# Daily Digest Podcast - Implementation Complete

**Task:** Research and build a digital podcast solution for the Daily Digest blog
**Status:** ✅ Complete (Ready for Review)
**Date:** 2026-02-23

## What Was Delivered

### 1. Research Findings
- **TTS Providers**: OpenAI TTS ($2-4/month, best quality) vs Piper (free, local) vs macOS say (free, basic)
- **Audio Storage**: Supabase Storage (free tier 1GB)
- **RSS Feed**: Next.js API route with iTunes extensions
- **Integration**: Async TTS generation triggered after digest post

### 2. Implementation

**Core Services:**
- `src/lib/tts.ts` - Multi-provider TTS abstraction (OpenAI, Piper, macOS)
- `src/lib/storage.ts` - Supabase Storage audio upload/management
- `src/lib/podcast.ts` - RSS generation utilities

**API Endpoints:**
- `GET /api/podcast/rss` - RSS 2.0 feed for podcast apps
- `POST /api/digest` - Updated to trigger async TTS generation

**UI Pages:**
- `/podcast` - Web audio player with episode listing
- Updated blog post view with inline audio player
- Added podcast link to header navigation

**Scripts:**
- `npm run generate-tts -- <post_id>` - Generate audio for specific post
- `npm run generate-tts:all` - Batch generate for all missing posts

**Documentation:**
- `PODCAST_SETUP.md` - Complete setup guide
- `PODCAST_ARCHITECTURE.md` - Architecture overview
- `PODCAST_SUMMARY.md` - Implementation summary

### 3. Key Features
- ✅ Automatic TTS when new digest posted
- ✅ RSS feed compatible with Apple Podcasts, Spotify
- ✅ Web audio player on podcast page
- ✅ Multiple TTS provider options
- ✅ Free tier coverage (Supabase storage + Piper TTS = $0)
- ✅ Async processing (doesn't block post creation)

### 4. URLs
- RSS Feed: `https://blog-backup-two.vercel.app/api/podcast/rss`
- Podcast Page: `https://blog-backup-two.vercel.app/podcast`

### 5. Next Steps for Deployment
1. Run SQL to add audio columns to database
2. Add `ENABLE_TTS=true` and `OPENAI_API_KEY` to Vercel env vars
3. Deploy: `npm run build && vercel --prod`
4. Submit RSS to Apple Podcasts, Spotify

### 6. Files Modified/Created
- 13 files changed, 1792 insertions
- Committed to main branch

## Cost Analysis
- OpenAI TTS: ~$2-4/month (optional)
- Piper/macOS TTS: $0
- Supabase Storage: $0 (within free tier)
- Total: $0-4/month depending on TTS provider