Update 18.1.1 podcast app stuck on “updating library”

I have an enormous podcast library. Every time a major version upgrade for iOS (and sometimes for minor version upgrades) I experience this.

The (very annoying) trick is to ensure your phone stays on and the podcast app remains in the foreground. The Lock Screen coming on or backgrounding the app will eventually result in the bllibrsry building process crashing.

i just end up periodically tapping my screen while it is foregrounded rather than change my lock screen settings. Within ~10 minutes of tapping it will finish building and drop you back onto your normal podcast app interface. Although for iOS 18 it dropped me into a privacy statement first.

Hope this (tedious) tactic works for you all and you don’t need to risk losing your podcasts.