internet - Struggling with podcasts

Last year was the year of the weblog, this year is going to be the year of the podcast, trendy people tell me. It comes from the ipod, the Apple device that allows you to listen to mp3-files in the car, the subway and boring meetings. Music was the obvious start, but people have started all kind of new podcast shows and a group of people is thinking of setting up a podcast on Asian Affairs.
You can use an ipod-like device to listen to it, but also your computer or any other application that can play mp3-files. You can download it overnight and listen to it at a moment that is convenient for you.
To get things organized I downloaded software of ipodder.org and subscribed to a few cool podcast, so I would at least be able to listen to podcast myself. Making them would be the next step. In that way I really got some very beautiful stuff, like this interview with John Barry who compared SARS with the 'Spanish' flue in 1918.
Problem: downloading goes very tiresome. At this stage 82 feeds wait to be downloaded, and sometimes I only get a few minutes of a podcast show, or I get the same one three times. Anybody else into podcasting in China having similar problems? I blame the poor connectivity, not allowing a smooth download. If that is the case, podcasting might be tough in China.