Automation is really useful if and when you want to control any of a number of different parameters of the track, like volume (obviously) or mute/unmute, panning and filters, etc.
As a music artist I find automation a must have when it comes to mixing multiple tracks of instruments in a piece of music. Some tracks must be automated and other not so much. With large numbers of adjustments being necessary one finds one often does not have nearly enough hands to do the work.
For podcasts and interviews I would expect the necessity to be much less critical as you are likely only using a few channels of audio and it's easy to reach up and adjust any of them on the fly.
Good luck 🍀 with your podcast work. Stick to it and keep learning and you'll be proficient before you know it. 🙂👍🏽