The Podcast Toolbox

If you’re prepared to start adding podcasts to your agency’s communications programs, there’s plenty of software available. Some you probably already have. Here’s a sampling of tools we used in researching this story.Anyone creating audio for the Web already has a set of favorite tools. But here are a few extras that have features you might find useful: . Free MP3 recording software that can splice together multiple MP3 files. . Tool for recording directly into MP3 format. . Professional-level tools, running $250 and $90, respectively. . A Mac tool for passing audio from one program to another.After you’ve created the audio file portion of a podcast, you need to introduce the broadcast component. Podcasting is as simple as creating an RSS feed for your audio content. Here are some RSS tools you could use: .Although podcast lists can be viewed through any newsreader software that reads RSS feeds, a number of applications have come out that focus exclusively on organizing podcasts. A few, such as Apple’s iTunes, even play the files or download them onto portable music players: / .The local consumer electronics store has no shortage of portable MP3 players, which can play podcasts. In addition, there’s a wide variety of free software-based MP3 players for PCs: .