NotebookLM

Turn Anything Into a Podcast

NotebookLM turns what you want to learn into a two-person podcast — and you can give the hosts roles to play. The setup, and the prompts I use.

You've probably heard of NotebookLM — the free Google tool that turns your sources into a genuine two-person podcast you can listen to on a walk or a commute. Most people stop at the default.

The bit worth knowing: in Customise you can tell the two hosts who to be. Give them personalities and have them act out the exact conversation you need — a pitch, a lecture, a debate. Here's how, with prompts to paste straight in.

The Setup

Open NotebookLM and tell it what you want to learn about

It's free. Start a new notebook and add what you want to cover — search the web and let it pull the research together (Fast research), or drop in your own files: a PDF, a website, your notes.

NotebookLM add-sources screen — search the web or drop your files

Open NotebookLM →

In the Studio panel, click Audio Overview

Studio is on the right. Audio Overview is the one that turns your notebook into a two-person podcast. (The others — slide deck, video, mind map — are for another day.)

NotebookLM Studio panel with Audio Overview

Hit Customise — pick a format, then give the hosts their roles

This is the bit most people skip. Choose a format (Deep dive for a normal chat, Debate for two opposing sides), then in "What should the AI hosts focus on?" tell it who the two hosts are and what conversation you want. That box is where the role-play lives — paste one of the prompts below.

NotebookLM Customise Audio Overview screen

Generate, and listen

Give it a minute and you've got your podcast. For the lecturer one, turn on Interactive mode and you can jump in as the student and ask your own questions, live.

The Role-Play Prompts

Paste one of these into the “What should the AI hosts focus on?” box, swap the bits in [brackets] for your own, and generate.

Rehearse a pitch

— Hear the objections before the real room does.

Format: Deep dive

Paste into the focus box

You are two people having a real conversation, not co-hosts. Host 1 is a sharp, sceptical CEO I'm about to pitch to. They care most about [traction / cost / risk] and should push back hard on anything weak or vague. Host 2 is me, pitching [my idea in one line]. Confident, but honest — happy to concede a fair point. Play out the pitch as a genuine back-and-forth: I pitch, they challenge, I respond, they dig in. Surface the toughest objections I'd actually face, and don't let me off the hook.

Learn something new

— One teaches, one asks the questions you would.

Format: Deep dive · then use Interactive mode to jump in

Paste into the focus box

Host 1 is an expert lecturer on [topic]. Host 2 is a curious student who's completely new to it and keeps asking "but why?" until it's genuinely clear. Have the lecturer explain [topic] from first principles, with the student asking the obvious questions a beginner would. Plain English — no jargon without explaining it, lots of analogies. Keep it conversational, like a great tutorial, not a textbook.

Debate a decision

— Make them argue both sides so you can decide.

Format: Debate

Paste into the focus box

I'm trying to decide whether to [your decision]. Make the two hosts take opposite sides. Host 1 argues strongly FOR, Host 2 argues strongly AGAINST. Have them debate it properly — each steelmanning their side, challenging the other's weak points. At the end, have them lay out the single strongest argument for each side, plainly, so I can make the call myself.

One honest note

It's only as good as what you feed it — give it solid sources and a clear brief. And the role-play is a rehearsal, not a crystal ball: it surfaces the obvious objections and lets you practise, but it won't predict exactly what the real person will say.