# Create an AI Podcast Generator with ElevenLabs > Source: > Published: 2026-09-28 00:19:53+00:00 Podcasts have exploded in popularity, but producing a high‑quality episode still takes a lot of time—recording, editing, and finding a consistent voice. What if you could turn a script into a polished episode with a single API call? In this guide we’ll build an **AI Podcast Generator** that takes raw text, feeds it to a text‑to‑speech (TTS) engine, and spits out an MP3 ready for publishing. The star of the show is **ElevenLabs**, a cutting‑edge voice AI platform that offers realistic voice cloning and a simple REST API. By the end of this article you’ll have a runnable Python script (and a handy `curl` example) that can generate a 30‑minute episode in under a minute. **Why ElevenLabs?** • Natural‑sounding voices that rival human narrators • Easy-to‑use API with per‑character pricing (free tier for testing) • Voice cloning lets you keep the same host voice across episodes Ready to give your podcast a voice? Let’s dive in. | What you need | Why it matters | |---|---| | Python 3.8+ (or Node.js if you prefer) | To call the ElevenLabs API and stitch audio files | | `ffmpeg` installed and in your`PATH` | For concatenating multiple audio chunks into a single MP3 | | An ElevenLabs API key (sign up [here](https://try.elevenlabs.io/kr07zfuqn1bp) ) | Grants access to the TTS service | | Basic knowledge of HTTP requests | Needed to interact with the REST endpoint | If you don’t have `ffmpeg` yet, on macOS you can run `brew install ffmpeg`, and on Ubuntu `sudo apt-get install ffmpeg`. `ELEVENLABS_API_KEY`. Create a new folder and install the required Python packages: ``` mkdir ai-podcast cd ai-podcast python -m venv .venv source .venv/bin/activate # Windows: .venv\Scripts\activate pip install requests tqdm ``` We'll also add a small helper to download the generated audio chunks: ``` python # utils.py import os import requests from tqdm import tqdm def download_file(url: str, dest: str): resp = requests.get(url, stream=True) resp.raise_for_status() total = int(resp.headers.get('content-length', 0)) with open(dest, 'wb') as f, tqdm( desc=os.path.basename(dest), total=total, unit='iB', unit_scale=True, unit_divisor=1024, ) as bar: for data in resp.iter_content(chunk_size=1024): size = f.write(data) bar.update(size) ``` ElevenLabs expects a JSON payload with the text, the voice ID you want to use, and optional settings like stability and similarity boost. Below is a minimal Python function that sends a request and returns the URL of the generated MP3. ``` python # eleven.py import os import json import requests ELEVEN_API_KEY = os.getenv("ELEVENLABS_API_KEY") BASE_URL = "https://api.elevenlabs.io/v1" def text_to_speech(text: str, voice_id: str = "EXAVITQu4vr4xnSDxMaL") -> str: """ Sends `text` to ElevenLabs and returns a temporary URL to the generated audio. """ url = f"{BASE_URL}/text-to-speech/{voice_id}" headers = { "xi-api-key": ELEVEN_API_KEY, "Content-Type": "application/json", } payload = { "text": text, "model_id": "eleven_monolingual_v1", "voice_settings": { "stability": 0.75, "similarity_boost": 0.85 } } response = requests.post(url, headers=headers, json=payload) response.raise_for_status() # The API returns the raw audio bytes; we’ll write them to a file. return response.content ``` `curl` If you prefer a quick test from the command line, here’s the equivalent `curl` call: ``` curl -X POST "https://api.elevenlabs.io/v1/text-to-speech/EXAVITQu4vr4xnSDxMaL" \ -H "xi-api-key: $ELEVENLABS_API_KEY" \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{ "text": "Welcome to the AI Podcast Generator tutorial.", "model_id": "eleven_monolingual_v1", "voice_settings": { "stability": 0.75, "similarity_boost": 0.85 } }' \ --output episode_intro.mp3 ``` Replace `EXAVITQu4vr4xnSDxMaL` with the voice ID you want (ElevenLabs provides a few default voices; you can also upload a custom clone). Most podcasts are longer than a single API call can comfortably handle (the API caps at ~5 k characters per request). The typical approach is to split the script into logical sections (intro, interview, outro) and generate each chunk separately. Below is a simple orchestrator that does exactly that: ``` python # generate_episode.py import os import json import subprocess from pathlib import Path from eleven import