My Favorite Podcasts (Round 6)

It’s time for my yearly podcast roundup! Can you believe this is the sixth year for this series? Crazy! I started listening to podcasts in early 2014 and haven’t stopped since! It’s now my favorite way to occupy my time (aside from reading, of course). One of these days, I want to tabulate how I listen to podcasts during a typical week for a blog post. I typically listen to podcasts while driving, while on long walks, while showering, while doing chores, while getting ready for the day, while playing games on my phone, and while coloring. Since I live alone, I can get in a lot of extra podcast listening!

For this year’s podcast roundup, I decided to only talk about the podcasts that I love. I listen to a lot of podcasts I like (some I tolerate, lol), but there are just a few of those podcasts that are standouts, in that I get legit excited when they’re next in my queue to listen to. And while I’m subscribed to 40ish podcasts, only EIGHT made the cut for this list. I was very, very picky in choosing these eight podcasts, so please give them a try if you haven’t yet:

The Baby-Sitter’s Club Club

Jack and Tanner are two men in their thirties who are reading through The Baby-Sitter’s Club series. They’ve read through all 100+ books in the regular series, tackled the Super Specials, and are now reading the mysteries. I had no idea there were so many BSC mysteries! This podcast makes me laugh and always puts me in a better mood. It’s my #1 favorite podcast and I will defend it to my dying day. I love it so much that I support their podcast on Patreon and it delights me to no end that that means I get an extra dose of Jack and Tanner each week. (In their Patreon episodes, they’re reading The Baby-Sitter’s Little Sister series, and man, if it doesn’t bring back so many memories. Karen Brewer FTW.) It’s not for everyone (they can get a bit silly at times!), but it makes me so, so happy. If you do plan on listening to this podcast, you have to start at the beginning and binge the whole thing. There are so many inside jokes and segments that just won’t make sense unless you do.

Episode length: ~1 hour | New episodes every Monday

Good Christian Fun

For anyone who followed Christian pop culture of the 90s and early aughts, this is the podcast for you. Kevin and Caroline are two Christians who talk about Christian movies, music, and events that have had an impact on our culture. Each episode involves a discussion of a different piece of pop culture. Sometimes, it can be a person (like Kirk Franklin), an album (like Unguarded by Amy Grant), a movie (like Saved!), a Christian TV series (like Young Once), or just a weird thing that happens in Christian circles (like Hell House). Every week, they bring on a guest who talks about their journey with faith and then they discuss the topic at hand. Most of their guests are former Christians who don’t go to church or follow the faith anymore, but they also have guests who still attend church regularly. Everyone’s faith journey is just so varied, though, and it’s incredible how different our experiences can be.

What I love most about this podcast (aside from how it makes me feel a bit better about my evangelical upbringing) is how funny it is. Kevin and Caroline are hilarious and have such a fun rapport, and their guests are equally funny. They bring such great energy and I find myself laughing out loud throughout every episode. It’s never a bad time when I put on GCF!

Episode length: ~1.5-2 hours | New episodes every Wednesday

The Girl Next Door Podcast

This is the type of podcast that, when I turn it on, I know it’s going to put me in a good mood and make me chuckle. It’s not a podcast that’s really catering to me – single and childless – but for some reason, I still love it. Even the episodes that center around parenting! Kelsey and Erica used to live next door to one another and they decided to start a podcast in 2014. They no longer live next door (Erica and her family moved to a new home a neighborhood away), but they still podcast regularly and their episodes are really fun to listen to! There’s just something about their easy rapport with one another and general good humor that makes it a great listen.  Each episode covers a specific topic (kid behavior, self-care during the holidays, organizational systems, money, etc.) that they dive deep into. I really love how organized and on-topic each episode is because it makes the episodes easily digestible. (Also, their yearly Fall Extravaganza episodes are one of my favorite things in the world!)

Episode length: ~45 minutes | New episodes every other Wednesday

Keep It!

