Ok, here is episode 3, all about the hardware needs that you will have. (links to products here give me a kickback, btw)
1. Space.
Literally. You need space to do this. It needs to be quiet, it needs to be free of pets and children. It should not have bare walls.
2. A computer.
I assume that most people have one that will suffice for recording and editing – if you’re not sure, trying playing a modern video game on it. Can it handle it at default levels? awesome. it works.
3. Actual podcaster-specific stuff: a microphone.
The one that you will use comes in 2 major types: Dynamic and Condenser. Here is a Wikipedia page about it.
If you are going to be in a group setting and you don’t want another mic for each person, go with condenser, as it will pick up all the audio in the room. I use a Blue Snowball for recording my D&D sessions.
If you are going to be by yourself, or you can afford one for each person, then use a dynamic mic, as it tends to not pick up audio that is far away from it, and it has a more impressive range that it can pick up. When I am recording by myself, I use the ubiquitous ATR-2100.
Other things, in no particular order:
If you don’t want to build a blanket for around your computer every time that you record, get some acoustic panels.
If you don’t want to find the very limits of your listener’s patience, get a pop filter. There’s also another style.
If you’ve got money to burn and hate taking time to put your microphone away, then get the thing I incorrectly called a boom. It’s actually a scissor arm stand. A boom is the long pole that sticks out the back of a ‘normal’ mic stand.
If you want to be able to do anything on your desk without pausing your recording, then a shock mount is for you.
If you want to hear what you sound like to your audience while you are editing, then some decent headphones are in order.