How to remove ads from a podcast episode without losing the original

"Remove the ads" and "keep the original" sound like they should be in tension — cutting a file changes it, by definition. The way out is to never touch the file you started with, and instead treat the ad-free version as a new, separate render you can throw away and redo. Here's what that looks like end to end.

1. Point it at the show's RSS feed

Every podcast is published as an RSS feed — the same address your podcast app already uses to check for new episodes. Add that feed URL to Listen Clean, and it fetches new episodes the same way your podcast app does.

2. The original is stored once and never edited

The downloaded episode is kept as-is. Nothing in the pipeline writes over it, and every later step — transcription, ad-break proposals, rendering — reads from that same untouched copy. If a cut ever turns out wrong, the source is still there to re-render from.

3. The episode is transcribed, then read for ad breaks

Whisper transcribes every word with a timestamp. A language model reads that transcript and proposes where the ad breaks are, pointing at the specific words that justify each one — not a guess from the waveform, a claim grounded in what was actually said.

4. Each proposed cut has to earn its place

A proposal isn't a cut yet. It's checked against the category of content, the model's confidence, whether the boundary lines up cleanly with real word timestamps, and whether the shape of the cut is sane. An interval that doesn't clear all of that stays in the episode. Losing a few seconds of ad is a minor cost; clipping into real content isn't, so the system is built to make the safer mistake when it isn't sure.

5. A new file is rendered — the original stays put

Once the cut list is settled, FFmpeg renders a fresh MP3 from the original audio and that cut list. This render is what changes: a new file, separate from the source, that can be regenerated any time the cut list improves. The recording you started with never moves.

6. You get a private feed for the app you already use

The output is a private RSS feed URL — you add it to Overcast, Apple Podcasts, or Pocket Casts exactly the way you'd add any other feed, and new episodes show up ad-free as they're processed. (Spotify doesn't support private feeds, so it isn't an option here.) See the setup guide for Overcast, Apple Podcasts, or Pocket Casts if you want the exact steps.