This is my first major project on Github. It's a Python program that allows the user to play the audio version of The Economist with simple controls right from the terminal. No big audio dependencies or heavy resource demands; it's a lightweight solution that works with the audio player already present on your machine!
Ready to try it out yourself? Get it here!
The Economist is my favorite news publication. I often find myself listening to the audio version of the latest edition, whether I'm in transit, working, or just taking a rest. Unfortunately, the phone app is a bit unstable and can be a headache to operate. Listening to the desktop edition is a pain when it involves unzipping a file and navigating a folder of a hundred or more mp3 tracks. This program is my personal solution to all these pains when I'm sitting at my computer.
As of this writing, there are still issues with the way the track directory prints onto the terminal. The program is also currently limited to Mac compatibility, and while I'd like to develop it out for Linux as well, that is not a priority for me at this time. I'd also like to find a way to use a native Linux audio player in keeping with the lightweight spirit of the program.
It's a Python program, so you'll need Python 3 in order to use it. It also uses afplay, which comes with MacOS as of this writing. You'll likely need support for shell scripts in the future.