I've had a podcast for 5 years now(non-pinball related) and that being said, my info for hardware is out of date. There's so much better stuff out there than what I have. I have a mixer and mics and stands and etc etc etc. Makes it a pain to travel.
As to the most important stuff, my main piece of advice is to keep consistent. Find a schedule and keep to it. And realize you're going to have to keep it for years if you do well.
Nate has a great model for him. He travels, he records when he has time and puts stuff out when he has time. He's the outlier.
My show, we do once a month and that can be a pain at times. Then again, at some times it's easy and we put out special episodes if we have something special happen.
I've seen plenty of podcasts start and end. Just be aware of the time and commitment it takes and be persistent.