Become the next Ira Glass or Sarah Koenig with Allston’s new Podcast Garage

Last night, three friends arrived at PRX’s new Podcast Garage in lower Allston ready to experiment. They had never produced a podcast — or even used microphones before — but upon booking a low-cost studio space for a couple of hours, they were well on their way to becoming full-fledged podcasters.

After recording and mixing sound with the help of Garage staff, the group left the studio with a piece of personal storytelling in hand. “It was so cool to see,” says Audrey Mardavich, PRX’s director of special projects. “If this place didn’t exist, they may never have done that.”

Mardavich hopes that the Podcast Garage welcomes less experienced producers into podcast world, finds new voices and gives them a strong platform to hone and develop their craft.

Conceived by the PRX — the masterminds behind “This American Life,” “Serial” and the rest of the Radiotopia family — the Podcast Garage is a multi-room community podcast recording studio on Western Avenue. Since opening its doors on August 3, the Podcast Garage has already seen notable foot traffic. Both producers eager to record their own sound and guests attending in-house lectures have flocked to the space. For a relatively low rate (a 4-person studio costs $60 for one hour), anyone can reserve time in a fully equipped recording studio that’s also stocked with Hindenburg and ProTools editing software.

The Podcast Garage offers something unique—an open door to a high quality studio space. “Podcasting has been growing enormously over the past few years yet there wasn’t a space for independent producers to gather, collaborate and record,” explains Mardavich.

Mardavich also sees the Podcast Garage’s potential for cultivating new talented podcasters. “I see Boston as a real leader in the podcasting world, and especially now that the Garage exists, I think that the space will become an incubator for finding new talent,” she says.

“I think that’s my personal goal,” Mardavich says. “That the next Roman Mars is right here in Allston.”

IF YOU GO:

Podcast Garage

267 Western Ave., Allston, MA

Hours: Mon. – Thurs., noon – 8 pm; Fri., noon – 5 pm

(617) 208 –8911