Pocket Casts, Simplenote, DayOne. All of these had deteriorated before going to Automattic and then deteriorated some more.
In case someone is looking for alternatives on Mac/iOS:
Simplenote —> FS Notes (apple only; foss). You can use the app for free on Mac and can compile on iOS. But it's really good so I bought and there is NO SUBSCRIPTION (not yet at least :D). Very responsive, active, and prompt dev https://fsnot.es
Pocket Casts —> Overcast (yes, with the latest “upgrade” royal screw ups), or even Apple Podcasts (I hate OEM apps but there are not really great ones out there) - overcast has an yearly subscription (though almost everything is free - even when I was paying I had the ad enabled as it was a good way to find some nice shows - right now I am not paying because dev has really effed up and I am waiting but still using along with Apple Podcasts). The dev is exact opposite of FS Notes dev :P (and is kinda famous I guess) http://overcast.fm
DayOne —> I gave up looking for journal apps (last non-retarded one I had found was Dyrii but it shutdown). I had stopped using DayOne when it went subscription based. I just use the notes app and paper notebook now. https://www.google.com/search?q=stationery+stores+near+me :D