Vertically Listen

A podcast player where transcripts fall as time-synced vertical verse.

WIPWeb

Vertically Listen is a work in progress · it's being reworked and isn't open to enter yet. The live player returns here when it's ready.

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Features

Hierarchy you can trace

Shows › episodes › playing, as a breadcrumb trace with the show's artwork up top. Every crumb is live, and browsing never interrupts playback.

A shelf of columns

Today's top CJK shows (한국·일본·중국·대만·홍콩) stack as full-height rounded columns with status pills, flowing right→left like books on a shelf.

Transcripts as vertical verse

Podcasting 2.0 time-synced transcripts fall as vertical columns. The active line carries the accent, auto-scrolls with playback, and seeks on tap.

Honest text

When a feed has no transcript, show notes appear as a labeled intro panel instead. Untimed text never pretends to be synced.

Full episodes, open RSS

Episodes stream in full over each show's open RSS feed: the real audio, not previews, with a conventional player bar (±15초, previous/next, volume).

Design Decisions

Why do transcripts read as verse?

A transcript is prose you follow in time. Each timed line becomes its own column, so progress shows on the page: heard columns sit to the right, upcoming ones wait on the left, and the accent marks the line playing now.

Why does transport stay horizontal?

Time controls are instruments, not text. The player bar stays horizontal so muscle memory works, and the contrast marks the boundary: reading is vertical, control is horizontal.

Why does browsing never stop playback?

The breadcrumb keeps shows, episodes, and the playing state reachable at once. You can look back at the shelf without losing your place; playback keeps going while you browse.