The Problem
Harmontown ran for 360 episodes over 7 years. I've been falling asleep to it for a decade. But podcast apps are designed for "catching up" - skip around, mark as played, move on. I needed the opposite: a completionist system that tracked actually listening to every episode, in order, while half-asleep.
What I'm Building
TownTuner - a podcast player built for one show and one use case: falling asleep to Harmontown, night after night, until you've genuinely heard all 360 episodes.
The prestige system:
- Episodes only count at 85% completion
- Must complete all 360 chronologically to prestige
- Smart shuffle plays only unplayed episodes
- Sleep timer with automatic fade-out
Designed for half-asleep operation:
- Thumb-first navigation (one-handed, eyes closed)
- Liquid glass UI with minimal cognitive load
- Resume exactly where you fell asleep
Technical Details
SwiftUI with AVFoundation for audio, CloudKit for cross-device sync. Full CarPlay and AirPlay support. Lock screen controls that actually work. Offline-first so your bedtime routine doesn't depend on WiFi.
Why This Exists
Every podcast app assumes you want to finish and move on. TownTuner assumes you want to live inside one show forever. Different product for a different relationship with audio.