I don't know whether Apple listens to podcasts, but it apparently does listen to podcast listeners. About a month after the release of its iOS Podcasts app, Apple has issued an update for the application, addressing such issues as fixing broken album art, showing the number of unplayed episodes in the list, and - praise be to the deity or deities of your choice - "significant improvements to performance and stability." Podcasts is a free app in the App Store.