The size is an issue because XML is much more costly to parse and query than JSON, in my experience. But even if that was solved, there are a ton of other more

The size is an issue because XML is much more costly to parse and query than JSON, in my experience. But even if that was solved, there are a ton of other more pressing issues to solve. WRT zombie podcasts, you can't expect users to say "I'm paying for this hosting but I'm done publishing episodes". They always think they'll get around to publishing more. And in my experience, they end up letting the show go only when their credit card expires.