Garage Band 10.0.1 not setting song length

Hello all, Just a quick question on Garage Band. I am using Garage Band 10.0.1, and am unable to select the length of a song. I try to do this by interacting with the control bar, and then the play bar. After that, I choose my bar length, tempo, and so on. However, when I go to record my song, this defaults back to either 2 or 3 bars. This seems to happen even after saving the document. Also, if anyone knows if the newer version of Garage band allows for making of podcast. I do not see this option, even after purchasing all of the additional sounds. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks Andrea