The drill bit is good, until you get it to surface.

I agree on the podcast front, and what makes it worse it’s for their own podcasts which aren’t generating them any revenue so why have 5 minutes of ads 3 x per show for your own stuff. Not unless the other podcasts generate revenue through ads, but I doubt it, just getting you used to it for when it becomes a Black Mirror episode and you must watch your ads as prescribed by the government (aka business).