Scrape podcast episode metadata

To scrape podcast episode metadata, you can use one of several methods depending on where the podcast is hosted. Below is a general Python-based approach using libraries like feedparser for RSS feeds or BeautifulSoup and requests for web scraping. Here’s a basic example using an RSS feed, which is the most reliable and structured method:

Scraping Podcast Metadata via RSS Feed (Preferred)

python
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import feedparser

# Replace with the RSS feed URL of the podcast
rss_url = 'https://feeds.simplecast.com/54nAGcIl'

# Parse the feed
feed = feedparser.parse(rss_url)

# Extract metadata for each episode
for entry in feed.entries:
    print(f"Title: {entry.title}")
    print(f"Published Date: {entry.published}")
    print(f"Description: {entry.description}")
    print(f"Audio URL: {entry.enclosures[0].href if entry.enclosures else 'No audio found'}")
    print(f"Episode Link: {entry.link}")
    print('-' * 80)

Metadata You Can Extract:

• Episode title

• Publication date

• Description/summary

• Audio file URL

• Episode URL

• Duration (if available)

• Image (sometimes in the itunes:image tag)

If RSS Feed is Not Available

You can scrape a podcast directory like Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or a custom podcast website using requests and BeautifulSoup, but this is less reliable due to:

• Changing HTML structures

• Anti-scraping measures

• Legal constraints

Let me know the platform or specific podcast you’re targeting if you need a scraper for a specific site.