<podcast:transcript>
The whole episode, as text that follows the audio
A transcript turns an episode into text you can read, search and quote. When a show publishes one with timings, a podcast app can follow it line by line as the audio plays, highlight the line currently being spoken, and let you tap any line to jump to that moment. That makes an episode navigable in a way audio alone never is — you can find the half-remembered sentence instead of scrubbing for it. It also decides whether a show is usable at all for deaf and hard-of-hearing listeners, which is why it is the single most consequential tag in the namespace.
What you get as a listener
Read along, search for the bit you half-remember, jump straight to a line, or read the episode instead of listening. For deaf and hard-of-hearing listeners it is the difference between a show being available and being usable.
What the show does
Publish a transcript file — most hosts generate one automatically now — and link it from the episode. VTT or SRT with timings gives the best result.
In the app and the browser
Episode detail · the Transcript tab, following the audio