Delete a podcast episode

Remove an episode permanently from your podcast.

Before You Delete

Deletion is permanent. Once deleted, the episode cannot be recovered. Consider these alternatives first:

If you're sure you want to permanently delete, continue below.

Delete an Episode in Castos

Note: Only account admins can delete episodes. Team members with collaborator roles should contact their account admin.

1. Sign in to your Castos dashboard
2. Click on your podcast, then click the episode title
3. Click the three-dot menu (⋮) in the Publish section
4. Click Delete Episode
5. Confirm the deletion

The episode is immediately removed from your Castos account and RSS feed.

Delete an Episode in WordPress (SSP)

There are two methods depending on how you want to handle the deletion:

Method 1: Move to Trash (Recommended)

This completely removes the episode:

1. Go to Podcasting → All Episodes (or Posts → All Posts if using the Posts post type)
2. Hover over the episode title
3. Click Trash

The episode is moved to trash and removed from your RSS feed. It will sync this deletion to Castos if connected.

Method 2: Revert to Draft

This removes the episode from distribution but keeps it in WordPress:

1. Go to Podcasting → All Episodes (or Posts → All Posts if using the Posts post type)
2. Click Edit under the episode title
3. Click Move to Trash

After Deletion: Podcast Directories

Deleting an episode doesn't instantly remove it from Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and other directories.

Timeline: Directories check your RSS feed periodically. Expect 24-48 hours for the deletion to propagate to all platforms.

Cached episodes: Some podcast apps cache downloaded episodes. Listeners who already downloaded the episode will still have it on their device.

Troubleshooting

I don't see the Delete option

You may be signed in as a team member, not an admin. The delete function is restricted to account admins for safety. Contact your account admin to delete episodes.

Quick workaround: Team members can revert episodes to draft to remove them from distribution immediately.

Episode still appears on directories after 48 hours

1. Verify the episode is actually deleted
2. Check your RSS feed directly in a browser to confirm it's gone
3. If it's gone from the RSS but still on a directory, the directory may need time to update, or you may need to contact their support

Tip: If using your SSP RSS feed for distribution, view your RSS feed in incognito mode or while logged out of WP. If you see the episode while logged out but not logged in, this means your site is serving a cached feed to non-users (and directories). Manually clearing your site cache will resolve this.

I accidentally deleted an episode

Unfortunately, deleted episodes cannot be recovered in Castos. You'll need to re-upload the audio file and recreate the episode details.

Tip: If you use WordPress, check your Trash—you may be able to restore from there if you haven't emptied it but you will need to reupload the episode file in order to resync the episode to Castos.