podcast-to-substack

name	podcast-to-substack
description	Publish podcast episodes from RSS + Notion to Substack with reliable Apple Podcasts embedding and image extraction, then generate LinkedIn-ready companion posts. Use when asked to run or improve podcast-to-substack workflows, fix Notion image fetch failures, prevent Substack embed-as-text issues, or cross-post episode summaries to LinkedIn.

Podcast Substack + LinkedIn

Run this workflow when handling Realist podcast episode publishing.

Inputs

• RSS feed URL
• Notion data source/database ID with episode scripts
• Notion API key (NOTION_API_KEY or ~/.config/notion/api_key)
• Substack publish access

Workflow

1. Fetch recent episodes:

python3 scripts/fetch_rss.py "$RSS_URL" 3

2. Fetch episode script + images from Notion (recursive block traversal, image downloads included):

python3 scripts/fetch_notion_episode.py "EPISODE_NUMBER"

3. Build Substack draft content from script text.
4. Publish with stable embed behavior using the playbook in references/substack-embed-playbook.md.
5. Generate LinkedIn post copy from the same content:

python3 scripts/render_linkedin_post.py --json-file episode.json

6. Post or queue the LinkedIn copy.

Non-negotiable rules

• Do not use iframe code or markdown links for podcast embeds in Substack.
• Prefer duplicating the existing Substack draft template that already has a working embed block.
• If creating a fresh post, use /embed and confirm the player card renders before publishing.
• Use top-level Apple Podcasts show URL for reliable fallback.

References

• Substack embed behavior: references/substack-embed-playbook.md
• LinkedIn formatting: references/linkedin-playbook.md