UKH

I am such an old dinosaur, I really should have sussed this by now... I have the "Podcast Player" app but have not worked out how to download podcasts - can only stream. Any clues, with this app or a different one?

I use podcast republic on my Samsung. When you click on the Podcast u want it has a small arrow in the middle you click on which downloads that episode 

Haven't used the app you have but I would guess it should be similar 

I personally found the Apple podcast  program un intuitive and it doesn't surprise me that you have trouble. 

I use a free program called Overcast, check it out. 

In general, the idea is that you subscribe to podcasts and new episodes are automatically downloaded for you.  Keep an eye on your subscriptions as it's easy to forget about a subscription while it fills your phone with episodes you aren't listening to.  It's perfectly okay to not subscribe and just download a few episodes to see if you like them.

Also in general, there will be a view of the podcast with all the available episodes listed as well as another view that shows the files that you have downloaded.  This is where you would play the files you've downloaded.

Which app are you using? Usually there is a down arrow that you press and it downloads the podcast. You should be able to turn off streaming permissions in the settings if you're worried about your data being used up. Personally, I avoid auto download, I tried initially, but found the app clogged with stuff I generally won't listen to. 

Genius; problem solved - thank you!

Great - got it, many thanks. On oous now it's pointed out to me!

Problem solved with Podcast Player but many thanks for the extra info!