Apple never hosted the podcast. It just provided a search engine. If Google and every other search engine decides not to index the Pirate Bay, I will still know where to get my uhh -Linux distros.
It's not Apple's job to keep things convenient for content publishers. Let alone those only indexed by their search engine. If you're squelched by mere "inconvenience", then perhaps your convictions to share your message aren't strong enough and your message isn't worthy of attention after all.
True, but with Spotify, now Apple and in the future perhaps other major players, what if all members of the oligopoly deny someone a service?
>even host it themselves
Can be seen as a silencing strategy - making something extremely inconvenient.