How can I completely shut off Apple Podcasts on my iphone?

I always close the app when done but when I’m listening to something from another source on my AirPods and want to pause, as soon as I unpause Apple Podcasts cuts in with the last thing I was listening to on it and I can’t get back to my alternate audio source. It hasn’t always happened this way but today it’s continuously happening. This is unacceptable to me and I’m ready to just delete the app.