CREATE AMAZING PODCASTS!

From true crime to tales of tomfoolery, podcasts can be about anything - and it's never been easier to add your own unique voice. Here's how to do it

- Written by Carrie Marshall

Apple didn't invent the podcast, but it helped give it a name: the 'pod' bit came from the iPods that we used to play our audio in the early 2000s when the first iPhone was still a gleam in Steve Jobs' eye.

A podcast is simply a recording of one or more people speaking that you can download or stream to your device - your iPhone, or your Apple Watch, or your Mac - and it could be about absolutely anything. Our favourites include podcasts about music, podcasts about books, and podcasts about imaginary restaurants run by bad-tempered genies.

Many of today's best-known podcasts are made by celebrities in expensive studios, but the original spirit of podcasting - anyone can do it! - is alive and well. As we'll discover today, all you need is a single Apple device, the right app and a microphone. And of course, something interesting to talk about that people will want to hear.

In this feature, we'll discover the ins and outs of podcasting: how to do it, how to do it really well, and how to get it to as many listeners as possible. We'll discover the best audio accessories and the best podcasting apps, and we'll also ask the big question: can you make money doing this, and if so, how?

WHAT YOU'LL NEED

How to prepare a premium-quality podcast

The first thing you'll need for successful podcasting isn't a bit of hardware or software. It's a theme. What will your podcast be about? Some podcasts take a single story, such as a real-life crime or a period of history, and tell the story over multiple episodes. Others focus on a core topic such as South Asian cooking, or English football, or Young Adult books, or what famous people's last meal would be.