School of Podcasting with Dave Jackson

Episode: What AI Tools are Podcasters Using?

Date: April 7, 2025
Host: Dave Jackson
Episode Link: schoolofpodcasting.com/978

Episode Overview

In this listener-driven episode, Dave Jackson explores the surge of AI tools in podcasting, revisiting a question he asked a year prior when AI was still a novelty for most. Now, AI is an integral part of many podcasters’ workflows. Dave and a diverse lineup of contributors answer:

• What AI tools are you using in your podcasting workflow?
• Are these tools actually saving you time, or creating more work?
• What practical tips or cautions can you share?

The episode highlights real-world use cases from various podcasters, featuring their experiences and favorite AI platforms. Dave also shares his own evolving approach to AI and offers practical advice for maximizing their benefits (and avoiding pitfalls).

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Dave’s Introduction: Why Ask About AI Again?

[00:00–03:28]

• Dave notes the dramatic shift: "At the time, we're all like, 'what's AI again?' And now it's more, 'which AI tool are you using?'"
• He introduces the Question of the Month: What AI tools are podcasters actually using, and are they saving time?
• Emphasizes value in community: “If you send in your answer, you get free exposure, you get a link to your site…free SEO. But it is what it is.”

2. Listener Roundtable: AI Tools Podcasters Love (and How They Use Them)

Craig Van Slyke (AI Goes to College, Live Well and Flourish)

[03:28–06:14]

• AI Tool: Lex Page
• Why Lex?
  • Low-distraction writing environment with AI-powered editing
  • “Lex has a chatbot called Ask Lex, which acts as an editor... It will give you honest feedback.”
  • Offers grammar, cliche, brevity, repetition checks; context tags for multiple shows
  • Quote: “Think of it as having a highly skilled editor and writing coach available 24/7 right at your fingertips." (03:59)
• Results: Sometimes takes more tweaking, but “the increase in quality is worth the cost to me and the value is huge to my listeners.”
• Tip: Free plan is solid, but pro ($12/month) unlocks more; recommend for anyone writing scripts, blogs, or newsletters.

Ethan Rees (Daily Sports History)

[06:36–07:44]

• AI Tool: Perplexity
• Use Case:
  • Transforms notes into detailed episode outlines, show notes, and social media ideas
  • AI as a writing assistant: “It gives me writing which I do NOT like to do, so I don’t have to focus on it.” (06:55)
  • Only minor tweaks needed; sources provided for accuracy
• Impact: “Has saved me a countless amount of time and made doing the podcast more fun...I’m looking into even more AI tools and automation.”

Ralph Easttep (Ask Ralph)

[07:48–10:07]

• AI Tools:
  • Gemini: For deep research and drafting daily blog posts as show scripts
  • Poe: Aggregates multiple AI models
  • Mistral: For impact/accuracy feedback
  • Notebook LM: Generates AI-driven discussions based on scripts
• Workflow:
  • “I use a ton of AI. It has really been helpful in not necessarily giving me the final product but helping me along the process of generation.” (07:53)
  • Runs scripts through multiple AIs for refinement
• Final Thoughts: “Unless you’ve got your head buried in the sand, you know AI is here to stay and it’s just going to get better from here.” (09:56)

Kim Newlove (The Pharmacist Voice, Perrysburg Podcast)

[10:37–12:32]

• AI Tool: Otter AI (transcription and summaries)
• How it Helps:
  • “The number one way that I use AI for podcasting.” (10:41)
  • Helps create custom intros and outros
  • Minimal use of generative AI: “Downloaded ChatGPT... didn’t do anything with it for nine months.”
• Recommendation: “I would recommend Otter AI as a transcription tool for you as well.”

