Apple Podcasts topic maps
Earlier this week, I wrote about how Apple seems to be using AI to automatically tag podcast episodes with topics. In that piece, I suggested Apple’s episode topic data could improve podcast search and discovery.
That got me thinking about maps.
Like this one:
This is a network graph of Apple’s Top Episodes chart (US), organized by topic. Network graphs are a useful tool for visualizing relationships, and patterns of relationships. In this case, we’re looking at the relationships between episodes (in lavender), topics (in blue), and shows (in gold).
For example, Secrets is an episode of This American Life, and Apple has tagged it with topics like Psychotherapy, Michigan law, and Geographical neologisms.
To play with some other examples from Apple’s Top Episodes chart, check out the interactive version.
The podcast zeitgeist
Topic maps can be a helpful way to understand “trending topics” in the podcast ecosystem. This is easy to eyeball by looking for the largest blue circles. They represent the most frequently-tagged topics.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, many of the most frequently-cited topics among popular podcast episodes in the US in mid-November 2022 are related to politics: Politicians, United States government, Mike Pence, etc.
Invisible connections become visible
This type of map can show us connections that were never visible before. For example, we can choose a topic, then find popular episodes related to that topic.
Here are episodes related to the topic US Congress (interactive version):
We can also work the other way around, centering an episode, rather than a topic. This lets us see what Apple’s system thinks an episode is about.
For example, here are the topics assigned to Fresh Air’s interview with Weird Al Yankovic (interactive version):
In addition to highly relevant Weird Al-related topics (e.g. Parody Music and Accordion), we also see connections to broader topics like Entertainment and Celebrities, which in turn have connections to other popular episodes.
Rabbit holes that lead to other rabbit holes.
Episode topic maps for every category
What if we went deeper than the overall Top Episodes chart?
What if we could see the most popular topics among top episodes in the Technology category? Or the Entrepreneurship category? Or the Relationships category?
Good news: we can.
Apple has more than 100 podcast categories, and each category has its own Top Episodes chart. So I made episode topic maps for all of them.
Before you dig in, it’s important to note:
Not all episodes have topics
These maps represent chart snapshots taken in mid-November 2022
These maps work on mobile, but are much easier to explore on a larger screen
I’m very sorry if you lose an hour clicking around these maps
Ready? Pick your favourite podcast category, then start exploring:
Remember
Podcast SEO goes well beyond your episode titles and descriptions. It includes every word uttered in your podcast, and how AI interprets those words
Not all episodes in Apple’s directory have topics assigned to them
You can view topics for episodes of your show using the Apple Podcasts episode topic viewerfrom Podnews
Thank you: The interactive topic maps wouldn’t be possible without fantastic tools like NetworkX, Gephi, and Retina. Many thanks to the people behind these wonderful open-source projects.