I’d definitely be interested in using an independent source for podcast search. (To help reduce the current single point of failure in Apple’s org chart).
Marco could theoretically bootstrap a directory based on user subscriptions (the RSS feeds are polled server-side, not on every client), but then you still have the problem of how new podcasts get added.
The iTunes API is poorly documented but completely public. No reason not to use it.
IIRC Marco also said that he is happy with the status quo. He really doesn't want to have responsibility for any moderation/curation and is happy to defer to Apple in that matter. This was shortly after Apple removed Alex Jones' podcast from the directory.
> Since Overcast is a one-person company that can’t possibly review and monitor all known podcasts for spam, adult content, hate speech, and other problematic, controversial, or illegal material, Overcast uses the human-reviewed Apple Podcasts directory as its filter for what should be included in search results and recommendations.
There's basically why. You can manually add RSS feeds to various podcast apps, but Apple just slurps up those same feeds unless not submitted for some reason.
I always thought podcasters signed up to some media service that threw their podcast on the platforms they wanted I never even considered Apple having the singular podcast directory in the world.
edit: Oh someone in thread po-inted to a secondary directory
https://overcast.fm/podcasterinfo
I’d definitely be interested in using an independent source for podcast search. (To help reduce the current single point of failure in Apple’s org chart).