First time posting on the list. I have some questions regarding audio production. I've been thinking of setting a small audio production machine, nothing too fancy, but good enough to create good quality podcasts and do some mixing. All done in linux of course. 

What linux distro do you suggest?

What hardware to use that would work flawlessly on linux?

I'm not a pro when it comes to audio production, so if it's not too much to ask, please don't be too technical, suggest me a few links so I can learn, or even explain if you have the time.

Thank you all for taking your time to read.