Turn a PDF or Notes Into a Study Podcast
To turn a PDF or your notes into a study podcast in Scholarly, open New → Podcast, pick the file, choose the pages, a Podcast style (Conversational, Exam Prep, or Deep Dive), a language, and a length, then press Create AI Podcast. Scholarly writes a conversation from the material you selected and records it with AI voices: a host asks the questions, a guest explains your document, and a producer adds context. The finished episode has chapters, synced captions, a searchable transcript, check-for-understanding questions, and a Sources tab that lists the files it was built from. The Free plan makes one episode of about 2 minutes from one PDF, which you can stream and share by link. The catch: that episode uses Free's single lifetime AI Creation Credit, and downloading the MP3 or MP4 needs a paid plan.
A podcast explains your document; it does not read it aloud word for word. For a straight read-through in one voice, use Text-to-Speech instead.
What you get
- A multi-speaker episode scripted from your pages: a host, a guest, and a producer.
- Chapters split by topic, so you can jump straight to the part you need.
- A transcript with every line attributed to a speaker. Search it, or click a line to jump the audio to that moment.
- Synced captions on every plan, switched on with the captions button in the player (Show captions).
- Questions that check your understanding as you listen, also listed in their own Questions tab.
- Producer notes and related resources in the Deep dive tab: key moments and context from the episode, researched after the audio is ready.
- A visual companion (on by default): one slide per chapter that follows along as you listen, plus a video version you open with Watch as video.
- A Sources tab listing the PDF or files the episode was made from, so you can open the original when something needs checking.
- An AI chat beside the episode that answers questions from the transcript and your sources.
Before you start: get the source right
The episode can only be as good as the pages behind it.
- Use a text PDF where you can. Scanned pages and photos work when the text is clearly legible, but accuracy follows the scan.
- One topic per episode. A single chapter, paper, or lecture deck makes a focused episode; a whole textbook makes a thin one. Use the page selector to pick the section.
- Notes count as a source. Upload them as a PDF, Word document, PowerPoint, text, or Markdown file, or upload photos of handwritten notes. In the podcast creator, the Library tab lists PDFs, files, transcribed videos, images, and research sessions; recordings and note pages are not listed there.
- Combine material on a paid plan. Lecture slides plus the matching textbook chapter make a strong pairing. One episode takes up to 10 sources on Premium and up to 20 on Laureate; Free takes 1.
Step by step
1. Open the podcast creator
Open New and choose Podcast. You can also start from a file you already uploaded: open its AI actions and choose Podcast. Or ask AI Chat, for example "Turn this PDF into a podcast."
2. Add your PDF or notes
Pick the source from one of the tabs:
- Library: a file you already uploaded.
- Upload: PDFs, Word docs, PowerPoints, videos, text files, or images. You can also drop files onto the window, or paste a PDF or website URL.
- Google Drive: pick a file straight from your Drive. See Connections.
- Prompt AI: no file at all. Describe a topic in up to 5,000 characters and the episode is written from that.
A password-protected PDF asks for its password before it can be used. Press Next.
3. Choose the pages
For a PDF, the page selector lets you choose exactly which pages the episode covers, up to your plan's limit: 32 pages on Free, 1,000 on Premium, and 3,000 on Laureate. If you don't choose, Scholarly reads the first pages up to that limit.
