How do you submit a request for a change to the Apple Podcasts app?

There is an option to provide Feedback (as opposed to requesting a change): Feedback - iTunes - Apple but there are a couple of things to bear in mind:

• Apple do not respond to Feedback
• they may not act on your suggestion, it's their decision
• that message is there for the benefit of the Podcast provider, not Apple

Regarding that last point: it's been a feature of Podcasts in the iTunes programme for as long as I can remember. Its purpose is to reduce costs for the person (or people) producing that Podcast. Each download by you or me adds to the total amount of data that the producer is paying for. So, a producer may be paying for X number of downloads or a maximum amount of data per month. The more data downloaded, the larger the fee they have to pay to the Podcast Host (and that's not Apple).

It follows from this, that if people are downloading episodes that they are never listening to, it's costing the producer money. So in order to limit their outgoings, iTune suspends downloading further episodes if it thinks that you are not listening to them.

If you are seeing this message in the Podcast app on your iPhone, that suggests the feature is also built into the app. Presumably, like the iTunes programme you are given the option to re-start (or continue) downlaoding of that particular Podcast.

Well, since you ask; Podbean.

I've been using it for quite a while now and despite its failings, I have yet to find a better podcatcher for a portable device. It has all the standard features that one would expect, such as fast play, rewind and skip forwards (five options), auto-delete of played episodes, restrict downloading to Wi-FI only, find Podcast by Podcast URL, etc. etc.

I abandoned the Apple app ages ago. There appears to be no hope for it.

Good points:

• subscribing is known as “Followed” (“subscription” implies a payment is required)
• clear, uncluttered list of subscribed programmes
• within a programme, a list of all episodes and a separate list of downloaded episodes
• one list of all downloaded episodes
• option to have downloaded episodes in old-to-new order (you would think this was a must have, so that a series can be played in the correct order, but apparently not)
• No-cost option (with adverts) or paid-for option (advert free)
• any downloaded programme can be added to a playlist of your own choice (restricted number of Playlists in free version of the app)
• each programme has a badge indicating number of episodes not yet played
• autoplay next episode or stop at end of current episode
• I've found every Podcast I've looked for (including one local to me in the UK)

Bad points:

• a programme's list of All Episodes and Downloads has to be in the same order (I.e both lists in new-to-old order, or both lists in old-to-new order). Why would anyone do this?
• Download list order sometimes resets (after app update for example)
• downloads of programmes that are not being followed are not listed in their own show (they can only be found in the list of all downloaded episodes)

And from your point of view, the app does not stop downloading new episodes.

I'm not connected in any way with Podbean and I receive no reward for suggesting it.

That is quite unfortunate to hear. I subscribe to more podcasts than I can listen to in my daily life specifically so I can listen to them during long air flights. Imagine my surprise the first time I settled into my seat only to find that my queue was empty because Apple decided that I wasn’t fit to manage my own life.

Does anyone know of a podcast manager that does not have this deficiency?

Shichimi wrote:

Imagine my surprise the first time I settled into my seat only to find that my queue was empty because Apple decided that I wasn’t fit to manage my own life.

Just to be fair to Apple, all they have done is give the Podcast's producers the option of setting that to happen for their own Podcasts, to save the producer money. Apple do not decide on when the episodes stop downloading.