Sarah Jones* pulled up the Apple Podcasts app on her iPhone, as she does every Friday morning during her commute, eager to listen to the newest episode of her favorite podcast. But this time, something was off. The latest episode was nowhere to be seen in her show’s episode list. Confused, Sarah refreshed the app, but the newest episode still didn’t appear.

Sarah wasn’t alone in her confusion. Across social media and forums, Apple Podcasts subscribers were reporting the same issue: The newest episodes of certain shows simply weren’t showing up in the app. Playlists that are supposed to automatically update with the latest episodes sat frozen in time, stuck on the previous week’s content.

The bug seems to affect only a handful of shows so far, but for loyal listeners who rely on Apple Podcasts to deliver new episodes directly to their devices each week, it’s a frustrating disruption to their routines.

According to user reports, the newest episodes do appear on Apple Podcasts on the web, Mac and PC. The issue seems isolated to the iOS app. But that’s cold comfort for iPhone and iPad users looking to listen on the go.

Podcasts are meant to be portable. Mobile apps like Apple Podcasts are how most people consume podcast content while commuting, exercising or doing chores. For regular listeners, a seamless new episode delivery experience is critical.

However, the iOS app currently fails to provide this experience for select shows. Episode lists lack the latest releases without any kind of alert. The new content only surfaces if users specifically search for it by name.

Even manual refreshes and forced syncs fail to pull in the missing episodes. They’ve simply vanished from view for affected programs.

Apple has yet to officially acknowledge the bug, leaving users scratching their heads. However, the relatively small number of impacted shows points to a data issue on Apple’s servers. In other words, the bug likely stems from a backend problem in Apple’s podcast delivery system, not the app itself.

If true, this raises hope that a fix may not require a client-side software update. iPhone and iPad users may see the situation resolve itself if Apple simply repairs the glitch on its servers.

But when that will happen is anyone’s guess. Apple has offered no details on what could be going on or when it will be addressed. Fans of affected shows are left refreshing their apps and hoping each new episode will show up as expected.

It’s a minor issue in the scheme of things, but still an annoying one. Podcasts are meant to deliver new episodes seamlessly. When that delivery breaks down, dedicated listeners are left with a disjointed, disappointing experience.

*random name