I'm not sure why the podcasts are so hated in Spotify. Yes the home screen podcast carousel unnecessarily ate some premium space, but for me they otherwise stayed out of view.

Also, I do like them in the same app. Never in my life had I ever listened to a podcast before trying Fall of Civilizations in Spotify. Podcasts were totally irrelevant to me as a concept, similar to radio. But I've now added this to my habits, so I guess the strategy works when targeting casual listeners.