Save Position in Podcast at "Sleep" Timer Expiration?

[kmand]

I use my  Google speakers and  Display hub to play podcasts. I also use "stop playing in XX minutes" to simulate a sleep timer. My biggest problem with it, is that the position in the podcast is not saved when the timer goes off.  This means to continue immediately (or at a later time) I have to guess where I was and move through the podcast until I find an approximation of where it stopped.

This is probably not a problem for music, which I guess was the design,

Is there any way around this problem?

Furthermore am I missing some way to get a more functional sleep timer, ie one that warns you when the time is getting close with a convenient renew scheme?

[Princesss]

Hi kmand,

Thank for reaching out.

I appreciate all the details you've shared. Can you tell me if it continues the podcast when sleep timer is disabled? Also, did you try it on a different podcast title? Let's go ahead and try that so we can further isolate the issue.

Keep me posted.

Best,

Princess

[kmand]

It turns out the main issue is Google Podcasts as the provider. If in Google Home I switch the default to Spotify (which is also free)  for podcasts it does save the position when time runs out,

Still this is not really great

* Once time runs out to continue I have to say "play XXXX for YYY" minutes, and it does go through a fresh reload and does start at the right point. I haven't found a way to just say resume or continue

* Its much inferior to sleep settings on the phone podcast players, which can fade out or vibrate to give you a chance for another cycle at the same timeout value.

[Princesss]

Hi kmand,

Thanks for the details you shared.

It looks like it is only isolated on Google Podcasts. I'd like to know if this has been working before? If yes, can you provide your device's cast firmware version? 

To get that, you can follow these steps:

1. Make sure the mobile device is connected to the same Wi-Fi or linked to the same account as the Google Nest or Home device.
2. Open the Google Home app .
3. Tap the device card of the preferred speaker or display.
4. At the top-right, tap Settings   Device information.
5. Under Technical information, find Cast firmware:X.XXX.XXXXX. 

Looking forward to your response.

Best,

Princess

[kmand]

As far as I know its never worked on Google Podcasts, so I guess I will just have to use Spotify.

[kmand]

Well, I have switched back to Google Podcasts. The problem with Spotify is that if I say "play the latest XXX" it ignores 'latest' and plays what ever the last XXX I was listening to. There seems to be no easy way to get to the latest.  So neither Google or Spotify podcasts work well. To summarize

Google Podcasts: "stop playing in XX" minutes, forgets your place.

Spotify Podcasts:  Won't honor "latest"

So no solution with Google speaker.  Incidentally, the Amazon speakers do this properly.