I don’t listen to any pop culture podcasts because I’m just not that into pop culture. (Most times, when people name a celebrity couple, I don’t even know who either of them are.) But I love Keep It! for some reason. It’s co-hosted by Ira Madison III and Louis Virtel, two supremely funny pop culture fanatics. They are currently looking for their third co-host since Kara Brown, who used to co-host the show, left a few episodes ago. In every episode, they dive into the pop culture news of the week and give their commentary, then they bring on someone in the entertainment business (like a showrunner, an actor, a comedian, etc.) to talk more in-depth about something going on in pop culture right now. They end every show with their “keep it,” which is something they find annoying happening in pop culture. It’s a fun show and I really love the different perspectives they give.

Episode length: ~1.5 hours | New episodes every Wednesday

Pod Save America

Everyone knows about Pod Save America by now, right? It’s where I get the majority of my news these days! Four political junkies and former Obama staffers sit down to talk about what’s going on in politics right now, how it affects us, and what we can do to affect change. I listen to each episode the moment it downloads in my feed (mostly because news changes fast nowadays, and some of the info they talk about could be outdated if I waited even a day or two to listen!) It helps me to feel more informed and also to have actionable steps for things to do if I’m feeling hopeless about the state of our government right now. Every episode starts with a 45-minute discussion about the news and then transitions to an interview with a journalist, political pundit, senator, or representative about a timely political issue. I don’t often listen to the interviews, honestly, unless it’s about a topic I’m interested in or with an interesting guest.

Pro-tip for PSA: don’t fast-forward through the ads. Their ad breaks are truly my favorite. They’re hilarious and I love how they mock the ad copy from time to time (because, truly, ad copy can be ridiculous).

Episode length: ~1.5 hours | New episodes every Monday and Thursday

Stuff You Should Know

SYSK was one of the earliest podcasts I listened to, and it’s the only one that has stuck around for five years. At this point, Josh and Chuck (the hosts) feel like family to me and sometimes I’ll play their episodes in the background of what I’m doing because their voices and banter are just so comforting to me. Every episode dives deep into a specific topic and they can run the gauntlet from weird conspiracies to science concepts to animals. Some of their recent topics: sand dunes, the moon landing, sloths, Cleopatra, photographic memory, Neanderthals, Area 51, the gig economy, perfect pitch, the Tylenol Murders… you get the picture. Basically, if you want to listen to an educational podcast that will teach you about all sorts of subjects (I had no idea what the Tylenol Murders were!), start listening to SYSK.

(Also! They are now releasing “Short Stuff” podcasts once a week where they have a quick discussion about a topic. Every episode is less than 15 minutes so you can get through it quickly!)

Episode length: ~1 hour | New episodes every Tuesday and Thursday (“Short Stuff” releases every Wednesday)

Lovett or Leave It

Oh, I could sing the praises for Lovett or Leave It for dayyyys. It’s a weekly podcast that breaks down the news headlines in a fun, interactive way. Lovett is joined by a panel of guests (comedians, actors, politicians, journalists, political pundits, etc.) to discuss the top headlines, comment on a recent video clip (often of Fox News shows since they have the most egregious segments), and play one to two games with the audience. Every episode ends with the Rant Wheel, which is exactly what it sounds like: a wheel with a bunch of topics for Lovett and the guests to rant about. What I love most about this show is that it makes me laugh and feel less alone in my utter despair about politics today. I think Lovett does a great job balancing the need to keep things light-hearted while also remembering that this presidency has been complete chaos and downright scary for many individuals in the US today.

Episode length: ~1 hour | New episodes every Saturday

No Thanks We’re Booked

This is another podcast that just makes me feel good when I listen to it. It’s co-hosted by two #bookstagrammers and every episode is so lovely to listen to. In each episode, they discuss a bookish topic (like book-to-move adaptations, book tracking, reading goals, etc.) and also discuss what they’re currently reading and/or what’s next on their reading list. Katie and Mollie have such soothing voices, and they’re also incredibly funny, which makes every episode a joy to listen to.

Episode length: ~30 minutes | New episodes every other Wednesday

Honorable mentions (podcasts I love but didn’t quite make my ‘favorites’ cut): Sarah’s Book Shelves Live, Unladylike, Criminal, Imagined Life, This American Life, Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend, and Throughline.

What’s your favorite podcast?