The loading delay is the most serious bug, IMO. When Apple tried to get "smart" about downloading vs streaming episodes*, the app's usability seriously degraded until I found the settings to ensure "always download". Apple was unclear on the concept of what made podcasts popular. * see next post

* Apple seems to have tried, unsuccessfully, to obsolete RSS feeds as a business strategy to lock podcasts into their platform through this "feature" and utterly failed while screwing up the experience. In the past, SJ never tried this until engineers had come up with a better solution & experience.