Hi IMCurious2,
Welcome to the Support Communities!
The information below may be able to answer your questions about how to delete your old podcasts from your iPod Nano. Do you have your iPod set to manually manage content? If so, the instructions to delete items from the iPod are included below (Instructions will be the same for 4th gen or 5th):
iPod User Manual - See page 31
http://manuals.info.apple.com/MANUALS/1000/MA1194/en_US/iPod_nano_5th_gen_UserGu ide.pdf
To set iTunes to manage content on iPod nano manually:
1 In iTunes, select iPod nano in the device list and click the Summary tab.
2 In the Options section, select “Manually manage music and video.”
3 Click Apply.
When you manually manage content on iPod nano, you must always eject iPod nano
from iTunes before you disconnect it.
When you connect a manually-managed iPod nano to a computer, it appears in the
device list on the left side of the iTunes window.
To add a song, video, or other item to iPod nano:
1 In iTunes, click Music or another item below Library on the left side of the iTunes window.
2 Drag a song or other item to iPod nano in the device list.
To remove a song, video, or other item from iPod nano:
1 In iTunes, select iPod nano in the device list.
2 Select a song or other item on iPod nano, and then press the Delete or Backspace key
on your keyboard
If you are still unable to delete the podcasts on your iPod, you may need to restore the device to erase all of the data on it. Then resync with your computer.
This information is on page 92 of the iPod User Guide below:
http://manuals.info.apple.com/MANUALS/1000/MA1194/en_US/iPod_nano_5th_gen_UserGu ide.pdf
Updating and Restoring iPod Software
You can use iTunes to update or restore iPod software. It’s recommended that you
update iPod nano to use the latest software. You can also restore the software,
which puts iPod nano back to its original state.
If you choose to update, the software is updated, but your settings and songs aren’t
affected.
If you choose to restore, all data is erased from iPod nano, including songs, videos,
files, contacts, photos, calendar information, and any other data. All iPod nano
settings are restored to their original state.
To update or restore iPod nano:
1 Make sure you have an Internet connection and have installed the latest version of
iTunes from www.apple.com/downloads.
2 Connect iPod nano to your computer.
3 In iTunes, select iPod nano in the device list and click the Summary tab.
The Version section tells you whether iPod nano is up to date or needs a newer version
of the software.
4 Click Update to install the latest version of the software.
5 If necessary, click Restore to restore iPod nano to its original settings (this erases all data
from iPod nano). Follow the onscreen instructions to complete the restore process.
I hope this information helps ....
- Judy