Apple popularized podcasting. But they’ve never been very keen. Not enough profit. Most podcasts are free, you see.
The default Apple podcast app has never been one of the best. For years it was iTunes. Then they finally spun off a dedicated Podcasts app.
In 2015 I tried and failed to switch to better alternatives:
• Downcast
• Instacast
Sadly, I couldn’t see enough advantage over the default Apple software.
Happily, I’ve now switched to the Breaker app on IOS. It has a more confusing interface, but it’s well worth switching.
- improved sleep timer
- speed up podcasts by 1.2x or 1.4x. The apple default only offers 1.5x.
- easier to share a specific episode in many ways
Click PLAY or watch a review on YouTube.
RickMcCharles.com 
Have you heard of anchor cause that seems like a great one too
Thanks. I’ve not checked that one out yet.
You will love it then, it’s free, you can earn from day one and they have they own studios that members can use for free to record
Good luck!