One of the coolest features of the iTunes Store is the Podcasts section. Podcasts are like radio and TV shows you can download on a regular basis—for free. Every major media outlet has some sort of audio or video podcast available now. For example, you can get the video from each week’s edition of Meet the Press from NBC, Slate magazine’s audio critique of released movies, or your favorite shows from National Public Radio.

To sign up for podcasts, click the Podcasts link on the main iTunes Store page and browse until you find something you like. Then click Subscribe.

Once you subscribe to a show, iTunes automatically deposits the latest episode on your computer as soon as it appears online. Since you may not want to fill up your iPad with podcasts, you can tell iTunes which ones to copy over each time you sync up. With the iPad connected by either USB or iTunes Wi-Fi Sync, click the Podcasts tab in iTunes and turn on the checkboxes for the shows you want to sync regularly. Use the pop-up menus to specify the number of episodes you want to carry around at any one time, click Apply, and then click Sync.