wierd behavior with podcasts

The shuffle does it's own thing with podcasts. Perhaps if you made the audio files instead of poadpacts for the shuffle?

I don't know about if podcasts not being able to be placed in an order. I've noticed the same thing myself but the response you've received seems to indicate this is intended.

However, if you're having the same problem with audio books, I am, too. Nobody has yet responded to my question on here "Copy to Play Order Doesn't Work." I'm beginning to think that there are only three of us who use iPod for audio books or that there is no known solution to the issue.

I have observed the same problem. It would appear that the iShuffle wants to play podcasts so that the newest is played first. It doesn't matter the order that iTunes shows.

However, I recently noticed while using another computer that the same iShuffle would play in the order listed in iTunes! So it would look like it's iTunes that is determining the play order. This would make sense as I expect Apple tries to put as much of the "brains" in iTunes as possible. But I have to admit, it's almost enought to make me want to get a Nano.

I wish Apple would better document the behavior of their software!

I agree that it does play in order, and that it is absolutely determined by iTunes. However, you can choose what the order is by changing the sort order in the Podcast playlist section. There's only one option (the Release column) available.

The podcasts are always going to play from top to bottom order, as displayed on that screen, and no matter what you do with them after that. I've tried copying them to a new playlist and then re-ordering before dumping to the Shuffle, but that changes nothing: They are still going to play in that order.

Adding to the confusion is the fact that the order in the iPod's playlist has no relationship at all to the order in which things are going to play; lacking a Release column to sort on there's no way to show it, and you just have to take it on faith that it will play in the right order.