Managing Podcasts between iOS, MacOS and OSX versions

Ok I am using different versions of iOS, MacOS and OSX.

My primary OS is Mavericks running OSX , iTunes 11 (prefer GUI and layout, as I have cognitive issues with flat design) and do most of my creative work in this partition/drive

Secondary OS , High Sierra for basic use and synching iOS 11 device, running latest iTunes 12 to synch with my iPhone running iOS 11.

Usually when I download-play a podcast on a device, it updates other devices/iTunes versions that that it has has downloaded and played. Sometimes it gets confused where played items delete themselves on one device and remain unplayed and undeleted on another, where I have to manually manage. Is this normal working between different Apple devices and OS/iTunes versions ?