Okay... here's an attempt at optimism. In one respect this consolidation makes more sense than the Play Music → YouTube Music switch: many podcasts cross-post

Okay... here's an attempt at optimism. In one respect this consolidation makes more sense than the Play Music → YouTube Music switch: many podcasts cross-post episodes as YouTube videos and audio-only feeds. If YouTube collates those feeds and lets users select between modes while maintaining a unified "already watched/listened" list... hey, that reflects how podcasts distribute/monetize in practice. The YouTube Music app was a dismal replacement for Google Music, and never regained features for managing one's own library of uploads. Of course, that's not a problem for podcasts; episodes are already syndicated. All that said, this still bodes poorly.