[Desktop][Podcasts] NPR News Now

[GMoney530]

I don't know why I can't find the NPR News Now podcast. I listen to this every day and simply cannot locate it today.

If Spotify got rid of this podcast, then I'll have to go elsewhere to find it, and I may just stay where I land.

Thoroughly frustrated.

Gary

[Lyubka]

Hey @GMoney530,

Thanks for reaching out here in the Community! We moved your post from the Ideas submissions to the help boards as its content fits better here.

Could you please let us know if the podcasts that you can't find is this one? Link here.

It'd also be great if you can send us screenshot of what you see when you search for it. This way we can take a closer look.

On another note, have you tried opening this specific podcast on another device? Does the issue persist there as well? 

We'll be on the lookout for your reply. 

[FeedMyEars]

I'm also unable to find NPR News on a recurring basis, maybe once every other week or so, despite listening to the podcast on most days. It's happening today on my Spotify desktop app. Search results come back empty for 'NPR News', or rather, they only show other partial matches, not the actual podcast of that name. 

Attempts to access the podcast by starting from the NPR website and linking to the 'Spotify' option to listen also results in an error on the Spotify website, showing the message "Sorry, that's not currently available" at this URL: 

https://open.spotify.com/show/6BRSvIBNQnB68GuoXJRCnQ

[Joan]

Hi @FeedMyEars,

Thanks for the reply. So the issue occurs only on some days, is that correct? Could you send us some screenshots or a video of the behaviour? If the files are too large to attach here in the Community, you can send them to us via Google Drive or as unlisted YouTube videos.

Keep us posted.

[FeedMyEars]

It's happening again today. Just enter 'NPR News Now' in the search field of the desktop app. Result is 'Coudn't find that page'. Same on the Spotify web player. I'd add a screenshot or video, but I'm not sure either would add any clarifying details to the behavior being described, which is pretty straightforward. Are the NPR News episodes moving to a paid subscription model?

[FeedMyEars]

Search was empty for about five minutes in the desktop app and web player. Then after multiple empty results for the search, the podcast suddenly appeared again. Because I follow this podcast, it is listed along the left hand column of the app for the section entitled 'Your Library'. Trying to open the NPR News podcast from that library link was also failing during the problematic period this morning.

Show link: https://open.spotify.com/show/6BRSvIBNQnB68GuoXJRCnQ?si=a70500725c084082

[FeedMyEars]

I captured a video recording of the failed search effort in the desktop app here: 

https://www.loom.com/share/2463c33b9a7f4d58b5a6f3fc3b4bb837

[Joan]

Hi @FeedMyEars,

Thanks for the reply and the video. 

We haven't had any issues with this podcast on our end, so the video is of massive help. While availability of all content on Spotify can vary over time and between different countries because of intellectual rights, it should be more definitive. Meaning, the podcast should either be available or not, so the fact that you can sporadically access it is quite strange. Could you confirm the following:
 

• Is this on all devices or only on specific one(s)?
• When did this start happening?
• Does it happen across different networks?
• Do any other people you know have any similar issues accessing this podcast?

Let us know so we can narrow this down and assist you further.

[FeedMyEars]

• Is this on all devices or only on specific one(s)? -- I routinely use the Spotify desktop app on my laptop, but as others have reported similar behavior, I'm confident this is reproducible on multiple devices. Let me know if there's a specific other device you'd like me to test.
• When did this start happening? -- I've noticed it as far back as a few months, but it seems to be more prevalent in recent days. It happened multiple times today (25 Oct 2023).
• Does it happen across different networks? -- Yes
• Do any other people you know have any similar issues accessing this podcast? -- I haven't asked others about this. 

[Joan]

Hi @FeedMyEars,

Thanks for the info. 

After some further testing on our end, we were actually able to replicate this behaviour. We've let the appropriate team know about this and they've informed us that this is expected for some podcasts like NPR News Now because they way it's uploaded is slightly different from regular podcasts. We've passed all the relevant info on and hope that this will be improved soon.

Hope this clears things up. Thank you one more time for your cooperation on this case!