There aren't many other details to be gleaned from NPR's accidental disclosure; the newsletter says that podcasts will be coming to Android as well as "other platforms." It seems pretty likely that the feature will roll out on iOS and the web as well. Most avid podcast fans have gotten by just fine without official Google support thus far, but if you hate switching between apps for your audio needs or just prefer Google's apps, this should be a solid addition to your phone. The real question is what exactly took Google so long to add this feature in the first place... but that hopefully won't matter as of next week.