Overview
This page is about making a podcast, or a video with simple graphics. There is no absolute definition of a podcast. Originally podcasts were usually audio files that could be downloaded to a local player, which often was a simple device which was used with headphones.
Over time, as people started to carry more sophisticated devices with larger screens, it became difficult to define by content exactly what was a podcast and what was a video. For example, if there is a 30 minute audio recording of an interview with a politician, and there is a single still image of that politician with the audio, it does not make it into a video in any meaningful way. Of course, the file format may be video (typically .MP4 rather than .MP3 or WAV) but the substance has not changed.
Generally we might say something is a video if the images within it substantially add to the information it conveys, and a podcast or recording if they do not. The information on this page has a focus on the audio content, but the tools allow you to add as many images as your project requires.
Summary of the process described here
Brief summary of process and AI tools
Step 1. Using an AI tool to help generate a script
Do not rely on an AI tool to do all of the work here. As the producer it is your job to form a clear concept of what the podcast is going to be about, and to ensure that the content remains interesting and well written. An AI tool can give a lot of help, not least by quickly providing draft versions. At the end of the day though it is you, the producer, who has to take responsibility for the final product.
Once you have your concept, be sure to convey it clearly to the AI Chat tool you are using. Here, for example, is the first prompt used in the video above. The tool was Claude.AI from Anthropic, which has a very good free option though you will quickly use your daily allowance of free time. Most AI tools give you useful output formats - Claude 'artefacts' area is a particularly user friendly one. You can copy or download the script text from there whenever you want.
The prompt that explains the project to the AI tool
It can help to prepare a lot of source material as a text document before you start - for example a list of stories. If you export them as a pdf from your usual text editing tool then you can simple drop them into AI tools like Claude and ask it to use the information in your script.
If you prefer to add information a bit at a time then do it like this, our second prompt in the video.
The prompt that asks for a story to be added to the script
And here is part of the revision that was made by AI tool Claude.
Revised script with story