# Podcast Activity Monitor (own Podcast Index key + RSS) (`jwaiworks/podcast-activity-monitor`) Actor

Bring your own Podcast Index API key to find podcasts by keyword, or paste RSS feeds with no key. Activity stats: last episode, episodes in 90 days, cadence, length, active or dormant. Monitor mode flags changes. Not affiliated with Podcast Index.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/jwaiworks/podcast-activity-monitor.md
- **Developed by:** [JW AI Works](https://apify.com/jwaiworks) (community)
- **Categories:** Marketing, Other
- **Security:** Limited permissions
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 0.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $10.00 / 1,000 podcasts

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

**Bring your own Podcast Index API key.** You enter your own key for your own run; it is never stored, logged or shown.

Find podcasts by keyword or paste RSS feeds and see which shows are actually alive: last episode date, episodes in the last 90 days, publishing cadence, average episode length and an active / slowing / dormant status. Monitor mode flags shows that start or stop publishing. Built for guest-booking agencies, podcast sponsors and marketers who waste time pitching dead shows.

*Not affiliated with or endorsed by Podcast Index or any podcast host. Apple Podcasts is an Apple Inc. trademark, mentioned only to describe the iTunes ID field.*

### What does this podcast activity checker do?

- **Search terms / feed IDs** use the open Podcast Index API with your own free key.
- **RSS URLs** are read directly from the public feed, with no key, honoring robots.txt and at most one request per host per second.
- For every show it analyzes recent episodes (default 20) and returns `activityStatus`, `lastEpisodeAt`, `daysSinceLastEpisode`, `episodesLast90Days`, `medianDaysBetweenEpisodes` and `avgEpisodeMinutes`, plus title, language, categories, website, artwork and the iTunes ID.

### Your Podcast Index key and secret: used only for your run

- You get a free key and secret yourself at api.podcastindex.org.
- They are used **only for your run** and are sent **only to api.podcastindex.org**: the secret itself is never transmitted, only Podcast Index's signed hash header.
- They are **never stored, logged or shown**: they are not written to the dataset, the key-value store, monitor memory, logs, status messages or error messages; anything echoed back is masked. Apify keeps the fields encrypted as secrets.

### No personal data

Owner names, owner emails and host/guest "persons" lists from Podcast Index or the RSS feed are **never collected**. The `author` credit is also left out, because it is often a host's personal name. The output contains no author, owner, host or person fields.

### Example output

| title | activityStatus | lastEpisodeAt | episodesLast90Days | medianDaysBetweenEpisodes | avgEpisodeMinutes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Planet Money | active | 2026-10-31 | 27 | 2.7 | 27.3 |
| This Week in Tech | active | 2026-11-02 | 13 | 7.0 | 178.3 |

### Pricing

Users on the free Apify plan get up to 100 results per run (then the run stops with a clear status message).

Pay per event: **$0.01 per show delivered**, **$0.001 per unchanged monitor check**. Errors are free. Example: a weekly monitor of 500 shows costs $5.00 the first time, then about 50 changes x $0.01 + 450 x $0.001 = $0.95 a week. Free Apify plan users get up to 100 shows per run.

### FAQ

**Do I need a key?** Only for keyword search and feed IDs. RSS URLs need nothing.
**What counts as active?** A new episode within 30 days or twice the show's usual gap; slowing is up to 180 days; dormant beyond that.
**Does it download audio?** No, only the feed metadata.
**Does it build a copy of Podcast Index?** No. It is an activity analysis for the shows you ask about, run with your own credentials.

### Is it legal?

It uses the official Podcast Index API under its terms with your own credentials, and public RSS feeds that publishers syndicate for exactly this kind of reading, respecting robots.txt. It collects no personal contact data. You remain responsible for your use of the results and of your Podcast Index account. This isn't legal advice.

