Exporting for distribution
MP3, 96 kbps, constant bitrate, 44,100 Hz, 16-bit. That's the spoken-word default. Save those settings as a preset and stop thinking about it.
Podcast episodes are almost always released as MP3. WAVs contain more detail (they're "lossless") but they're huge — think of a WAV as the original painting and an MP3 as a print. Only a handful of people on Earth could tell the difference for spoken-word content, and MP3s keep storage and bandwidth costs down for you and your listeners.
Inside the MP3 format, bitrate is the size-vs-quality dial, measured in kbps. Music files commonly use 128 or 192 kbps. For spoken-word podcasting you don't need to go that high — 96 kbps is the typical sweet spot, and some shows go as low as 64 kbps (Marc Maron's WTF, for one, and it does alright). Always set the bitrate to "Constant" for podcasts, not "Variable".
Sample rate (measured in Hz) is like pixels per second in your audio — 44,100 Hz is the standard. Bit depth determines the dynamic range per sample; 16 is the standard for spoken word.
Save your export settings as a preset. Every episode uses the same numbers.
Your export settings cheat-sheet
Set this once. Reuse forever. Saves as you type.