Initially when I set up audacity, I couldn’t hear my voice while recording. Did some reaseach and was told to go to [edit] [preferences] [recording] and click the [software playthrough] I did, then I could hear it while recording but there was was a reverb or echo. Im losing my mind over here, please help. Thanks!
Mono podcasting is my final goal.
Check [u]Windows “Enhancements”[/u] and make sure they are turned-OFF.
Also, note that because of latency, the headphones will be ever so slightly delayed. Do not misinterpret this as reverb. 
To hear your own voice while recording (perfect overdubbing), you have to plug your wired headphones into your USB microphone, USB interface, preamp, or mixer.
As Jademan above, you can’t listen to the computer because of delays. That also rules out wireless.
If you can put up with simple overdubbing, then yes, you can hang the headphones over one ear and not hear yourself during the performance. That’s what she’s doing.
… In this multi-point performance.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PU8hXDim-1s
She’s not doing what you think she’s doing. Josh (lower left) send her the backing track and she recorded her video in simple overdubbing and shipped the whole thing back to Josh for mixing, It was not a Zoom performance.
Koz
Mono podcasting is my final goal.
Hearing yourself so you can keep your volume and expression even and avoid overload and clipping?
Or were you planning on a multi-point podcast with contributors all over earth? That last one is super difficult. Have you ever set one of those up before?
Koz
Eventually yes I want to be able to interview people remotely but initially it will just be a solo operation. I have not set up any AV electronics at all.
Yes, solo for now, eventually some remote interviews.
All enhancements are disabled as well…
All enhancements are disabled as well…
Cool. Back to the top. Unless you’re an experienced computer programmer, you can’t plug headphones into the computer and listen to yourself without the delay or echo.
If you want to listen to yourself without the delay or echo, then you need to plug the headphones into your USB microphone, USB Microphone Preamplifier or USB interface.
If you don’t have any of those, then you’re stuck.
~~
eventually some remote interviews.
You can do remote interviews on Zoom, you just can’t record them. Zoom takes over your computer when it runs and you can’t stop it. The best way to record a Zoom remote interview is let Zoom do it. Zoom will record the interview for you on its remote servers and give you sound files when you finish. They will also, although I haven’t tried this yet, give you separate files for the two sides of the call.
When you get this far, post back how it went.
Koz
This is disheartening. The very 1st 10 second test I did it worked perfectly, I could hear myself with no reverb. I then listened to it, the pauses, the breath etc. Deleted and started another one…no sound at all! 
Audacity has some tools to help you dig yourself out of problems like this.
There are two sound meters, one for recording (left) and one for playing back (right). Yours may not look exactly like these. Audacity lets you re-arrange the tools.
That picture shows me playing something on the timeline.
If you don’t get the recording meters bouncing when you perform, then Audacity is not seeing your microphone or some other similar problem.
To hear yourself in the headphones, the sound has to go into the computer, into Audacity, turn around and come back out. That’s why there is almost always an echo when you listen to the computer during a live performance. That trip takes time.
Do you get the bouncing recording meters when you record?
Fair warning this can get enormously more complicated if you use Skype, Zoom, Meetings, or some other sound application while you’re trying to record your voice.
Koz
The very 1st 10 second test I did it worked perfectly
That makes you the unicorn. Most people can’t do that.
Even better that you couldn’t do it more than once. That means it might have been an accident or interaction with other software.
more complicated if you use Skype, Zoom, Meetings, or some other sound application while you’re trying to record your voice.
Do you use any of those applications? They can seriously complicate recording your voice.
Koz