A recently published episode and a six-month-old episode have had different opportunities to collect downloads. Comparing their lifetime totals can answer which has the larger total, but it does not fairly compare their early release performance.
Match the age of the items
Choose a practical window, such as the first seven complete days after publication, if the reporting tool can provide it. Use the same metric and definition for every episode in the comparison. Record any item that does not yet have a complete window.
Keep the release time and promotional context with the numbers. A special guest appearance, a holiday or a large announcement may affect the early pattern. These are possible explanations to examine, not automatic proof of why one episode performed differently.
Check whether an old episode received a later promotion. Its recent activity may belong to a new campaign rather than its original launch.
Use the result as a question
A stronger early result can suggest a topic, format or distribution choice worth studying. It does not prove that one title word caused the difference. Listen to the episodes, review the release notes and gather feedback before changing the editorial plan.
Avoid ranking every episode from best to worst using one short window. A niche evergreen episode may serve a useful audience over a longer period.
Keep both the early comparison and the longer view available when they answer different questions. The useful habit is to say exactly what the comparison shows: the same reported event during the same period of each episode's life, with relevant context still visible.