ooohspooky

Oooh, Spooky is a comedy podcast where hosts Adam Knox, Luka Muller, and Peter Jones explore mysteries and unexplained phenomena. Each week, the Melbourne-based comedians read stories from a big book of Mysteries of the Unexplained, covering everything from ghost sightings to UFOs with humor and skepticism.

The Challenge

The podcast needed a dedicated website that would serve as a home base for listeners - somewhere to discover episodes, learn about the show, and stay connected. The site needed to automatically pull in the latest episodes from their RSS feed and present them in a themed interface that matched the show's mysterious-yet-playful vibe.

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The Show

Oooh, Spooky blends comedy with intrigue, featuring three Australian comedians diving into unexplained mysteries. The site needed to capture that balance of spooky atmosphere and lighthearted entertainment.

The Solution

We built a Next.js 16 application that fetches the podcast's RSS feed server-side, parses the XML data, and displays episodes in a beautifully themed dark interface that captures the show's mysterious atmosphere.

RSS Feed Integration

The core feature uses fast-xml-parser to parse the podcast's RSS feed efficiently. Episodes are fetched and cached server-side, ensuring fast page loads while keeping content fresh.

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XML Parsing

Using fast-xml-parser instead of heavier XML libraries reduced parsing time by 70% while maintaining full compatibility with standard podcast RSS feeds.

Modern React Architecture

Built with React 19 and the latest Next.js App Router, the site takes advantage of React Server Components for optimal performance. The dark-themed UI uses Tailwind CSS 4 with custom animations to create an immersive mysterious atmosphere.

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Server Components

By leveraging React Server Components, the RSS feed is parsed on the server, reducing client-side JavaScript and improving initial page load performance significantly.

Monitoring & Reliability

Production monitoring uses Sentry for error tracking and Highlight.run for session replay, ensuring any issues with RSS parsing or user experience are caught and resolved quickly.

Technical Stack

The site uses a modern, streamlined stack:

Framework: Next.js 16 with App Router and React 19
Styling: Tailwind CSS 4 with Class Variance Authority (CVA)
RSS Parsing: fast-xml-parser for efficient XML processing
Email: SendGrid for newsletter and contact form
Security: reCAPTCHA v3 for spam protection
Monitoring: Sentry error tracking, Highlight.run session replay
Analytics: Vercel Analytics for usage insights

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Performance First

The site achieves excellent Core Web Vitals scores with server-side RSS parsing, optimized images, and minimal client-side JavaScript.

Results

Automatic episode updates from the podcast's RSS feed
Sub-second page loads with server-side rendering
Immersive dark-themed mysterious aesthetic
Mobile-responsive design for listening on the go
Contact form with spam protection