RSS Feed for Podcast dropping links in description text

iTunes allows the inclusion of links in an episode description tag using the following format:

<description>
  <content:encoded>
  	<![CDATA[
    	  <a href="http://www.apple.com">Apple</a>
  	]]>
  </content:encoded>
</description>

I have tried adding links in my Squarespace audio blog post description for iTunes but they get stripped out. I checked the RSS feed generated by Squarespace and noticed the following:

<description>
  <![CDATA[
	<p class="">For all comments on today’s episode, please use <a href="https://mysite.com">this link</a>.</p>
  ]]>
</description>

Are the links being stripped because there is no <content:encoded> tags in the RSS feed? Has anyone had any success in adding links to their episode descriptions? And why does Squarespace add the <p class=""> tag at the beginning of the description? It doesn't seem to do anything and could this be the reason the links are being stripped?

Thanks