Listening : My Favorite Podcasts

A few months ago we realized that our big, dumb puppy was basically a destructive tornado. Once he grew out of that adorable stage where 10 minutes of play made him sleep for an entire day, he turned into a ball of energy that we couldn’t control. He’s super-intelligent, but he gets bored easily, and if he’s not worn out, it’s a big problem. After he chewed up every flip-flop, winter glove, and stuffed animal in the house, we decided to leave him in the backyard to play more often…which then led to him destroying our backyard. We may be thick-headed, but eventually we learned our lesson! While our pup is part Rottie (lazy, sleeps all day), he is also part Labrador, so he needs exercise.

About 6 months ago I started walking/running with Teddy for a half hour to an hour per day. Rain, shine, snow, sleet, whatever…because if he doesn’t get his walk, someone is gonna lose an expensive shoe (and that someone is probably me!). While I love listening to music when I’m working out, these walks are more chill, so I started listening to audio books and then, finally, podcasts. I love podcasts because they cover every topic under the sun, and like blogs, they are done by regular people who are passionate about whatever they are talking about. I tend to like humorous podcasts, but in the past six months, I’ve found quite a few with super-different topics that are all amazing. It’s awesome, because if I get interrupted during the workday to go for our walk, I can still work by listening to a podcast that relates to a project I’m doing or running a small business. If I’m headed out after the kids are in bed, I usually find a comedy podcast to make me laugh at the end of a long day. If I’m going early in the morning I tend to like a news-related podcast. I’ve developed quite a list over the many walks I’ve been on, and I’m pumped to share them here! (Note, I’ve linked these to the podcasts’ websites, but all of these can also be found on iTunes.)

Fave Small Business Podcast – Elise Gets Crafty
Written by Elise Blaha Cripe of EliseJoy.com, this podcast covers topics for creative small businesses such as running an online shop, maintaining creative habits and pursuing creative dreams. Her topics are both inspirational and informational, with guests who share tips on everything from work schedules to how to start a kickstarter campaign.

Fave Parenting Podcast – For Crying Out Loud
This podcast is hosted by Lynette Carolla (wife of Adam Carolla) and my friend Stefanie Wilder-Taylor, who is a comedy writer and author. While this is technically a parenting podcast, it’s mostly a hilarious comedy hour that relates to parenting topics. Highly recommended for mamas who need a laugh!

Fave All Encompassing Nerd Podcast – The Nerdist
This is a hard one to categorize, because it’s so many different genres. It’s hosted by comedians, but they cover topics that are all over the place. The one connecting string is that they are all topics that a nerd like me finds FASCINATING! Most of their shows are focused on a guest, and that person determines what they end up talking about. They interview actors, musicians, authors, scientists and comedians about their lives and how they got to where they are today. All the episodes are great, but I highly recommend beginning with one of the Neil deGrasse Tyson ones because they are freaking incredible.

Fave Podcast When I Need a Boost of Awesome – Your Kick Ass Life
Andrea Owen is a life-coach who focuses on finding your kick-ass self. She is also a friend and someone with an amazing perspective on life. The tagline for this podcast is “Self help served up straight with a side of crazy. Because life’s too short for it not to kick ass.” Exactly.

Fave News Radio Podcast – NPR: Fresh Air
This award-winning weekday audio magazine has been on the radio for years, but now I can listen to it whenever I want. Host Terry Gross interviews international newsmakers, covering topics from world events to science/technology to music/movies/television.

Fave Story-Based Podcast – Serial
Duh. Have you seriously not listened to Serial yet? Seriously? This podcast from the creators of This American Life unfolds one true story of a crime over the course of each season. This is addictive listening, but it’s so, so good. Once you start, you won’t be able to stop until the end.

Fave Meditation Podcast – Tara Brach
Tara Brach is an author, Buddhist and meditation teacher at the Insight Meditation Community of Washington DC. This podcast features meditations and talks covering topics such as radical acceptance and listening to our hearts.

Fave Comedy Podcast – Girl on Guy with Aisha Tyler
Aisha Tyler is an comedienne, actress and TV host. She interviews her famous friends and they talk about all sorts of crazy stuff. It’s hard to explain specific topics, because it’s more conversational than anything else. It makes me laugh and I think Aisha Tyler is pretty rad, so it’s a keeper for me.

Fave Pop Culture Podcast – Pop Culture Happy Hour
This podcast is a roundtable discussion about books, TV, comics, movies and anything else in the pop culture universe. Linda Holmes from NPR’s Monkey See blog leads the panel and it’s always entertaining.

Fave Recovery Podcast – The Bubble Hour
This is an amazingly inspiring podcast about long term recovery done by a few incredible women that I’m lucky to call my friends. I’ve actually been a guest on this show, but that’s not why it’s my fave. It’s my favorite because it talks about real people and real problems, and then focuses on the solutions. Highly recommended if you or someone you love is in recovery.

Are you a podcast junkie, like me? What are you listening to? I’d love to add a few more to my list!