There's now an easy way to make your own podcast for free - and it all starts with holding your phone up to your ear

Making a professional-sounding podcast isn't easy.

Most podcasting how-to guides recommend investing in equipment like microphones, audio-editing software, and portable recorders, not to mention a computer. From there, you'll need to learn a set of new software programs and then hunt down a place to host and distribute your podcast.

If you aren't technologically savvy, setting off to create an audio show might sound a little nightmarish.

Mike Migrano, the co-founder and CEO of Anchor, thought so, too, which is why he created a tool to make the podcast creation process not only easy, but completely free. The only technology you'll need is your phone and Anchor's app (available on both iOS and Android). Not only does the app provide a way to record yourself, it has all the tools with which to seamlessly splice together a phone conversation, musical recordings, sound effects, and more. When you're ready to publish your new audio show, you can easily distribute it from the app to platforms with ready-made audiences like Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Overcast, and Stitcher.

Here's how to use Anchor: