I never used the podcasts app before but just gave it a try. I can't seem to reproduce what you're describing. On the top-level pages ("Listen Now" and "Browse"), only the purple play button plays the podcast for me, clicking the purple text (the duration of the podcast) does nothing, and everything else opens the detail view for the podcast. Pictures always open detail views. What version of iOS are you on? I'm on 15.3.1.