Podcast Namespace

Since the first podcast in 2003, podcasting has been evolving.

The open podcast ecosystem is powered by RSS feeds. RSS (“really simple syndication”) can be extended with a “namespace”, a set of new tags that enable new features. Apple added their own iTunes podcast namespace in 2005, which allowed podcasters to specify things like podcast artwork, categories and other elements. Other namespaces have also been proposed; but in 2020, a new, collaborative, podcast namespace was first worked on by a wide number of interested people, aided and encouraged by Adam Curry and Dave Jones from The Podcast Index.

The new podcast namespace is a set of new tags that are 100% backwards compatible with existing podcast feeds. Like the Apple iTunes podcast namespace, the new podcast namespace adds additional features, like transcripts, locations, alternate audio files, and many more benefits for everyone involved in the open podcast ecosystem. You can spot these tags by looking for those that start podcast: in the RSS feed.

Individual tags from the new podcast namespace are now supported by a growing number of podcast publishing tools and hosting providers and podcast apps.