and we didn't compare speed or accuracy. ## Read the transcript in Apple Podcasts Not every episode has a transcript. Apple's [guide to episode transcripts in Podcasts on Mac](https://support.apple.com/guide/podcasts/read-along-with-episode-transcripts-pode3855ee98/mac) says availability depends on language, country and region. When an episode has one, you can open it while the episode plays or from View Transcript. 1. Open the episode in Podcasts on your Mac. 2. Find the transcript section, or choose View Transcript. 3. Read the passage you need. Click a paragraph to start playback from there. 4. Search the transcript for a word or phrase. Whole Word and Match Case narrow the results. Search finds text; it can't tell you whether a name was transcribed correctly. If the phrase you remember doesn't turn up, search a distinctive word near it and listen around the result. When you find the passage, note the episode title and the playback position so you can get back to it, and listen again before you quote anyone. ### If View Transcript is missing Check the show's own website or show notes for a transcript the publisher put out. Third-party transcript sites may be neither authorized nor accurate. If there's no transcript anywhere, use Live Captions to read along. If what you really want is an editable file, skip to [audio files](#podcasts-you-have-as-an-audio-file). An episode marked "downloaded" in a podcast app isn't necessarily an audio file that another app can open. Before you plan to import anything, check what you can actually access and what the publisher allows. ## Live Captions for episodes without a transcript Apple's [Live Captions guide for Mac](https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/get-captions-of-spoken-and-computer-audio-mchldd11f4fd/mac) lists it for Apple silicon Macs only, and it works only in some languages and regions. When it's on, the words appear in a floating window while the episode plays. The first time you turn it on, macOS downloads language data, so setup needs an internet connection. After that, Apple processes the audio on the Mac. 1. Choose Apple menu → System Settings → Accessibility → Live Captions. 2. Turn it on and let the language download finish. 3. In the Live Captions control in the menu bar, choose Computer Audio. 4. Play a part of the episode where someone is talking and watch for new text. 5. Move and resize the floating window so it doesn't cover the player's controls. Computer Audio is for speech playing on the Mac. Microphone is for speech in the room. If captions show up only because the microphone is picking up your speakers, that tells you nothing about whether Computer Audio works. The window hides when it hears nothing. While you're setting it up, turn on Keep Onscreen so you can see what it's doing, and check that captioning isn't paused. You can change the font, size and colors. Sometimes Live Captions picks up someone talking nearby but not your podcast player, or the window keeps disappearing during quiet stretches. For those cases, our [Mac Live Captions troubleshooting guide](/en/posts/apple-live-captions-mac-fix) has a decision table that goes through each audio source. To compare two players, use one short clip that you recorded yourself or have permission to use, and change one thing at a time. Write down the Mac, the macOS version, the audio source, the player, and whether you got no text or wrong text. When you switch to another browser, a protected stream or another language, play a short clip there too. Apple's guide also says the accuracy of Live Captions may vary and that it shouldn't be relied on in high-risk or emergency situations. For names and anything you plan to quote, rewind and listen. ## A floating caption window with Vocena Vocena for Mac needs macOS 15.5 or later. Whether it picks up your particular browser or podcast app is something to try with your own player. It captures system audio and shows captions in a floating desktop window. Live captions are free, with no time limit and no sign-in. Speech is recognized on the Mac; cloud recognition for live captions comes with the subscription and uploads the audio. Each line is labeled as microphone or system audio. Speakers aren't labeled, so the host and guest won't appear as separate people. If you need speakers separated, transcribe the file with the Qwen local model instead. 1. In Vocena, choose system audio as the source, then start listening. Vocena captions only after you start it yourself. 2. Allow the permission prompts macOS shows. Don't grant anything unrelated to audio capture. 3. Play a short clip you're allowed to use in the player you normally listen in, and check that new captions appear in the floating window. 4. Stop listening when you're done; Vocena doesn't stop by itself. If no text appears, check that system audio is the selected source and that the clip has speech in it. If you have the clip as a file, try it in another player. ## Podcasts you have as an audio file Say you recorded an interview yourself, or the publisher lets you download the episode as a file. Vocena's Library can transcribe it. File transcription is paid, with either the one-time purchase or the subscription. 1. Open the Library in Vocena and import the audio file. Vocena copies it onto your Mac. 2. Pick a transcription model and the time range, then start the transcription. It runs in the background, without turning on the microphone. 3. Open the transcript. With the Qwen local model, lines are split by speaker, and you can rename or merge speakers or split again with a set number of speakers. Apple's speech recognition doesn't split speakers. 4. Click any line to play the audio from there. 5. Export plain text for reading and editing, or SRT when another tool expects timestamped subtitles. By default, Vocena recognizes speech on your Mac, and the library stays on the device. Audio or text is uploaded only if you pick a cloud model, so check which model is selected before you open a private recording. Signing in, downloading models and using cloud features still need an internet connection. ### Check the transcript against the recording Treat the first transcript as a draft. Keep the original audio file and a note of where it came from. Listen before you put a person's name on a speaker. Automatic grouping doesn't prove who said what, especially when people interrupt each other or there's background speech. Rename or merge speakers only when the audio backs it up. Click a line to replay any name, technical term or sentence you plan to quote. If you're still unsure after listening, mark the line as unsure in your notes. Open the exported file in the tool you'll use and compare a few passages from the beginning, middle and end against the audio. Check punctuation, speaker labels and timestamps, even if the file saved without errors. ## On iPhone and iPad Vocena is also one app for iPhone and iPad, on iOS or iPadOS 26 or later. To caption audio from other apps on an iPhone, you need a physical iPhone running iOS 27. There, captions float over other apps in picture-in-picture instead of in a desktop window. ## Sources and checks - [Read episode transcripts in Podcasts on Mac]() — Checked 2026-10-01 - [Get captions of spoken and computer audio on Mac]() — Checked 2026-10-01 ### Device testing We have not tested these steps on a device. This guide is based on official documentation and Vocena's product information.