I generally listen to BBC radio programmes downloaded via get_iplayer on my iphone, a mix of podcasts and "recorded" programmes, I've always just created a playlist, syncd it to my iphone and played the playlist, however today I just couldn't:

Playlist: 198 tracks
Imported into iTunes: 198 tracks
Sync'd to iPhone: 132 tracks

After some investigation it turns out that the missing 66 tracks are podcasts and podcasts are disabled in iTunes. I enable podcasts and retry and now it says "podcast app is not installed on your iPhone, you will not be able to play podcasts"

This has never happened before, I have no idea what's happened or where to start looking. iTunes v 11.1.3.8 and iOS 7.0.3

Any help appreciated

You need to go to the App Store on the iPhone or via iTunes, and download the app called "Podcasts" from Apple.

This link should take you right to it in the UK store: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/podcasts/id525463029?mt=8

iOS 7 split out the Podcasts function into a standalone app, and it's not bundled with the OS anymore.

That's a pain, I never segregate podcasts from my recordings, so normally create a single playlist that includes both.

What tells iTunes that it's a podcast, is there a tag I can strip out?

Sorted, just selected all the files and changed "Media Type" to Music in iTunes

Ahh, yep that will do it. It is odd they split it like that, and then didn't bundle the app in with the OS. I'm guessing it was split to allow more frequent updates.

If these are the only media in your iTunes library that sometimes appear as podcast types, you could set up a smart playlist to spot them quicker. http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1801 can help there.

tbh this will do fine for me, I only ever sync every 2 or 3 months, 300 odd radio programmes each time.

Thanks though