### Example input / example output

**Example input (RSS, no key)**

```json
{
  "rssUrls": ["https://feeds.npr.org/510289/podcast.xml"],
  "monitorMode": false
}
```

**Example output** (one show)

```json
{
  "title": "Planet Money",
  "activityStatus": "active",
  "lastEpisodeAt": "2026-10-31",
  "episodesLast90Days": 27,
  "medianDaysBetweenEpisodes": 2.7,
  "avgEpisodeMinutes": 27.3
}
```

### Use it with Make, Zapier, n8n, or AI agents (Apify MCP)

- **Make:** In Make, add the Apify module, connect your Apify account, then run this Actor (or an Actor task) and map dataset items into your scenario. See [Make integration](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/make).
- **Zapier:** In Zapier, use Apify as a trigger (finished Actor/task run) or action (Run Actor / Run Task / Fetch dataset items). See [Zapier integration](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/zapier).
- **n8n:** Install the Apify node, authenticate, then use **Run an Actor** or **Run an Actor and get dataset**. See [n8n integration](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/n8n).
- **AI agents (Apify MCP):** Connect your MCP client to `https://mcp.apify.com`, then use `search-actors`, `fetch-actor-details`, and `call-actor`. Pull results with `get-dataset-items`. See [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/mcp).

**Related actors:** [Email Auth Checker](https://apify.com/jwaiworks/email-auth-checker) · [ATS Jobs Feed](https://apify.com/jwaiworks/ats-jobs-feed) · [SEC Form D Funding Monitor](https://apify.com/jwaiworks/sec-form-d-funding-monitor) · [Texas New Business Entities Feed](https://apify.com/jwaiworks/texas-new-business-entities) · [Copycat Store & Lookalike Domain Suspect Checker](https://apify.com/jwaiworks/copycat-store-checker)

### Disclaimer

Provided as is; stats depend on what publishers put in their feeds. Not affiliated with or endorsed by Podcast Index.

# Actor input Schema

## `searchTerms` (type: `array`):

Keywords to find shows (needs your Podcast Index key).

## `podcastIndexIds` (type: `array`):

Specific shows by Podcast Index ID (needs your key).

## `rssUrls` (type: `array`):

Public podcast RSS feeds. Works without any key; robots.txt is respected.

## `piApiKey` (type: `string`):

Free from api.podcastindex.org. Used only for this run: sent only to api.podcastindex.org (as Podcast Index's signed auth headers), never stored, logged or shown by the Actor.

## `piApiSecret` (type: `string`):

Used only for this run: sent only to api.podcastindex.org (as Podcast Index's signed auth headers), never stored, logged or shown by the Actor.

## `maxPodcastsPerTerm` (type: `integer`):

Podcast Index results per term.

## `episodesToAnalyze` (type: `integer`):

Used for cadence and length.

## `monitorMode` (type: `boolean`):

Output only new shows or shows whose status, latest episode or title changed.

## `monitorStateName` (type: `string`):

Separate monitors keep separate memory.

## `apiBaseUrl` (type: `string`):

Only https://api.podcastindex.org is accepted.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "searchTerms": [
    "marketing"
  ],
  "maxPodcastsPerTerm": 20,
  "episodesToAnalyze": 20,
  "monitorMode": false,
  "monitorStateName": "default",
  "apiBaseUrl": "https://api.podcastindex.org"
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `overview` (type: `string`):

Default dataset items in the overview view.

## `results` (type: `string`):

Default dataset items with every field.

## `runSummary` (type: `string`):

RUN_SUMMARY record in the default key-value store (counts, warnings, free-plan cap).

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "searchTerms": [
        "marketing"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("jwaiworks/podcast-activity-monitor").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = { "searchTerms": ["marketing"] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("jwaiworks/podcast-activity-monitor").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "searchTerms": [
    "marketing"
  ]
}' |
apify call jwaiworks/podcast-activity-monitor --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,jwaiworks/podcast-activity-monitor"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/qa6bE8lCR8gYdTxRx/builds/IMYpqfCWO4k2TzgEo/openapi.json