Seems odd to define a thing by how it's packaged and consumed rather than the content itself. An episodic internet radio show doesn't stop being a podcast just because you're listening to it through winamp.

Would all it take to convince you that a podcast can delivered via something other than RSS, say ActivityPub, be your preferred client supporting it?

Why is that odd? I expect a web page to be viewable in my browser and to be delivered over http and use a combination of html, css, and JavaScript.

Calling some thing that is not playable in my podcast app and doesn’t use the same protocols as my other podcasts, isn’t a podcast. No more than a Word Doc is a web page.

I expect to be able to subscribe to a podcast using my podcast player via RSS.

> Seems odd to define a thing by how it's packaged and consumed rather than the content itself.

You mean like TV shows? And radio shows? And newspaper comics?

I would agree with you if it weren't for the fact that all of those things are completely divorced from their original medium.

Saying that podcasts have to be consumed via RSS is like saying that TV must be delivered via cable.

A tv show is still something I would expect to be able to watch on my tv?

Would you say a Word document is a web page?

Doesn't this mean Google Podcasts is not really a podcast player? You can't pop arbitrary RSS feeds into it.

I would say yes. It’s no more a podcast player than the old AOL client was a web browser.

Funny enough, while HNers always complain about Apple’s “walled garden”, the Apple podcast player subscribes directly to the host’s RSS feed. Once you subscribe to a podcast, Apple’s servers are no longer involved.

This is why my podcast isn't available on Google Podcasts, but is on iTunes. I read the agreement required to put it on Google Podcasts (the usual "irrevocable worldwide license to do whatever we want with it" for uploading data to Google servers), and passed.

Additionally, I do use bandwidth as my rough listener metric, so letting it be hosted by Google Podcasts would impact that significantly. Which is closer to the concern the BBC seems to have.

Google Podcasts serves podcasts directly from the original source, so it's not being "hosted" by them. At least, that's what I've read concerning the BBC podcasts.