trying to add podcasts to shuffle I tunes says they are there but when I play them only a few are available?

Hello rhdarby2,

Thank you for using Apple Support Communities.

For more information, take a look at:

iPod shuffle: Playing audiobooks and podcasts

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1831

Adding Audiobooks and Podcasts to iPod shuffle

The Autofill feature of iTunes will not add audiobooks and podcasts to any iPod model. They can be manually added by dragging them to the iPod shuffle in iTunes.

For iPod shuffle (3rd generation), you must enable Manually manage music in the Summary tab to drag songs to iPod shuffle. Additionally, you can automatically sync audiobooks using the Music tab and sync podcasts using the Podcasts tab in iTunes.

Have a nice day,

Mario