York (Welcome to Earth Stories)

[12:35–15:32]

• AI Tools:
  • Perplexity: For proofreading scripts and generating social media posts
  • Google LM: Evaluates show for engaging parts and improvement areas
  • 11 Labs: AI voice generation for pinch-hitting voice acting
• Workflow:
  • “It has revolutionized the way I produce shows.” (12:37)
  • “Upload the stories into Perplexity... just type in a prompt to say, fix the spelling mistakes and the grammar, but keep everything in my voice.”
  • Uses AI to rapidly generate, revise, and test content
• Memorable Moment: Interrupted mid-message by his wife, leading to some light-hearted banter and real-life podcasting humor.

Timothy Chemo Brian (Create Art Podcast, Find a Podcast About)

[15:40–22:31]

• AI Tools Used:
  • ChatGPT: Unique and inspiring guest questions
  • Hindenburg Pro: Initial sound processing
  • Descript: Filler word removal, studio sound, show note generation
  • Captivate: AI for transcripts, show titles, notes, takeaways, SEO descriptions
  • Canva: Episode artwork; AI image generation with SEO terms
  • Vista Social: Social post generation from AI-enhanced episode descriptions
  • NotebookLM: Deep dives/recaps for the Substack newsletter
• Key Quote:
  • “Using all these tools really cuts my production time down. I can be out the door, all my editing done in about an hour.” (20:58)
  • “That savings in time is priceless to me. I’m a dad of twins, a full-time job, and a full-time husband.”
• Caveats: Always tweaks AI outputs, especially for accuracy of names and to humanize the language.
• Experimentation: Testing AI newsletter content; sees 20% open rates.

3. Dave Jackson’s Reflections: AI in His Own Workflow

[22:31–36:10]

• Approach:
  • Uses AI for brainstorming and idea refinement (“I will write something with my human actual intelligence, and then throw that into something like Claude to make it better.” [27:00])
  • Favors Claude for its writing style over ChatGPT; recommends Magi as a new all-in-one AI
  • Agrees with Tim on Captivate’s useful but imperfect AI-generated show notes
• Editing Workflow:
  • Live show editing with Descript: “Now I can go in, remove filler words, add chapters - what used to take me six hours now takes me an hour and a half.” (31:43)
  • Always listens before posting, despite sometimes getting lax
  • Warns: “We think they’re working because people are not saying, hey, what's up with this? But sometimes listeners leave without saying why.” (32:42)
• More AI Tools:
  • Waves Plugins (Chef’s Omni Studio, Dialog Enhance/Revive)
  • Resound: Fast removal of filler words (especially helpful for non-native speakers)
  • Emphasizes: “Always listen to it before you post it... especially with writing.” (34:37)

Notable Caution

"There’s a website out there saying podcasting has had a discoverability problem since the 90s. And I’m like, yeah, because it didn’t exist in the 90s. That is a problem." (34:53)

Key AI Tool Mentions & Use Cases ([Timestamps])

| Tool | Speaker | Main Uses / Highlights | Timestamp | |-----------------|-------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------| | Lex Page | Craig Van Slyke | AI editing, honest feedback, writing coach, context tags | 03:28 | | Perplexity | Ethan Rees, York | Show notes, episode outlines, grammar checking, social posts | 06:36, 12:35| | Gemini | Ralph Easttep | Deep research, script/blog post generation | 07:48 | | Poe | Ralph Easttep | AI model aggregator, idea refinement | 07:48 | | Mistral | Ralph Easttep | Script impact evaluation | 07:48 | | Notebook LM | Ralph, Timothy Chemo Brian | Generating discussions, deep dives, newsletters | 07:48, 21:23| | Otter AI | Kim Newlove | Transcription, episode summarization | 10:37 | | Google LM | York | Script evaluation, identifying engaging sections | 12:35 | | 11 Labs | York | AI voice synthesis | 12:35 | | ChatGPT | Timothy Chemo Brian | Interview question generation, LinkedIn rewrites (Kim) | 15:40 | | Hindenburg Pro | Timothy Chemo Brian | Sound processing, plugins | 15:40 | | Descript | Timothy Chemo Brian, Dave | Editing, filler removal, studio sound, chapters | 15:40, 31:43| | Captivate | Timothy Chemo Brian, Dave | Transcripts, show notes, SEO, takeaways, auto-episode titles | 15:40, 27:31| | Canva | Timothy Chemo Brian | Episode artwork with AI-assisted images | 20:24 | | Vista Social | Timothy Chemo Brian | Social post optimization with AI | 20:40 | | Magi | Dave Jackson | New AI discovery platform | 26:55 | | Claude | Dave Jackson | Brainstorming & copy refinement | 27:00 | | Resound | Dave Jackson | Removing ums/ahs from interviews | 34:53 | | Waves Plugins | Dave Jackson | Audio clean-up plugins for spoken word | 34:53 |

