How can I stop podcasts from downloading on my Mac?

I can't believe this is the default behaviour that a human (or likely several) have chosen consciously for my Mac, but I suppose this is just a natural consequence of living in a capitalistic world.

I have all the right settings in my Mac - no sync, no auto download. Yet, here I am constantly seeing new episodes that I'm subscribed to download to my Mac.

The most obnoxious part? I can't delete the app. I only want to download and consume podcasts on my phone, not my Mac.

[Edited by Moderator]

Original Title: Stop the Auto Podcast Download Insanity