Podcast Playlists in iTunes 10

Do you listen to a lot of podcasts? I do, and sometimes I get behind, and want to put them into a playlist so I don't lose them.

I was planning to drive to Grandma's over Thanksgiving, and ran into the problem of how to make a playlist for podcasts in iTunes 10.  This has changed from how it was done in earlier versions.

At first I was sure that Apple was withdrawing support for podcasts as some attempt to get us to buy more paid content. And there still maybe some of that. However, it is really just done differently.

In the past, one just made playlist (File-New), and dragged the podcast into the playlist. This probably still works on the iPod Classic if you set the iPod to transfer your whole library automatically. For smaller iPods, the procedure is different.

In iTunes 10:

1. Creates the playlist with the File >> New Playlist menu item.

2. Click on the iPod in iTunes, and select the Podcast tab.

3. Check the box on the iPod's Podcast tab to enable transferring the playlist to the iPod.

4. If you have music on the playlist too, click the playlist's box on the Music tab as well. Similarly for TV Shows.

The new confusing part is that playlists with music and podcasts are on the Music tab and the Podcast tab. You should to check that podcast on both tabs to have it work correctly.

I did not figure it out in time for Thanksgiving this year,  but I had a good time anyway.  Nonetheless, life is better when I can find things on the iPod.