ITunes 11.3.1.2 does not download subscribed podcasts

Question

iTunes Version 11.1.3.2 running under Windows Vista Business on a standard HP laptop.
I have an iPod Classic set up to synchronize several dozen podcasts.
I have subscribed to a podcast "60-Second Science" and the podcast settings are:
When I select Refresh
I expect iTunes to download any new episodes of the podcast to my laptop (Download Episodes is ON, Limit Episodes is OFF).
But when I check, the newest episodes are available in the cloud, but are not downloaded. They each have the "cloud down arrow" symbol
which means they are available to be downloaded, but they have not been copied down to the laptop.
Here you can see than several recent episodes of the podcast are available, but have not been downloaded.
When I Synchronize my iPod, the newest episodes are not copied.
Here you can see that the episodes for Monday, Aug 1, Jul 31, etc. have not been downloaded or synchronized to my iPod.
But, if I manually click on the "cloud arrow down" symbol for the first episode, it is downloaded, then I can synch my iPod, and the episode is on my iPod for me to listen to. You can see that the episode "System Converts Solar..." is now on my iPod:
My question is: What else do I have to set so that the podcast episodes I have subscribed to are automatically downloaded? I have subscribed to almost 100 podcasts and I should not have to go to each one in Library | My Podcasts and manually select the newest episodes. Am I not following the directions? Is there another step I have missed?
Please tell me how to have my subscribed podcasts download automatically.
Thanks and regards,
Stephen Tinius
Myrtle Beach SC

Answer 1

There has been a long-standing issue with the way iTunes handles Podcasts when there are multiple episodes available.
When your iTunes Library checks for new episodes of subscribed Podcasts, it will download only the latest one. This is fine if there is only one episode since iTunes last checked. But if there are two or more, then iTunes still only downloads the latest one, and ignores the previous episodes. Apple's apparent attempt to resolve this issue is to show the other episodes, but with the download cloud icon next to them. All well-and-good, but it's not obvious that this is what is happening, particularly when the Unplayed Episode Count includes those non-downloaded episodes.
What compounds this issue is that the in-the-cloud episodes are listed in the Podcasts Library, which up until that change, only included media actually in your Library.
kstinmb wrote:
My question is: What else do I have to set so that the podcast episodes I have subscribed to are automatically downloaded?
Submit a product Enhancement Request as feedback at http://www.apple.com/feedback/itunesapp.html, although I suggest you don't get your hopes up. I submitted one a long time ago, but all Apple has done is introduce the "cloud" episodes, which has not solved the problem.
kstinmb wrote:
I have subscribed to almost 100 podcasts and I should not have to go to each one in Library | My Podcasts and manually select the newest episodes. Am I not following the directions? Is there another step I have missed?
Please tell me how to have my subscribed podcasts download automatically.
The only thing you can do is set your iTunes to check for new episodes frequently enough to catch all the new ones.
However, even this may not be enough. There is a BBC programme that releases up to three new episodes every day, all within one hour. So even once and hour will not catch all three of these.