So this might be old news to a lot of people, but it's something I've discovered, or rather, actually started using a few months ago.

Smart playlists in iTunes, is one of the coolest and, in my opinion, underused features of iTunes! It allows you to keep an ever changing playlist based on certain criteria you set.

For example: let's say you subscribe to a lot of podcasts, chances are you want to hear the most recent ones on a fairly regular basis, and when the episode ends, you'll probably be in the mood to hear another one, like listening to talk radio. To setup a smart playlist of only unheard podcasts, sorted by the most recently added, follow these steps:

1. Click File>New Smart Playlist
2. Under Match the Following Rule, click Podcast from the popup menu
3. Leave is true set.
4. Click the "plus" icon
5. Select Play Count from the popup menu, and leave it set at is 0
6. Check the box next to Limit to, and type in how many podcasts you'd like to keep in your smart playlist. (I usually set mine to 25.)
7. Next to selected by, choose most recently added
8. Hit OK, and you're done

Now you've got a playlist that's always up to date with the latest podcasts that you haven't listened to, it's like your own niche talk radio station, and since iTunes remembers where you paused a podcast track you'll never miss a second of an episode. It even syncs with your iPod and will remember where you left off both on the go, or on the computer, so long as you keep them in sync. Enjoy!