So true. I actively rage against Spotify sometimes when I see all the podcast spam, that I can't turn off. I feel so insulted and used.
Anyway, I now think it's fine to have the podcasts in the same app; I honestly wouldn't want to switch to another app on my phone to switch to real music after listening to a podcast. Should be toggable though for people like you.
Using Spotify in CarPlay, for several months it used up most of the screen real estate to promote podcasts. When I open Spotify it's for music discovery, and the number of podcasts I'm interested in listening to at that moment is zero.
edit: in case it's relevant, I pay for Spotify Premium. This isn't a complaint about ads in an ad-supported product.
I don’t want music and podcasts mixing - and I resent the fact that screen estate that should be given to helping me find great new music is instead given to desperate attempts to shove podcasts in my face.