What I’m currently using:
Microphone: Audio-Technica ATR2100-USB Cardioid Dynamic USB/XLR, about $70
Headphones: Sony MDR7506 Professional, about $80
Microphone Stand: NEEWER Adjustable Microphone Suspension Boom Scissor Arm Stand, about $12
Pop Filter: Foam Ball-Type Microphone Windscreen, about $3
Portable microphone for iPhone: Shure MV88 iOS Digital Stereo Condenser Microphone, list price $149, but it was on sale for $129 when I bought it in May 2018.
Wavelength for Micro.blog This makes it easy to record, do simple edits, and upload your microcast, if you have a Micro.blog account for microcast hosting. More details.
Garage Band for Mac Free with your Mac. I have edited over 100 episodes of varying lengths and complexity using Garage Band. If you have it for free, you should start with this.
Auphonic Post-Processing Service This makes every podcast sound better and conform to loudness standards for podcast publishing. It’s not expensive, and the first 2 hours monthly are free, perfect for microcasting.
Logic Pro X for Mac Note! This is complete overkill for a microcast, so I am not recommending it, but I thought I’d mention it, in case some people were wondering. I upgraded to this for some advanced features, and I am still learning how to take advantage of them all. The most important for me was the ability to listen to the recording at high speeds so that editing takes less time. I’ve been using it for a couple months now, but I would have been happy sticking with Garage Band. I felt some obligation to try using Logic so I had something to compare other audio software to.
Wavelength (see above). It’s perfect for recording something short and getting it posted. The simple editing works intuitively. Definitely pair it with Auphonic, which can process the recording before uploading it so you get the loudness and volume levelled out.
Audio Hijack This is more than you need for a microcast, unless you are doing an interview or two-person show, like Micro Monday or The Weekly Review. You’ll want to record each person’s audio separately, so that you can remove little things like coughs, background noise (cat meows, car alarm), and crosstalk (when two people speak at the same time) on the offending track without editing the other track.
QuickTime This comes included with the Mac OS. It’s pretty simple, and I use it as a back-up recording in case something goes wrong with my Audio Hijack recording.