Practical Tips & Advice from the Episode

• Invest time in learning your AI tool: “Set aside an evening or two to learn how to use it. The more you dig in, the better results you get—and the less tweaking you have to do.” (27:31)
• Specify your context and audience in prompts: “Give the tool your audience and goals. It gives you better results that require less tweaking.” (26:55)
• AI ≠ Autopilot: Always review/tweak outputs—especially for names, personalized language, and human touch.
• AI as a creative partner, not a replacement: Multiple guests echoed that AI is best used for brainstorming, editing, organizing, but not for final polished material without human input.
• Don’t get complacent: “Always listen [or read] before you post it... I probably will have an episode in the future where I’m like, remember when I kind of quit listening to the edits? Yeah. It bit me in the butt.” (34:37)
• Use AI for the tasks you dislike or that are time-consuming: (e.g., writing show notes, removing filler words, creating social media posts)

Notable Quotes & Moments

• Craig Van Slyke: “Lex is not a people pleaser. It will give you honest feedback.” (03:39)
• Ethan Rees: “It gives me writing which I do NOT like to do, so I don’t have to focus on it.” (06:55)
• Ralph Easttep: “AI is here to stay and it’s just going to get better from here. So thank you, Dave, and to all of you, God bless you and be well.” (09:56)
• Kim Newlove: “I would recommend Otter AI as a transcription tool for you as well.” (11:12)
• York: “I use 11 Labs, because sometimes it’s hard to get a voice actress or an actor. So, when I’m in a pinch...” (14:39)
  • [Humorous interruption by York’s wife mid-explanation, bringing a touch of real-life humor to the segment.]
• Timothy Chemo Brian: “I can record a 20 or 30 minute episode and be out the door... everything done in about an hour. That savings in time is priceless to me.” (20:58)
• Dave Jackson: “We think [AI edits] are working because nobody says anything…but sometimes people leave without saying why.” (32:42)
• Dave Jackson on podcast monetization: “Your show was good way before you got a sponsor...you could get paid in fun, you could get paid in friends, things of that nature.” (36:02)

Timestamps of Major Segments

• 00:00–03:28: Dave’s intro, context for the AI question, benefits of community responses
• 03:28–06:14: Craig Van Slyke: LEX Page for writing & editing
• 06:36–07:44: Ethan Rees: Perplexity as a writing assistant
• 07:48–10:07: Ralph Easttep: Heavy daily AI shift, deep research, script refinement
• 10:37–12:32: Kim Newlove: Using Otter for transcripts & summaries
• 12:35–15:32: York: Proofreading, social media, AI voices; segment with wife interruption
• 15:40–22:31: Timothy Chemo Brian: Full-stack workflow with AI for art, editing, writing, & newsletters
• 22:31–36:10: Dave’s own tools, workflow, warnings, advice about “listening before publishing,” plugin shout-outs
• 36:10–36:33: Next month’s Question of the Month preview / prompt

Closing Thoughts

Dave closes by distilling advice from Paul Culligan:
“What do you want the podcast to do?” (36:42)
Whether using AI to save time, increase quality, or just have more fun, it all comes back to knowing your goal—and making sure AI serves it, not the other way around.

Resources & Links Mentioned

A comprehensive list will be included in the show notes at schoolofpodcasting.com/978.

Summary prepared for listeners and those curious about how real podcasters use AI—and what actually works in the trenches.