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Podcast Index

Podcast Index is an open, freely queryable directory of podcast feeds, built so that no single company controls the canonical list of what podcasts exist.

Why it matters

Search and discovery were the last real chokepoint in open podcasting: distribution was decentralized, but finding a show meant going through someone's directory. An open index removes that dependency and gives new apps a place to start.

It is also the practical substrate for Podcasting 2.0. An app that wants to know which feeds carry a namespace tag, or which music feeds exist, asks the index — which is why so many tools in this space begin with an API key rather than a crawler.

How it works

Feeds are submitted or crawled, assigned a stable numeric feed ID, and exposed through a public HTTP API that any developer can query. Feeds that declare a <podcast:guid> are tracked by that instead, so a show keeps one identity even when its URL moves.

Authentication is three headers rather than a token. X-Auth-Key carries the API key, X-Auth-Date carries the current unix time as a string, and Authorization carries the lowercase hex SHA-1 of the key, the secret and that timestamp concatenated. The timestamp has a three minute window, so a request cannot be replayed later.

Podping feeds the index near-real-time notice of updates, which is what keeps it current without polling every feed on a timer.

Sources

Heard on the show

21 moments across 20 episodes.

  1. E243 · 5 Dec 2025 · Nuts & Logs

    • Dave suggests rebuilding PI in the open, decentralizedtimeline

  2. E242 · 21 Nov 2025 · Poddy Pop Up

    • PI rate-limited by Alby for payment throughputtimeline

  3. E122 · 17 Feb 2023 · We're Trending!

    • 1:27:00Podcast Index Updateschapter

  4. E111 · 18 Nov 2022 · Pod Molly

    • Booberry uploads an mp3 to spook, plays back on PItimeline

  5. E89 · 10 Jun 2022 · Poll Juice

    • 🏆 podcastindex.org | THE SAFEST CONTENT AWARD (2022) 🏆show notes

  6. E88 · 3 Jun 2022 · Hittin' the Hockey Stick

    • PodcastIndex.shopshow notes

  7. E87 · 27 May 2022 · Freerange & Unsupervised

    • 1:54:12Podcast Index Shop Merchchapter
    • PodcastIndex.shopshow notes

  8. E85 · 13 May 2022 · Loot The Room!

    • Podcast Index Case Study - Voltageshow notes

  9. E233 · 5 Sep 2025 · Daniel J Lewis in a Can

    • 22:18database, the podcast index database, the column limittranscript

  10. E213 · 7 Mar 2025 · The Substrate

    • 1:01:37So if you go, let's see, www.podcastindextranscript

  11. E161 · 29 Dec 2023 · Cooking with Sterno

    • 48:37podcast, index dot social. So that's my actor, when I interacttranscript

  12. E154 · 10 Nov 2023 · Fedified Blob

    • 10:11I have one podcast index dot social in the search like you'retranscript

and 8 more episodes, back to E1 (28 Aug 2020).

Show all 21 moments across 20 episodes

  1. E243 · 5 Dec 2025 · Nuts & Logs

    • Dave suggests rebuilding PI in the open, decentralizedtimeline

  2. E242 · 21 Nov 2025 · Poddy Pop Up

    • PI rate-limited by Alby for payment throughputtimeline

  3. E233 · 5 Sep 2025 · Daniel J Lewis in a Can

    • 22:18database, the podcast index database, the column limittranscript

  4. E213 · 7 Mar 2025 · The Substrate

    • 1:01:37So if you go, let's see, www.podcastindextranscript

  5. E161 · 29 Dec 2023 · Cooking with Sterno

    • 48:37podcast, index dot social. So that's my actor, when I interacttranscript

  6. E154 · 10 Nov 2023 · Fedified Blob

    • 10:11I have one podcast index dot social in the search like you'retranscript

  7. E122 · 17 Feb 2023 · We're Trending!

    • 1:27:00Podcast Index Updateschapter

  8. E117 · 13 Jan 2023 · Inscrutable

    • 1:12:17some code that will query the podcast index.transcript

  9. E111 · 18 Nov 2022 · Pod Molly

    • Booberry uploads an mp3 to spook, plays back on PItimeline

  10. E89 · 10 Jun 2022 · Poll Juice

    • 🏆 podcastindex.org | THE SAFEST CONTENT AWARD (2022) 🏆show notes

  11. E88 · 3 Jun 2022 · Hittin' the Hockey Stick

    • PodcastIndex.shopshow notes

  12. E87 · 27 May 2022 · Freerange & Unsupervised

    • 1:54:12Podcast Index Shop Merchchapter
    • PodcastIndex.shopshow notes

  13. E85 · 13 May 2022 · Loot The Room!

    • Podcast Index Case Study - Voltageshow notes

  14. E84 · 6 May 2022 · All Aboard to On-Board!

    • Podcast Index Case Study - Voltageshow notes

  15. E81 · 9 Apr 2022 · Nodes of Joy

  16. E64 · 3 Dec 2021 · Dave's not here man

    • AI.cooking | Podcastindex.orgshow notes

  17. E51 · 20 Aug 2021 · Preserve, Protect and Extend

    • The Podcast Index is here to preserve, protect and extend the open, independent podcasting ecosystem.show notes

  18. E4 · 25 Sep 2020 · Making Headway

    • Adam Curry and Dave Jones update each other on the week's progress with podcastindex.orgshow notes

  19. E3 · 18 Sep 2020 · First Board Meeting

    • Adam Curry and Dave Jones update each other on the week's progress with podcastindex.orgshow notes

  20. E1 · 28 Aug 2020 · We are upgrading podcasting

    • 59:45project can just donate to the PayPal on podcast index.orgtranscript

From chapter titles, show notes, the PC 2.0 Timeline and the clip notes. Where those say nothing, from the episode transcript — which reaches further but only records that a word was said. 214 of 266 episodes have curated notes; 177 moments come from transcripts.