Did the channel actually get killed by the host swap, or did the old host just take the audience with him when he left? That happens a lot and people blame the new guy when really the fans just followed the person they liked to wherever he went next. A podcast is mostly about the personality, so if the original guy built that following, no replacement reading the same words is gonna hold those people. Six weeks is also really short, most channels need way longer than that to find a new groove and for the algorithm to stop punishing them. I would look at where the old host ended up before blaming the swap itself.

Man that trussing struggle is so real, I've had wings jam up against the top element before and it's a nightmare to fix once things get going. Honestly for a 5-6 pound bird I'd spatchcock it, takes the height problem out of the equation and it cooks way more even. Good on you for winning that bet, siblings never believe us until the juice runs out.