Redesign the podcast landing page: topic filtering + image grid instead of a plain list

Migrated from https://github.com/DataTalksClub/datatalksclub.github.io/issues/113. Original author @alexeygrigorev (2026-07-03). Filed here as raw intake per _docs/PROCESS.md — awaiting PM grooming. Do not engineer while needs grooming remains.

Adjustment notes for DataTalksClub/website:

• New site serves the podcast hub at /podcast from DataTalksClub/content plus the website projection (not _podcast/*.md).
• Before grooming, verify the current /podcast state against this request: season filtering (?season=N) and bordered archive cards already exist — confirm what of "topic filtering + image grid" is still missing versus already covered.
• Original priority signal preserved: flagged as lower priority / future in the source issue.
• Cross-repo context still lives at DataTalksClub/podwiki#10.

Summary

The podcast landing page is currently a plain text list of titles/links, matching the minimalist DataTalks.Club style. A content audit found the landing gets visits but individual episode pages barely do — a weak landing is one likely reason people don't browse deeper.

Proposed change

• Filtering by topic on the landing page.
• Card/grid layout with episode/guest images/thumbnails instead of a flat list — more visual, scannable, and clickable.
• Keep it consistent with the DataTalks.Club aesthetic, but lean on imagery so items invite interaction.

Notes

• Flagged as lower priority / future by the reviewer, but tied to the low-traffic finding.
• Trade-off to weigh: current minimalist list vs. a richer visual grid.

Cross-repo

Mirror of DataTalksClub/podwiki#10 — podwiki-side context and discussion live there.

Source: user feedback (translated from Russian voice note).

Provenance: migrated from https://github.com/DataTalksClub/datatalksclub.github.io/issues/113 (author @alexeygrigorev, created 2026-07-03, labels: enhancement, Podcast). Source issue will be closed with a link here.

Read _docs/PROCESS.md first; this issue is awaiting PM grooming. Inspect the current /podcast page, DataTalksClub/content, and its website projection, then compare the existing season filtering and bordered archive cards with the requested topic filtering and image grid. Review podwiki#10 for cross-repo context; done is a groomed, agreed scope that identifies what remains missing.