# Podcast Episodes and Published Transcripts from RSS (`usta/podcast-rss-episodes`) Actor

For podcast producers and media researchers: pull episode title, date, duration, audio URL, show notes, and any published podcast:transcript from RSS feeds or Apple Podcasts show URLs, as one row per episode.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/usta/podcast-rss-episodes.md
- **Developed by:** [US Tech Automations](https://apify.com/usta) (community)
- **Categories:** Other
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

$2.00 / 1,000 result rows

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

## Podcast Episodes and Published Transcripts from RSS

This podcast scraper pulls rss podcast episode lists and any published podcast transcript.

Paste a public RSS feed URL, or an Apple Podcasts show URL. Each episode becomes one row: title, date, duration, audio URL, show notes text, and the transcript when the feed itself publishes a `podcast:transcript` tag. There is no speech-to-text in this version.

### Input

| Field | What it does |
|---|---|
| **RSS feeds or Apple Podcasts show URLs** | One or more public feed URLs, or an Apple show page such as `https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-daily/id1200361736`. An Apple show URL is resolved through Apple's public lookup endpoint to the publisher's `feedUrl`. Episode pages on Apple are not read. |
| **Maximum rows** | Hard ceiling on rows returned, and therefore on the cost of the run. Default 50, maximum 10,000. |
| **Download published transcripts** | On by default. When a feed names a public transcript file, that file is fetched and the text is put on the row. Off keeps the transcript URL only. |
| **Proxy configuration** | Optional Apify proxy. Off by default, including on a local run. |

### Pricing

**Pay per result. $0.002 per row. No start fee.**

Every dataset row bills from row one, including an error row for a URL that 404s or is blocked. A run that returns no rows costs nothing. **Maximum rows** is the spend cap.

### Output (one row per episode)

One example row from a real local run on 2026-09-20 against `https://podnews.net/rss` (transcript and show notes shortened here):

```json
{
  "error": false,
  "input_url": "https://podnews.net/rss",
  "feed_url": "https://podnews.net/rss",
  "show_title": "Podnews Daily - podcast industry and podcasting news",
  "show_author": "Podnews LLC",
  "episode_guid": "https://podnews.net/update/podcasts-front-of-store",
  "title": "Are podcasts at the front of the store?",
  "date": "2026-09-18T10:52:28Z",
  "date_raw": "Fri, 18 Sep 2026 10:52:28 +0000",
  "duration": "306",
  "duration_seconds": 306,
  "audio_url": "https://op3.dev/e,pg=9b024349-ccf0-5f69-a609-6b82873eab3c/podnews.net/audio/podnews260918.mp3",
  "audio_type": "audio/mpeg",
  "audio_bytes": 4919999,
  "episode_url": "https://podnews.net/update/podcasts-front-of-store",
  "show_notes": "Sponsored by The Podglomerate . From first recording to final export. ... Are podcasts at the front of the store? Showing a preview of data from the upcoming Podcast Landscape 2026 study at Podcast Movement NYC...",
  "transcript": "From Manhattan in New York City, the latest from podnews.net with the Podglomerate. Are podcasts at the front of the store? ...",
  "transcript_url": "https://podnews.net/audio/podnews260918.mp3.vtt",
  "transcript_type": "text/vtt",
  "transcript_language": null,
  "source_url": "https://podnews.net/rss",
  "fetched_at": "2026-09-20T21:48:48Z"
}
```

| Field | What it holds |
|---|---|
| `title` | Episode title from the feed |
| `date` | Publish time in UTC when it could be parsed; otherwise the raw string |
| `date_raw` | `pubDate` (or Atom equivalent) exactly as published |
| `duration` | `itunes:duration` as published (`306` or `00:34:48`) |
| `duration_seconds` | Same duration as an integer number of seconds, when parseable |
| `audio_url` | Enclosure URL for the audio file. The file itself is not downloaded. |
| `audio_type` / `audio_bytes` | Enclosure type and byte length, when published |
| `show_notes` | Episode description / content, HTML stripped to text |
| `transcript` | Text of a published transcript file, or `null` |
| `transcript_url` / `transcript_type` | The `podcast:transcript` URL and MIME type, when present |
| `show_title` / `show_author` | Public names from the feed channel |
| `episode_url` / `episode_guid` | Episode link and guid, when published |
| `input_url` / `feed_url` | What you pasted, and the RSS URL actually read |
| `error` | `true` only on a failed URL (missing feed, block, not XML) |
| `fetched_at` | When this run read the feed, in UTC |

### What this does not do

- It does not transcribe audio. If the feed has no `podcast:transcript` tag, `transcript` is `null`.
- It does not download or host the audio file. `audio_url` is the publisher's link.
- It does not scrape Apple Podcasts episode pages or artwork. Apple show URLs are resolved only through the public lookup JSON.
- It does not invent missing fields. Unreadable values are `null`.
- It does not grant a licence to republish a show. You supply the URLs; each publisher's terms still apply.
- It does not log in, solve a CAPTCHA, or use cookies.

### Limits

- `maxItems` is 1–10,000 (default 50). The run stops there even if the feed is longer.
- Apple's lookup endpoint is documented at about 20 calls per minute. Many Apple show URLs in one run will be slow on purpose.
- A 404 or block on one URL becomes one error row for that URL; other URLs in the same run still run.
- Email addresses and phone-number-shaped strings found in notes or transcripts are replaced with `[redacted]`.

### Refunds and support

Refunds: if a run returns zero rows for a valid input, email operations@ustechautomations.com within 7 days and we refund that run. Support: same address, replies within 2 business days.

# Actor input Schema

## `startUrls` (type: `array`):

One or more public podcast RSS (or Atom) feed URLs, or Apple Podcasts show pages such as https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-daily/id1200361736. Episode pages are not read; an Apple show URL is resolved to the publisher's feedUrl only.

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

Hard ceiling on rows returned, and therefore on the cost of the run. Every row bills at the listed price from row one; there is no start fee. A blocked or missing feed produces one error row for that URL.

## `fetchTranscripts` (type: `boolean`):

When a feed publishes a podcast:transcript tag, GET that public file and put the text on the row. Turn this off to keep only the transcript URL. This is not speech-to-text; episodes with no tag get transcript=null.

## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`):

Optional Apify proxy. Leave off for a local run. Lookups, RSS, and transcript files are ordinary HTTPS GET requests.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "startUrls": [
    "https://podnews.net/rss"
  ],
  "maxItems": 50,
  "fetchTranscripts": true,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": false
  }
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `episodes` (type: `string`):

No description

## `csv` (type: `string`):

No description

## `report` (type: `string`):

No description

# 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 = {
    "startUrls": [
        "https://podnews.net/rss"
    ],
    "maxItems": 50
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("usta/podcast-rss-episodes").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 = {
    "startUrls": ["https://podnews.net/rss"],
    "maxItems": 50,
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("usta/podcast-rss-episodes").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 '{
  "startUrls": [
    "https://podnews.net/rss"
  ],
  "maxItems": 50
}' |
apify call usta/podcast-rss-episodes --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

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

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/NmAlfkjT1TRZLdxOJ/builds/eO66zqYilhWf2Gq4Q/openapi.json