# Solo podcast (lean)

> Descript records, edits by transcript, and exports both audio and video. Castmagic's show-notes job becomes a Claude prompt against the Descript transcript. Opus Clip handles shorts.

Source: https://aistack.sh/stack/solo-podcast-lean
Category: Audio · Podcast
Level: Beginner
Last verified by a human: 2026-05-05

## The tools

### Descript — Record, edit, transcribe

- Pricing: $24/mo Hobbyist · $35/mo Creator · $65/mo Business
- Site: https://descript.com
- Why this one: Replaces Riverside (recording) and the editing tool in one. Studio Sound covers what Riverside's local-track usually fixes.
- Swap in instead: Riverside
- More: https://aistack.sh/tool/descript

### Opus Clip — Auto-clips for shorts

- Pricing: Free · $15/mo Starter · $29/mo Pro
- Site: https://opus.pro
- Why this one: Free tier covers 1 hour/month of long-form to clips. Drop your Descript export, get 6 to 10 vertical clips with captions.
- Swap in instead: Castmagic
- More: https://aistack.sh/tool/opus-clip

## Monthly cost

### $16/mo — 1 episode/wk, free clips (small)

- Descript: $16 Creator
- Opus Clip: Free

### $35/mo — 2/wk + clips (medium)

- Descript: $16
- Opus Clip: $19 Starter

### $110/mo — Daily, multi-show (heavy)

- Descript: $30 Pro
- Opus Clip: $59 Pro
- + hosting: $21

## Workflow

### 1. Record in Descript (Descript)

Built-in recording with Studio Sound. No second tool. 60-min target.

### 2. Edit by transcript (Descript)

Strip filler words automatically; tighten beats by editing words. ~25 minutes for an hour of audio.

### 3. Show notes from transcript

Drop the Descript transcript into Claude. The Castmagic prompt works as-is.

**Prompt: Show notes prompt (no Castmagic)**

```
Episode transcript (exported from Descript):
"""
{{paste transcript}}
"""

Output (in this order, ready to publish):

1. **Title** — 5 to 8 words, specific noun first, no clickbait. Three options.
2. **Subtitle** — one sentence, the single most useful takeaway.
3. **Show notes** (220 to 280 words):
   - 1-paragraph hook (no "in this episode")
   - 5 bulleted timestamps with topic and the specific moment
   - 1 paragraph "what you'll get" with concrete outcomes
4. **3 quote cards** — under 240 chars each, verbatim from transcript.
5. **X thread** — 5 to 7 posts, hook first, link at the end.
6. **LinkedIn post** — 180 words, hook in line 1.

No emojis. No em dashes.
```

### 4. Auto-clip (Opus Clip)

Export the Descript video. Opus picks the 6 best moments, captions them, exports vertical.

### 5. Publish (Descript)

Audio to your podcast host (Transistor, Buzzsprout). Video to YouTube. Clips to TikTok/Reels.

## What it produced

**Solo founder, month 2**

Same publish cadence as the recommended stack at $35/mo vs $87/mo. The trade-off: ~10 minutes more editing per episode, no studio-grade local-track recording.

## Pitfalls

- **Descript Studio Sound != local-track** — If you record in a noisy room or with a guest on shaky internet, Riverside's local recording wins. Solo + decent room, Descript is enough.
- **Opus free tier caps fast** — 1 hour/month of long-form is one episode. If you ship weekly, you'll need Starter ($19) by week 4.

## Other ways to do this

- [Solo podcast](https://aistack.sh/stack/solo-podcast): Full pipeline with auto-clipping — $87/mo

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Curated by ryan-c on aistack.sh. Last updated 2026-05-05.