Slow podcast downloads and updates on multiple Apple devices

Over the past 6 weeks - 2 months I have had issues downloading and updating podcasts. This issue is across all my devices (MacBook Pro M1), iPhone 11 and iPod 7th Gen. The podcast app always has been the slowest, worst performing app on Apple but lately it has become almost unusable. It is taking me 40 minutes to download a 10 minute podcast and I don't understand why. It has become so unmanageable that I don't even attempt it anymore on my iPhone or iPod. I usually listen to a podcast and then delete it so it shouldn't be a problem of my memory being too full. Is anyone else experiencing this issue or have any solutions on how to fix it?

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

Original Title: Podcasts downloading issues