MobileViews Mini-podcast 49: Google NotebookLM synthetic podcasting

The first podcast section was recorded outdoors to test the iRay DW40 4-channel wireless lavalier microphone kit.

The second section was generated by Google NotebookLM's Audio Overview feature to create a synthetic podcast-like discussion using text-based source material. For this example, I wrote a text discussing three of my 2024 tech grievances (with a nod to Seinfeld's Festivus). A PDF of this text was uploaded to NotebookLM as a source document.

 

In the first section I mentioned testing the relatively new NotebookLM Audio Overview "chat" feature which lets you (the human) interject into the synthetic podcasters' ongoing discussion and have "them" respond to the newly introduced material. Unfortunately, it turns out that the audio file saved only included the originally created audio summary. I'll use an external recording setup to record my next attempt to use this feature to create a longer Airing of Tech Grievances for a full podcast that will include grievances from several friends.

There were a couple of spots where the synth-podcasters misinterpreted what I wrote in the source document (mild "hallucinations"). However, overall, I'm impressed by NotebookLM"s podcast output.