Creating Your First Podcast

Like public speaking, podcasting is a skill that many people believe requires talent and training. In reality, it's not that hard to create your own podcast. Not only do you not need any special equipment or software, but there are also multiple platforms for hosting and distributing podcasts online!

This article will outline the steps involved in making a podcast: from coming up with an idea and recording it, to uploading the final product for others to listen to.

Like any form of media production, it's important to have a good idea before you start creating your podcast. This is the foundation on which everything else in podcasting will be built (pun intended), so I'm going to spend the most time describing this step.

Coming Up with an Idea

Finding a topic for your podcast can be difficult, especially at first. You'll likely think of ideas that are too big for a single episode or might require too much research to complete in a timely manner. It may help to think about things you enjoy talking about with friends and family; if you enjoy listening to podcasts, think about topics that other shows address that you don't really follow personally.

Once you have several potential topics, it's time to narrow them down. Try coming up with a working title for your podcast that suggests the content you will be discussing. For example, my husband occasionally produces a podcast called "The Lost Episode", which discusses episodes of TV and film that were cut from the final product (hence the name).

If you can't come up with a topic that can be discussed within the confines of one episode, then your idea likely requires multiple episodes or even an entire series. This is perfectly fine! You can use the same format to discuss Big Bang Theory seasons or Joss Whedon's works in depth, and each episode will serve as an introduction for newcomers to your show.

If you'd like to start a podcast on your own, here are some of my favorite resources for finding topics:

Once you have an idea, it's time to start recording! You may need to do some voice acting for your podcast (as I've done with The Lost Episode), but that's not necessary. There are numerous audio editing tools out there such as Audacity and Garage Band that you can use to record yourself.