iTunes 9: Podcasts in a playlist won't copy to iPod?

I just tested it, and it still doesn't work. I tried selecting "Automatically include all unplayed episodes of all podcasts," and I also selected the podcast playlist I had created, and the playlist didn't sync. Under the Music tab, the playlist, which consists only of podcasts, does not appear. For some reason, the smart playlist I had created to include all podcasts with a play count of zero does appear under the Music tab (not that this does me any good; I shouldn't even have to have this playlist).

So now I have to continue to use the workaround for the problem they say they've fixed.

For what it's worth 9.0.1 didn't restore the expected behaviour for me either. My podcasts playlists are still ordered by name rather than date, unless I apply the "workaround".

However, having played with the options a bit I'm starting to develop the nagging feeling that this is less of a bug and more of a deliberate, but extraordinarily confusing, design change on the part of Apple.

I can't speak for those with other playlist problems, but the minimum settings required on the Podcasts page to cure my issue (i.e. to have my iPod playlists exactly mirror my iTunes playlists) is to have Automatically Include unchecked, individual podcasts unchecked, but all of the playlists checked in Include Episodes From.

This does make some sort of logical sense, but is so far removed from the old behaviour that it seems like a bug. From my POV, now I've figured the logic, it's actually an improvement because I'm only syncing those episodes in my playlists -- which drop out once listened to -- whereas before I was syncing all episodes still present in iTunes, even those I'd already heard. I guess if I wanted the older episodes as well I would have to check Automatically Include and select each individually.

I still preferred the old method and hope it returns. I also wonder whether Apple ever test anything on anyone other than their own design teams. If I had worked on such an interface change it might make perfect sense to me, but to have it dropped on me out of nowhere, causing methods unchanged in years to suddenly stop working, was frustrating in the extreme.

This and other "workarounds" don't work for me and I'm tired of trying. Basically, iTunes 9 has taken something that was a simple and effortless task and made it hours of arduous, tedious nonsense. The 9.0.1 update, while listing this problem as an intended fix, did nothing.

I really hope that the comments to the effect of this being an intended "feature" vs. a bug are false because I won't be continuing to install Software Updates if that is the case.

I have three smart playlists for three separate shows I listen to via podcast. They are syncing with my iPod Touch, but the lists are always out of order. The order is important when you want to listen to segments one through three of yesterday's show vs. segment one from yesterday and the last segment from today, etc..

iTunes shows these playlists in their usual, correct order both when viewing the individual lists and when viewing them via my connected iPod under Devices; I have tried deleting/re-adding the playlists, editing playlist settings, and editing the sync settings. Nothing has worked to translate the ordering of the playlist to the device.

I would happily copy/paste this tome to whomever will listen as long as it's getting to the right, bug-fixing ears.

Thanks for letting me rant,

Stacy

Thanks a million Kevin for this workaround. It has taken four hours of my life this morning to find your fix to this bug, having restarted, restored and re-installed all to no effect. I can now see all of the podcasts in my smart playlist on the ipod, just like they always used to be.

(it must be a bug as it affects my iPod 3G but not my iPhone)

Another note: every single time I sync and then open the Music icon on my iPod Touch G1, I get a message "Updating Library. This may take a few minutes." I have never in all my time of syncing this iPod gotten this message from simply syncing up new Podcast episodes. Ugh.

Stacy