text_to_speech # ---------------------------------------------------------------------- # 1️⃣ Load your script (plain text, one paragraph per line) # ---------------------------------------------------------------------- SCRIPT_PATH = Path("script.txt") segments = SCRIPT_PATH.read_text(encoding="utf-8").split("\n\n") # double newline = segment # ---------------------------------------------------------------------- # 2️⃣ Generate audio for each segment # ---------------------------------------------------------------------- audio_files = [] for i, segment in enumerate(segments, start=1): print(f"Generating segment {i}/{len(segments)} …") audio_bytes = text_to_speech(segment.strip()) out_path = Path(f"segment_{i:03}.mp3") out_path.write_bytes(audio_bytes) audio_files.append(str(out_path)) # ---------------------------------------------------------------------- # 3️⃣ Concatenate with ffmpeg # ---------------------------------------------------------------------- list_file = "concat_list.txt" with open(list_file, "w") as f: for fp in audio_files: f.write(f"file '{fp}'\n") final_mp3 = "episode_full.mp3" subprocess.run( ["ffmpeg", "-y", "-f", "concat", "-safe", "0", "-i", list_file, "-c", "copy", final_mp3], check=True ) print(f"\n✅ Episode assembled: {final_mp3}") ``` `script.txt`) is split on double newlines. Feel free to adjust the delimiter to match your writing style. `text_to_speech`. The function returns raw MP3 bytes, which we save to `segment_###.mp3`. `ffmpeg` reads a tiny manifest (`concat_list.txt`) and concatenates the files without re‑encoding, preserving the original quality. A podcast isn’t just a voice; you probably want intro music, background ambience, or a short ad slot. The same `ffmpeg` concat method can merge any number of audio tracks. Here’s a quick example that adds a 5‑second intro music clip: ``` # Prepare a manifest that interleaves music and voice cat > concat_list.txt < str: segments = script.split("\n\n") tmp_dir = f"/tmp/{uuid.uuid4()}" os.makedirs(tmp_dir, exist_ok=True) audio_paths = [] for i, seg in enumerate(segments, 1): audio = text_to_speech(seg.strip()) path = f"{tmp_dir}/seg_{i:03}.mp3" open(path, "wb").write(audio) audio_paths.append(path) list_file = f"{tmp_dir}/list.txt" with open(list_file, "w") as f: for p in audio_paths: f.write(f"file '{p}'\n") final_path = f"{tmp_dir}/episode.mp3" subprocess.run( ["ffmpeg", "-y", "-f", "concat", "-safe", "0", "-i", list_file, "-c", "copy", final_path], check=True ) key = f"episodes/{uuid.uuid4()}.mp3" s3.upload_file(final_path, BUCKET, key, ExtraArgs={"ACL": "public-read"}) return f"https://{BUCKET}.s3.amazonaws.com/{key}" @app.route("/generate", methods=["POST"]) def generate(): data = request.get_json() if not data or "script" not in data: return jsonify({"error": "Missing script"}), 400 url = build_episode(data["script"]) return jsonify({"episode_url": url}) if __name__ == "__main__": app.run(debug=True) ``` Deploy this to a platform like **Render**, **Fly.io**, or **AWS Lambda + API Gateway** and you have a fully automated podcast generator that anyone can call via a simple HTTP request. | Tip | Why it matters | |---|---| | **Keep sentences under 150 characters** | ElevenLabs handles short bursts more naturally; longer sentences can produce slight breath artifacts. | | **Add pauses with `,` or `...`** | The engine interprets punctuation as breath or pause cues, giving a more human rhythm. | | **Use the same voice ID for every episode** | Consistency builds brand identity. Clone your own voice if you want a unique host. | | **Test stability & similarity settings** | Higher stability yields smoother speech; similarity boost makes the voice sound more like the reference. | Feel free to experiment with the `voice_settings` payload – the API docs (linked from the ElevenLabs dashboard) provide a nice interactive playground. You now have a complete end‑to‑end workflow: All of this is powered by **ElevenLabs**, whose realistic voice cloning makes the final product sound like a professional narrator rather than a robotic read‑out. Give it a spin, tweak the voice settings, and start churning out episodes without ever stepping into a recording booth. **Ready to give your podcast a voice?** Sign up at [https://try.elevenlabs.io/kr07zfuqn1bp](https://try.elevenlabs.io/kr07zfuqn1bp) and start generating today!