Some time ago I ran a fun little experiment where I imagined CrowdField being featured on a radio show, and I have to say—it sounds incredible! You can listen to the magic here:
The twist? None of it was real. It was all AI-generated, and all I had to do was provide my website URL. Seriously, it blew my mind! These two people and this conversation are not real!
Now, let me walk you through how I did this, because I think this is one of the coolest ways to consume content.
Imagine turning complex technical material into a smooth, engaging conversation you can listen to during your commute or workout. Sounds a lot easier than sitting down to read a lengthy report, right?
Let’s dive into the process, and you’ll see how simple it is to bring even the most niche, technical content to life.
Head over to https://notebooklm.google/ and log in with your Google account.
Once logged in, click on "Try NotebookLM" and then hit "New Notebook." You'll be greeted with a screen like this:
We’ll need some content to turn into a podcast. Let’s grab a book from https://oceanofpdf.com/
I searched for "geomechanics":
… and found this gem, which I simply downloaded to my Pc.
Back in NotebookLM, upload the PDF by clicking "Upload sources" and selecting your file. Once it’s uploaded, you’ll see something like this:
Now, here’s where it gets fun. You can chat with your PDF! Ask it questions, dig deeper into specific topics, and it will respond. For instance, I asked, “Explain stress vs strain”:
… and here’s the response I got:
You can save this note in your notebook for future reference, rename the entire notebook at the top left, and more.
Imagine how your notebook is taking shape. Feel free to explore further by adding additional sources, links to web pages, YouTube videos, etc.
Here’s the star of the show—NotebookLM’s “Deep dive conversation” feature, under ‘Notebook guide’ (bottom right).
Click "Generate", go grab a coffee, and when you’re back, your audio is ready!
You can listen to it directly on the platform or download it as a .wav file.
Here’s the result:
Wow! I’m blown away again! How about you?
This AI tool allows you to convert complex, technical materials into engaging podcast-like conversations.
Whether you’re catching up on industry reports, reviewing niche textbooks, or even staying updated on the latest oil and gas research, you can now do it on the go—at the gym, on a walk, or during your commute.
Give it a shot and have fun turning anything into a podcast yourself!
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Alan Mourgues is a Petroleum Reservoir Engineering Consultant with 25 years of international experience. He is the founder of CrowdField — the go-to hub for Oil & Gas subsurface professionals to upskill, freelance, and monetize their expertise. CrowdField brings together a global community through: i) Freelance marketplace for niche talent and task-based solutions; ii) Digital Store & Vault of engineering tools, workflows, and resources; iii) AI Hub showcasing startups, workflows, and use cases; iv) Learning resources including webinars, blogs, and curated datasets. Alan’s mission is to empower professionals to turn knowledge into income and future-proof their careers as the energy transition unfolds.