4. Pick a podcast style
Under Podcast style, choose one:
| Style | What it does | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Conversational | A casual deep-dive, like talking it through with a friend. | A first pass through a new chapter |
| Exam Prep | Focused on key concepts and testable material. | Licensure, certification, and course exams |
| Deep Dive | A thorough exploration with connections and nuance. | Papers, reports, and material you need to really understand |
5. Choose the settings
| Setting | What to pick |
|---|---|
| Language | Any of 71 output languages and regional variants. The episode does not have to be in the same language as your PDF. |
| Guest voice | Starts on the default guest voice for your language. Open Choose a guest voice to hear previews and pick another, or choose Let Scholarly choose to have Scholarly pick distinct voices. The host and producer voices are chosen for you. See Narration Voices. |
| Length (up to) | On a paid plan, a slider from 5 to 60 minutes in 5-minute steps, starting at 15 minutes. It aims for that length and comes out shorter when your sources run out of material. On Free the slider is locked at about 2 minutes. |
| Visual companion | On by default: one slide per chapter that follows playback. Turn it off for an audio-only episode. |
| Model | Auto (shown as Auto (Free) or Auto (Premium)) writes the script with GPT 6 Luna for 1 AI Creation Credit. On a paid plan, Auto (Best) and the heavier models cost 2 to 4 credits. The model changes only the written script, not the voices. See Choosing an AI Model. |
6. Add custom instructions (optional)
Tell the speakers what to focus on, for example "Focus on chapters 3 to 5" or "Keep it beginner-friendly." Quick examples sit under the box, including Quiz me at the end of each chapter, Add memory hooks and mnemonics, and Call out common pitfalls. Want a two-person show? Write "Use only two speakers" and the producer is left out.
7. Create
The button shows the full cost before you start, for example Create AI Podcast · 2 credits. Generation runs in the background, so you can leave the page. The episode page first shows Writing your episode, then Recording your podcast. On an episode with more than one chapter, chapter 1 becomes playable while the rest is still recording, and playback keeps your place when the full episode is ready.
If a creation fails, its AI Creation Credit is returned automatically, and the failure screen offers only the fixes that apply, such as Try again, Pick pages, or Replace source. See When a Creation Fails.
8. Listen and study
The tabs under the player are Chapters, Questions, Deep dive, Transcript, Slides, and Sources; each appears when it applies to the episode, so an audio-only episode has no Slides tab. A mini player keeps playing while you open other files in Scholarly.
9. Download or share
- Share a link on every plan. People can listen, read the transcript, and browse chapters in the browser.
- Download audio saves the episode as an MP3 for a podcast app, on Premium and Laureate.
- Download video saves the MP4 of the chapter-slide video, on Premium and Laureate. With the visual companion on, the video starts rendering on its own after the episode is ready, and the option appears once it has finished; open it any time with Watch as video.
- The chapter slides download as PowerPoint from the ⋮ menu at the top of the page, on Premium and Laureate.
On Free, the download options open an upgrade prompt; copying a share link stays free.
Length, plan, and credit limits
| Free | Premium | Laureate | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Episode length | About 2 minutes, fixed | 5 to 60 minutes (15 by default) | 5 to 60 minutes (15 by default) |
| Sources per episode | 1 | Up to 10 | Up to 20 |
| PDF pages read | Up to 32 pages | Up to 1,000 pages | Up to 3,000 pages |
| File size per upload | 8 MB | 300 MB | 1 GB |
| File uploads | 1 for life | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| MP3 and MP4 download | No (stream and share link) | Yes | Yes |
| Captions, transcript, Sources tab | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| AI Creation Credits | 1 for life | 15 each week | 80 each week |
Credit cost of one episode: the model's credits plus the length. On Auto an episode costs 1 credit. A target over 15 minutes adds 1 credit, and a target over 30 minutes adds 2. So on Auto, a 15-minute episode costs 1 credit, a 20-minute episode 2, and a 45- or 60-minute episode 3. When you pick a length over 15 minutes, a notice states the total; choose OK to keep it or Don't show this again to stop the notice. Weekly credits reset every Monday at 00:00 UTC.
Started on Free? A finished Free episode shows an offer to make it longer. After you upgrade, Make longer remakes it at about 15 minutes in the same podcast. The short version stays playable until the replacement is ready, and the remake uses no extra credit. See Plans and Limits.
Languages
Script, voices, captions, and transcript follow the language you choose, from 71 output languages and regional variants, including Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, French, German, Arabic, Hindi, Japanese, Chinese, and Korean, plus regional Spanish variants such as Spanish (Mexico). An English textbook chapter can become a Spanish episode. The voices available for the guest depend on the episode's language. See Languages in Scholarly.
