i stopped using pocket casts when they started adding pay for features into the main UI but disabled. i'd bought pocket casts but up until that point i was glad it was made free as it was the best podcast app for android, now i use antennapod, and it's fine.
Labwc is really a decent window manager that can pretty much be used on its own without a panel (I think). I think foot is pretty fast, but I just use gnome console, because I'm a savage.