How do I speed up podcasts on Windows iTunes?

No, there's nothing to be fixed, since it's never been a feature.

You could suggest it as a feature here: Feedback - iTunes - Apple

Don't take it out on me simply because you don't like the message.

I was being specific, because if you send feedback suggesting that this needs fixing, Apple engineers will close any ticket with "the feature is working as expected". And you won't even get to see that.