Podcast Audio Checklist: Record, Edit and Export

Two checkpoints protect the whole episode

Use the first half before a long recording session and the second half before publishing. The checks are deliberately short: a test take catches a wrong input before an hour is lost, and reopening the delivered file catches a bad export before listeners do. Keep a copy with the episode and note any exceptions you deliberately accept.

The PDF and the on-page list below use the same source content. You can print the PDF and tick its boxes; it does not send answers to us or require an email address. It is a workflow aid, not a certification that a recording meets a host's requirements.

The checklist

Download the one-page podcast audio checklist (PDF). Free, with no account or email required. Updated October 2, 2026.

Before recording

• Choose the right microphone and verify the recorder input.
• Record normal speech, a loud phrase and a few seconds of quiet.
• Compare mic positions; keep breath blasts off its front.
• Leave peak headroom on loud phrases and check for overload.

Capture and keep

• Use headphones to avoid speaker sound entering the mic.
• Keep remote speakers on separate tracks when possible.
• Check that both channels contain the sound you intended.
• Save the unedited takes and a lossless editing copy.

Edit and repair

• Remove private material, false starts and unwanted sections.
• Review pause cuts in context; protect soft words and timing.
• Identify hiss, hum, wind or room tail before choosing a fix.
• Compare cleanup at similar volume; keep natural consonants.

Deliver and verify

• Listen to each speaker, the quietest part and the loudest part.
• Check loudness and true peaks against the destination rules.
• Keep the master; make the delivery copy in the required format.
• Reopen the exported file and check its start, end and levels.

How to check the recording stage

Speak normally, say one louder phrase, then stop for a few seconds. Play the test through headphones. Confirm the recorder selected the microphone you intended and that every source actually appears in the file. A call app's mic selection does not automatically set a separate recorder's input.

Listen for the noise that remains in the pause and the voice that rings after a sentence. Compare two microphone positions before changing equipment. Recording clear voice audio gives a repeatable test, while noise vs echo vs hum lets you hear controlled examples of the main symptoms. Shure's home-recording guidance similarly recommends trying placements and listening back to sample takes.

For a remote interview, separate speaker tracks make later balancing easier. Use headphones to reduce call playback entering the mic, and record a short test of the full signal path. Keep the original takes even when the editing copy sounds good.

How to check edits and repair

Listen across each cut, not only inside the removed region. A pause can be part of the conversation, and a low-level passage can contain a soft word. The silence trimmer proposes candidates and lets you keep them; it does not decide which pauses carry meaning. Deleting time also moves synchronized video and transcripts, so keep coordinated edits in the timeline editor.

After cleanup, compare at similar listening volume. Check consonants, breaths and the ends of phrases for watery or chopped sound. Consult noise-reduction artifacts if the voice loses clarity. The goal is understandable speech, not an absolutely silent background at any cost.

If levels remain uneven, first distinguish a quiet whole programme from a quiet speaker. Compression vs normalization explains why a uniform boost preserves the difference between them. Keep the least processed version that meets the listening need.

How to check the delivery stage

Use your podcast host and destination's current guidance, then measure the exported file. Apple Podcasts' audio requirements give spoken-word loudness and peak guidance, but do not treat one number as a universal rule for all audio. The LUFS meter helps distinguish programme loudness from peak headroom; it is a practical estimate rather than broadcast certification.

Keep a lossless editing master and create the required delivery copy. Check its actual channel layout, duration, beginning and end. WAV vs MP3 explains re-encoding, while mono vs stereo explains when two channels are useful. If you export again after a change, repeat the checks on that new file.

The full podcast audio workflow connects these checkpoints to the tools. A completed checklist records what you checked; your listening decision and the destination's requirements determine whether the episode is ready.