Apple Music, at least when I last used it, could not handle copying podcasts to my old iPod Video - this is now handled in Finder, as best as I can tell. It will copy the tracks, but it doesn't properly flag them as podcasts so if I switch to another track and then go back to the podcast it does not remember my location.
have you tried their "books"? you cannot search by almost anything! Extra-strangely, selecting book language is macos-only feature!
Does anyone even maintain it?
My main issue with podcast alternatives is that onbe feature I use is walk into a room and ask Siri to play a podcast. That works with Apple but not anything else. What is the latest podcast has to sync across devices.
However any maintainance or search for podcasts is crap with Apple and better elsewhere.
Never had that problem with iTunes.