Podcast Search — Apple Podcasts to JSON

Search Apple Podcasts by keyword and get show title, creator, genre, episode count, feed and URL as JSON at $0.002 per result.

Podcasts are a fast-growing content and research surface. This actor turns a keyword into the matching shows on Apple Podcasts with their genre, episode count, and RSS feed, so content, research, and marketing agents can discover and analyze podcasts as structured data.

What this actor does

• Search Apple Podcasts by keyword, topic, show, or creator
• Each result: show title, creator, genre, episode count, RSS feed URL, Apple Podcasts URL, latest release date
• The RSS feed URL lets agents fetch full episode lists downstream
• Batch many terms per run; cap spend with maxResults
• Agent-ready: flat JSON with the show URL + scrapedAt for citation

You only pay for successful results — failed or empty lookups cost nothing.

Why pick this Actor

• Returns the RSS feedUrl where available, so agents go straight from discovery to episode ingestion
• Per-result pricing ($0.002/result) with a hard maxResults spend cap — empty lookups cost $0
• Flat, stable JSON schema with sourceUrl + scrapedAt on every item — citation-ready for RAG and grounding
• Batch many queries in one run; overlapping results are deduplicated and charged once
• MCP server, OpenAPI schema, and LangChain/CrewAI tool support out of the box — no glue code

Sample output

Each dataset item is flat, typed JSON with a sourceUrl and scrapedAt for citation/grounding:

{
  "query": "technology",
  "source": "itunes",
  "title": "The Future of Everything",
  "artist": "Stanford Engineering",
  "genre": "Science",
  "episodes": 380,
  "feedUrl": "https://feeds.example.com/future.xml",
  "url": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id1235836821",
  "postedAt": "2026-05-29T14:00:00.000Z",
  "sourceUrl": "https://itunes.apple.com/search?term=technology&entity=podcast",
  "scrapedAt": "2026-06-12T10:00:00.000Z"
}

Input

{"queries":["technology"]}

Field	Type	Description
queries / query	array / string	Keyword or topic. One or many.
maxResults	integer	Hard spend cap (billed per result).
keywords / postedAfter	filters	Narrow results; enable delta/scheduled runs.

How much does it cost

Pay-per-result: $0.002 per successful result. No subscription, no compute-unit guesswork, no charge for empty results. An orchestrator can cap spend with maxResults.

How to use it with AI agents (MCP), Claude, and the API

Claude Desktop / Claude Code via Apify MCP

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "apify": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@apify/actors-mcp-server", "--actors", "oblanceolate_mandola/podcast-search"],
      "env": { "APIFY_TOKEN": "<YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN>" }
    }
  }
}

Python (Apify API)

from apify_client import ApifyClient
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN>")
run = client.actor("oblanceolate_mandola/podcast-search").call(run_input={"queries":["technology"]})
for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(item)

TypeScript (Apify API)

import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';
const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '<YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN>' });
const run = await client.actor('oblanceolate_mandola/podcast-search').call({"queries":["technology"]});
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
console.log(items);

LangChain / CrewAI tool

from langchain_apify import ApifyActorsTool
tool = ApifyActorsTool("oblanceolate_mandola/podcast-search")  # agent calls it autonomously

OpenAPI schema for self-integrating GPT agents is auto-exposed at the Actor's API tab.

Data & compliance

Reads only publicly accessible endpoints. No login, no credential harvesting, no CAPTCHA bypass. Every result carries its sourceUrl so downstream agents can cite and re-verify.

FAQ

Does it return episodes?

It returns shows with their RSS feed URL; fetch that feed downstream for the full episode list.

Is it just podcasts?

This actor searches Apple Podcasts. The same iTunes Search API also covers apps, music, and audiobooks if you need those.

What is the source?

The public Apple iTunes Search API — no key required.

Can AI agents call this Actor directly?

Yes — via the Apify MCP server (snippet above), the OpenAPI schema on the Actor's API tab, or the LangChain/CrewAI tool wrapper. Results are flat JSON with sourceUrl and scrapedAt on every item, so downstream agents can cite and re-verify.

What happens when there are no results?

You pay nothing. Billing is per dataset item delivered, so an empty lookup costs $0, and the run log states why (no match, source rate limit) instead of failing silently.

Changelog

• 1.0 — Initial release: itunes.