Tips for a good result
- Match the length to the material. Ten pages will not fill 60 minutes; the episode comes out shorter rather than padded. For a long chapter, pick a longer target or split it into two episodes.
- Use Exam Prep before a test. Pair it with Quiz me at the end of each chapter and Call out common pitfalls.
- Name the section. "Focus on 7.2 onward" or "Skip the history section" keeps the speakers on what you need.
- Lecture slides work well. They already show what your instructor thinks matters. Add the textbook chapter as a second source on a paid plan for the depth slides leave out.
- Read along with the transcript for dense material, and click a line to replay it.
- Switch from listening to recall. After a pass or two, make flashcards or a quiz from the same PDF so you have to produce the answers.
What it does not do
- No word-for-word reading. The speakers explain and compress your document. Use Text-to-Speech for a straight read.
- No per-line citations. Citations are at the source level: the Sources tab lists the files the episode was built from. Transcript lines are not linked to a page number in your PDF.
- No solo narrator. Every episode has at least a host and a guest. You can drop the producer, but not go down to one voice.
- No host or producer voice choice. You pick the guest's voice; Scholarly picks the other two.
- No script or audio editor. To change what is said, adjust the pages, style, or custom instructions and create the episode again. You can rename it.
- No exact runtime. The length is a target, not a guarantee.
- No podcast feed. Scholarly does not publish to Apple Podcasts or Spotify. On a paid plan, download the MP3 and add it to your podcast app.
- No downloads on Free. Free episodes stream in Scholarly and share by link.
Facts at a glance
- Inputs: PDF, Word, PowerPoint, text, Markdown, images, transcribed videos, research sessions, Google Drive files, PDF or website links, or a typed topic of up to 5,000 characters.
- Speakers: host, guest, and producer (or two speakers if you ask).
- Styles: Conversational, Exam Prep, Deep Dive.
- Length: about 2 minutes on Free; 5 to 60 minutes on paid plans.
- Sources per episode: 1 on Free, 10 on Premium, 20 on Laureate.
- PDF pages: up to 32 on Free, 1,000 on Premium, 3,000 on Laureate.
- Languages: 71 output languages and regional variants.
- Included on every plan: chapters, captions, searchable transcript, questions, Sources tab, AI chat, share link.
- Downloads: MP3 audio, MP4 video, and PowerPoint slides on paid plans.
- Cost: 1 AI Creation Credit on Auto up to 15 minutes; +1 above 15 minutes, +2 above 30 minutes.
Frequently asked questions
Can I turn a whole textbook into one podcast?
You can select it, but one chapter per episode works far better. Use the page selector to pick each chapter and make a short series.
Will the podcast say things that are not in my PDF?
The script is written from the pages you selected. Producer notes and related resources in the Deep dive tab are researched separately and can point to outside material. Check anything important against the original, which stays one click away in the Sources tab.
Is there an exam-prep format?
Yes. Choose Exam Prep under Podcast style. It focuses on key concepts and testable material.
Can I download the podcast as an MP3?
Yes, on Premium or Laureate: open the ⋮ menu and choose Download audio. Download video saves the MP4 once the video version has finished rendering.
How long can an episode be?
About 2 minutes on Free. On paid plans, up to 60 minutes, set with the Length (up to) slider.
Can I make the episode in a different language from my notes?
Yes. Set Language to the one you want to listen in. The source can stay in its original language.
Can I pick all three voices?
You pick the guest's voice. Scholarly chooses distinct voices for the host and producer.
Related
- AI Podcasts: every podcast setting and player feature in full.
- Text-to-Speech: read a document aloud word for word in one voice.
- Narration Voices: the voices you can pick, with previews.
- AI Video Lectures: the same sources as a narrated, animated video.
- Flashcards and Quizzes and Exams: test yourself on the same PDF.
- Plans and Limits: credits, lengths, and download rules by plan.
- PDF to Podcast tool: an overview with an example episode outline.