The podcast session checklist we actually use
Nothing here is clever. All of it is something that has gone wrong in a real session and been fixed by writing it down.
- Production
- 2 September 2026
- 5 min
- Kreators, Alfama
Print it, or read it on the tram. The list is deliberately short — anything longer never gets used on a recording day.
The week before
Decide the format and the length before you invite anyone. A forty-minute interview and a ninety-minute conversation are different productions, and the guest needs to know which one they agreed to.
- Date, time, address, and how long they should block out including arrival.
- Opening line, three to five anchor questions, the close. Not a script.
- Audio only, video, clips — decide before, not after.
- Rua Leite de Vasconcelos 3A in Alfama, with the walking note: it is uphill and cobbled.
The first fifteen minutes in the room
Arrive before your guest. The session clock starts when you booked it, not when you are ready, and a guest who walks into a settled room relaxes faster.
- Silent, face down, off the table. Table knocks are the most common ruined take.
- About a closed fist from the grille, slightly off-axis. One microphone per person, never shared.
- Have everyone talk normally for thirty seconds. Aim for peaks around −10 to −6 dBFS.
- Ten seconds. Play it. This single step catches almost every disaster.
During the recording
Start the recording before the conversation, not on it. The best unguarded exchange in most episodes happens in the first two minutes, while everyone thinks they are still warming up.
If something goes wrong, stop, pause for three seconds of silence, and say the sentence again from the top. That silence is a marker your editor can find instantly.
Before you leave
Copy the files to two places before you walk out of the building. A session that exists only on one card is not a recording yet — it is a hope.
- Laptop and cloud, or laptop and a second drive. Check the file sizes match.
- Anything you already know you want as a clip.
- Name spelling, title, links and handles, while they are still in the room.
- Before they leave. Chasing it later takes a week.
Short answers
- 01
What should I prepare before a podcast recording?
The format and length, a run of show with three to five anchor questions, the deliverables you want, and clear arrival instructions for your guest.
- 02
What recording level should a podcast be?
Aim for peaks around −10 to −6 dBFS during capture and leave loudness to mastering. Recording too hot causes clipping on laughter and raised voices.
- 03
How do I mark a mistake while recording?
Stop, leave about three seconds of silence, then repeat the sentence from the beginning. The silent gap is easy to find in the waveform during editing.
- 04
Do I need to bring equipment to the studio?
No. The podcast room in Alfama has the microphones, cameras, lighting and recorders. Bring a drive or a laptop for your backup copy.
More from the journal
The Shure SM7B needs more gain than you think
It is the most photographed microphone on the internet and the most badly gain-staged. Here is how we run it in the Alfama podcast room.
A video podcast is two productions at once
The failure mode is always the same: the episode looks fine and sounds like a conference call, or the other way round. Plan both, or drop one.
How to record a DJ set that is worth sending
Promoters listen for thirty seconds. A phone recording of a room tells them nothing except that you own a phone.
Come make something in Alfama.
Your need, your hour, Apple Pay. Walk up the hill, press record, and leave with the work done.
Kreators produces. bridgr connects. Kreators is the production studio and event space of bridgr, the creative residence and community in Alfama, Lisbon.