Would scrobbling to e.g. ListenBrainz (or last fm) be an option for you for discovery?

Not trying to convince you in particular of anything, but for anyone who may be interested in switching to a different podcast app, I’d recommend trying Antennapod.

AFAIK to get money in artists’ pockets it’s best to buy merch and buy tickets to shows.

Re: Transferring, I bought a 1TB sd-card for my phone and use Syncthing to transfer music from desktop to phone.