In response to this post “Podcasts are boring (Hot tips to hold attention)”  by Leisa Reichelt.

This is how I consume Podcasts.

I use an iPod mini and iTunes on an old G4 attached to a 50W Honner keyboard amplifier.

I have a smart playlist (AAA Podcasts) that includes all Podcasts that

1. Are not ‘unchecked’
2. Have not been ‘played
3. Sorted in order of download such that the oldest are at the top.

I listen to then in iTunes when at home and in the iPod while walking.

I consume them like I consume radio. If I zone in and out while listening I don’t really care. If they interest me, then they get my attention, just like a good radio show would.

When I sync my iPod it automatically removes the ones i have listened to. If I want to skip one I just ‘check’ it. If I want to skip one on the iPod I fast forward to the end and listen to the last few seconds – this marking it as ‘played’.

iTunes and the iPod remember where I am up to in a podcast. If I listen to on for 57 seconds on my iPod, and then connect it to my G4 and continue listening in iTunes, it plays from the 57th second.

Same work if I listen in iTunes and sync again and continue listening via the iPod.

Its the single most useful feature I can think of. I would not use another mp3 player/portable combination that did not provide that feature.