Change General preferences in Podcasts on Mac

Refresh Podcasts

Choose how often Podcasts checks for new episodes. If you choose Manually, you can check for new episodes by choosing File > Refresh Feeds (or Control-clicking the Podcasts icon in the Dock and choosing Check for New Episodes).

Automatically Download Episodes

Choose to have Podcasts automatically download only new or all unplayed episodes when they become available. If you don’t want any episodes to download automatically, choose Never.