I had been using my BlackBerry as my personal music player, but there just wasn’t enough space. One feature I enjoyed, though, was being able to go the New York Times mobile site and download or stream podcasts in the morning on my way to work. Handy.

To get started with my new MP3 player, I needed the RSS feed URLs for the audio and video podcasts. The New York Times podcast page, though, posed a strange problem.

A problem in that the page is full of content—sort of. There’s no mention of video podcasts. For some reason, the Times is hoarding their podcasts. The ‘Audio’ tab at the top of the page hints that there could be another tab. In theory.

I was disappointed in the Times when I clicked the subscribe button for an audio podcast. I expected the RSS feed to load. This did not happen. Instead, an Apple page informs me that iTunes can’t be found on my computer, unable to comprehend that perhaps iTunes isn’t installed.

I don’t have an iPod. My music library doesn’t contain a single AAC file. Why, then, does the Times insist that I use software I just don’t need? And why don’t they even mention on this page, if only for iTunes users, that video podcasts do in fact exist?

With competing news providers offering similar content in accessible, transparent ways, the Times comes off shuttered and miserly. I assume they have a deal with iTunes. But with a recent 51% drop in quarterly profits, maybe you shouldn’t be hiding your rich media content. A suggestion.

You may be looking for the Times audio and/or video podcast RSS feeds. I found them. I am sharing them. Download the OPML for the audio and video podcast RSS feeds.

New York Times Podcasts OPML

I couldn’t easily find these RSS feeds. You probably are reading this because you had the same problem. So did this gentleman who liberated the URLs from iTunes. Let’s just hope that the Times doesn’t take any further steps to ‘disappear’ their own works.