Podcasts grayed out (iPhone 4, iOS 5.x)

[imahawki]

I have the newest version of iOS and iTunes yet continue to have a problem going on months now (maybe since iOS 5 but I can't be sure). I download the CarTalk podcasts yet recently, the newest episodes are grayed out on the phone and won't play! I turned of syncing podcasts and synced and then turned it back on and synced and that didn't work. The only work around is to click "get more" on the phone and then stream it like I'm listening to the sample. But this method is a crummy work around and if I exit that podcast, unlike having the local version, it doesn't keep my position in the podcast so I have to spend several minutes finding where I was.

What gives?

 

[imahawki]

I know I'm not the only person with this problem (I found a thread on Apple Support). But I've yet to see an answer as to why this is happening and how to fix it. I know this is a smart group of people... what's going on?

 

[BiggAW]

I am in the process of switching to Instacast, and I was skeptical at first about streaming podcasts, but this is the app that Apple should have shipped the iPhone with- it's incredible! I'd recommend it to any podcast users out there. It also has a wifi sync option if you're getting close to your 2GB/mo, but it still easier than syncing, since, well, you don't need the computer.