How can I sync both Music files and Podcasts to my Ipod shuffle 4th gen?

Question

I have been trying to do this for a very long time. I own an Ipod shuffle 4th generation and I want to be able to listen to music, podcasts, etc without having to switch between the different formats using Itunes. Everytime I try to sync music and podcasts to my Ipod, it will only play one of the two types but not both. I have plenty of space on my Ipod but it just won't sync music and podcasts together. I have tried using Smart playlists but whenever I try to add the different types of media, it shows nothing in the playlist. Any help with this would be appreciated.

Answer 1

If you are using automatic syncing, you need to set up syncing on the shuffle's Music tab and Podcasts tab in iTunes...
Select your shuffle in iTunes.  There is a bar of "tabs" (starting with Summary). 
Click on Music there.  This Music tab is where you tell iTunes how to sync songs to the shuffle.  Sync Music is checkmarked, if you use automatic syncing.  Your entire iTunes Music library (plus podcasts) probably will not fit, so you can select to sync Selected playlists, artists, albums, and genres.  Below that, make a selection of songs to sync by checkmarking playlists, artists, albums, and/or genres.  For example, if you want to keep it simple, create a new playlist in iTunes and put ALL songs you want on the shuffle on that playlist.  Back on the Music tab, find and checkmark only that one playlist under Playlists as your selection of songs.
Click on the Podcasts tab next.  This is where you tell iTunes how to sync podcasts to the shuffle.  Sync Podcasts is checkmarked.  Make you selection of podcast episodes below.
When you click Apply, your selection of songs and podcasts sync to the shuffle.  Going forward, all changes to your iTunes library that relate to your selection on the two tabs sync automatically when you connect the shuffle, or when you click Sync.
When you use the shuffle, podcasts do not play from the default All Songs list.  To play podcast episodes, you use the VoiceOver feature to select the podcast from the playlist menu.
This document has information about setting up and using VoiceOver on a shuffle
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht4322
You can also play podcast episodes from a playlist.  If you put podcast episodes on a playlist, that playlist needs to be checkmarked on the Podcasts tab, where is says Include Episodes from Playlists.  You can then use VoiceOver to select that playlist from the playlist menu.  To play podcast episodes from a playlist, the shuffle's power switch must be in the play-in-order (middle) position.  The podcast episodes will then play in playlist order (as you organized them in iTunes before syncing).