For recording audio (and possibly creating a podcast) on Linux, there are many tools available, but the most famous is Audacity, which you’ve probably heard of and maybe even used on Windows or Mac.

However, if you need a quick way to record high-quality audio, a built-in Linux tool can help: arecord. Just type the following command in the terminal:

arecord FILENAME.wav

You can also use its functions to improve the recording:

arecord --vumeter=stereo -f dat FILENAME.wav

The vumeter function, as the name suggests, displays the received audio level graphically. The format function (or -f for short) provides shortcuts for common formats. For example, dat, which I used, is equivalent to 16-bit little-endian, 48000 Hz, stereo.