diff --git a/docs/api-spec.yaml b/docs/api-spec.yaml
index 6195e4e..3f50c9c 100644
--- a/docs/api-spec.yaml
+++ b/docs/api-spec.yaml
@@ -85,6 +85,34 @@ components:
           format: date-time
       required: [id, topic, goal, status, participant_count, created_at, updated_at]
 
+    PublicSessionListItem:
+      type: object
+      description: Session object returned by the public discovery endpoint. Extends SessionListItem with a join URL.
+      properties:
+        id:
+          type: string
+          format: uuid
+        topic:
+          type: string
+        goal:
+          type: string
+        status:
+          type: string
+          enum: [active]
+        participant_count:
+          type: integer
+        created_at:
+          type: string
+          format: date-time
+        updated_at:
+          type: string
+          format: date-time
+        join_url:
+          type: string
+          format: uri
+          description: Direct URL for participants to join the session
+      required: [id, topic, goal, status, participant_count, created_at, updated_at, join_url]
+
     Question:
       type: object
       properties:
@@ -335,6 +363,55 @@ paths:
         '401':
           $ref: '#/components/responses/Unauthorized'
 
+  /sessions/public:
+    get:
+      summary: List public sessions
+      description: |
+        Returns active sessions that hosts have marked as publicly accessible.
+        No authentication required. Rate-limited by IP address (100 req/min).
+        Use this endpoint to discover participation opportunities.
+      operationId: listPublicSessions
+      tags: [Public]
+      security: []
+      parameters:
+        - name: q
+          in: query
+          schema:
+            type: string
+          description: Search sessions by topic or goal
+        - name: limit
+          in: query
+          schema:
+            type: integer
+            default: 20
+            minimum: 1
+            maximum: 100
+          description: Number of results per page
+        - name: offset
+          in: query
+          schema:
+            type: integer
+            default: 0
+            minimum: 0
+          description: Number of results to skip
+      responses:
+        '200':
+          description: List of public sessions
+          content:
+            application/json:
+              schema:
+                type: object
+                properties:
+                  data:
+                    type: array
+                    items:
+                      $ref: '#/components/schemas/PublicSessionListItem'
+                  pagination:
+                    $ref: '#/components/schemas/Pagination'
+                required: [data, pagination]
+        '429':
+          $ref: '#/components/responses/RateLimited'
+
   /sessions/{id}:
     get:
       summary: Get session
diff --git a/src/app/api/v1/_lib/mappers.ts b/src/app/api/v1/_lib/mappers.ts
index 69a0e9e..a1b6fd8 100644
--- a/src/app/api/v1/_lib/mappers.ts
+++ b/src/app/api/v1/_lib/mappers.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import type { HostSession } from '@/lib/schema';
-import type { Session, SessionListItem } from '@/lib/api-types';
+import type { Session, SessionListItem, PublicSessionListItem } from '@/lib/api-types';
 
 export function toSessionListItem(hs: HostSession): SessionListItem {
   return {
@@ -13,6 +13,16 @@ export function toSessionListItem(hs: HostSession): SessionListItem {
   };
 }
 
+export function toPublicSessionListItem(
+  hs: HostSession,
+  baseUrl: string,
+): PublicSessionListItem {
+  return {
+    ...toSessionListItem(hs),
+    join_url: `${baseUrl}/chat?s=${hs.id}`,
+  };
+}
+
 export function toSession(hs: HostSession): Session {
   return {
     ...toSessionListItem(hs),
diff --git a/src/app/api/v1/sessions/public/route.ts b/src/app/api/v1/sessions/public/route.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f1a1626
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/app/api/v1/sessions/public/route.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+import { NextRequest, NextResponse } from 'next/server';
+import { checkRateLimit } from '../../_lib/rate-limit';
+import { internalError } from '../../_lib/errors';
+import { toPublicSessionListItem } from '../../_lib/mappers';
+import { listPublicSessions } from '@/lib/db';
+
+export async function GET(req: NextRequest) {
+  // Rate limit by IP (no auth required for this endpoint)
+  const ip = req.headers.get('x-forwarded-for')?.split(',')[0]?.trim() || 'unknown';
+  const rateLimitResponse = checkRateLimit(`public:${ip}`);
+  if (rateLimitResponse) return rateLimitResponse;
+
+  try {
+    const { searchParams } = req.nextUrl;
+    const q = searchParams.get('q') || undefined;
+    const limit = Math.min(
+      Math.max(parseInt(searchParams.get('limit') || '20'), 1),
+      100,
+    );
+    const offset = Math.max(parseInt(searchParams.get('offset') || '0'), 0);
+
+    const { sessions, total } = await listPublicSessions({
+      search: q,
+      limit,
+      offset,
+    });
+
+    const baseUrl = process.env.AUTH0_BASE_URL || 'https://app.harmonica.chat';
+
+    return NextResponse.json({
+      data: sessions.map((s) => toPublicSessionListItem(s, baseUrl)),
+      pagination: { total, limit, offset },
+    });
+  } catch (error) {
+    console.error('Error in GET /api/v1/sessions/public:', error);
+    return internalError();
+  }
+}
diff --git a/src/lib/api-types.ts b/src/lib/api-types.ts
index b23fbe4..7dfb65c 100644
--- a/src/lib/api-types.ts
+++ b/src/lib/api-types.ts
@@ -21,6 +21,10 @@ export interface SessionListItem {
   updated_at: string;
 }
 
+export interface PublicSessionListItem extends SessionListItem {
+  join_url: string;
+}
+
 export interface Session extends SessionListItem {
   critical: string | null;
   context: string | null;
diff --git a/src/lib/db.ts b/src/lib/db.ts
index ce8cfcf..7f7d80f 100644
--- a/src/lib/db.ts
+++ b/src/lib/db.ts
@@ -176,6 +176,51 @@ export async function listSessionsForUser(
   }
 }
 
+export async function listPublicSessions(options: {
+  search?: string;
+  limit: number;
+  offset: number;
+}): Promise<{ sessions: s.HostSession[]; total: number }> {
+  const db = await dbPromise;
+
+  try {
+    // Find active sessions that hosts have marked as public
+    let baseQuery = db
+      .selectFrom(hostTableName)
+      .innerJoin('permissions', 'permissions.resource_id', `${hostTableName}.id`)
+      .where('permissions.user_id', '=', 'public')
+      .where('permissions.resource_type', '=', 'SESSION')
+      .where(`${hostTableName}.active`, '=', true);
+
+    if (options.search) {
+      const searchTerm = `%${options.search}%`;
+      baseQuery = baseQuery.where((eb) =>
+        eb.or([
+          eb(`${hostTableName}.topic`, 'ilike', searchTerm),
+          eb(`${hostTableName}.goal`, 'ilike', searchTerm),
+        ]),
+      );
+    }
+
+    const countResult = await baseQuery
+      .select((eb) => eb.fn.countAll<number>().as('count'))
+      .executeTakeFirst();
+    const total = Number(countResult?.count ?? 0);
+
+    const sessions = await baseQuery
+      .selectAll(hostTableName)
+      .orderBy(`${hostTableName}.last_edit`, 'desc')
+      .limit(options.limit)
+      .offset(options.offset)
+      .execute();
+
+    return { sessions, total };
+  } catch (error) {
+    console.error('Error in listPublicSessions:', error);
+    throw error;
+  }
+}
+
 export async function getHostSessionById(
   sessionId: string,
 ): Promise<s.HostSession> {