Breathing is part of speech. Removing every breath can make a conversation sound rushed and unnatural. Leaving every loud intake unchanged can be distracting too. Use a clear listening goal instead of one rule for the entire track.
Identify the distracting breath
Listen to a short section at the intended episode level. Is a breath much louder than the nearby speech? Does it happen in an awkward gap created by another cut? Those are useful places to inspect. A normal quiet breath between complete thoughts may need no change.
Try lowering the level of a loud breath before removing it. Keep a small transition around the adjustment so the background does not jump. Compare the changed section with the original in context, not only as an isolated sound.
When you remove a section, preserve enough time for the speaker to sound comfortable. Joining two sentences with no pause can change the mood of the answer.
Review more than one sentence
Play a whole paragraph after several small edits. Each cut can sound acceptable alone while the paragraph as a whole feels too fast. Ask whether a listener can still follow the idea without extra effort.
Do not apply a heavy automatic process to every voice simply because it worked for one speaker. Microphone distance, room sound and speaking style differ.
Keep the original track and a project version before a large cleanup pass. If the edit starts to feel artificial, return to that version and keep fewer changes. A useful podcast edit helps the listener hear the person clearly; it does not need to remove every sign that a person is speaking.