It was another lovely year of podcast listening! I added many new podcasts to my queue, and dropped a few long-time podcasts that just weren’t working for me anymore. One of my favorite things to do when I add a new podcast to my feed is to work through their entire back catalog of episodes. It keeps my podcast queue fresh (I always have something to listen to!) and it’s a fun way to see the growth of a podcast from the beginning to present day. I haven’t included any of the podcasts that are in my “backlist listening” queue, but some that I am enjoying a lot include Behind the Bastards; Beach Too Sandy, Water Too Wet; You Can Sit With Us; and 5-4. Maybe one of those will make it on my favorite podcasts of 2023 list! Time will tell.
I narrowed down my list of favorite podcasts to just 10, which was very hard to whittle down and it meant knocking off a few podcasts that have made it on my favorites list for years and years and years (sorry, my beloved Josh and Chuck). You’ll also see a little shameless self-promotion on this list. (I had to!) Let’s dive into the podcasts that meant the most to me this year. Let me know if you have any similar faves!
1) Best Friends with Nicole Byer and Sasheer Zamata – Sit back and relax as Nicole and Sasheer catch up with each other, talk about their lives working on TV sets, answer listeners’ friendship questions, and take silly Buzzfeed quizzes. This podcast is NSFM (not safe for Mom; as in, I never turn it on when my mom is in the car), but it makes me laugh and I love Nicole and Sasheer’s best friendship. (Weekly episodes, downloading every Wednesday.)
Start here: Nicole Probably Snored on Her Flight
2) The Bible Binge – While I’m still not sure where I stand when it comes to my Christian beliefs, I do enjoy listening to this podcast that covers a whole range of biblical and pop culture topics. Come for the Bible stories that they break down in a very fun way (including casting all the characters of the Bible!) and stay for their “Favored or Forsaken” and “Stuff We Didn’t Get in Sunday School” episodes. (Biweekly episodes, downloading every other Thursday.)
Start here: SWDGISS: Hell
3) The Friendship Paradox – Shameless plug for my own podcast! I didn’t imagine starting a podcast in 2022, but somehow we have released 10 episodes and have a whole new season in the works. My podcast, which I host with my best friend Bri, discusses all the ways our personalities impact the way we interact with the world. We’re releasing our episodes in seasons and so far, we’ve done a season on personality frameworks and a season on events (like weddings, birthdays, etc). We already have lots of ideas for next year, including relationships, travel, work, etc.
Start here: S1E2: A Type 9 & Type 2 Tackle the Enneagram
4) The Girl Next Door Podcast – Kelsey and Erica feel like old friends by now. They’ve been podcasting for so long and they always put out thoughtful and interesting discussions. They’re part of the inspiration of starting The Friendship Paradox, actually! I love their episodes, although I tend to skip anything that’s too motherhood-centric. Thankfully, they don’t do too many of those episodes and I’m grateful for all the nuggets of information I can pull from their episodes! (Biweekly episodes, downloading every other Wednesday.)
Start here: Let’s Talk About Our Periods!
5) Maintenance Phase – Two people sit down to debunk all kinds of fitness fads, junk nutritional advice, wellness scams, self-help books, and more. It’s hosted by Michael Hobbes and Aubrey Gordon, who may be two of my favorite people on the Internet. (Aubrey’s laugh never fails to make my day!) They are self-deprecating, hilarious, and so very smart. I have loved every episode they’ve released, and I just wish I could have more of them in my life. Maybe it’s finally time to susbcribe to their Patreon?! (Biweekly episodes, downloading every other Tuesday)
Start here: “French Women Don’t Get Fat”
6) Over Under Achievers – I don’t know who this podcast will interest because it’s all about sports. Knox McCoy (of The Popcast fame) and his best friend Jason Waterfalls (not his real name, obviously) get together to talk about all the crazy news stories in the world of sports. I’m mostly interested in the football stories, but I enjoy Knox and Jason’s banter so much that I don’t even mind when they talk about other sports. Knox and Jason are both into Survivor (Jason being a new convert like I am!) and it’s fun to listen to their Survivor recaps, too. I also really like that every episode ends with the two of them guessing the Cameo price of different sports stars. I guess along with them and am very rarely anywhere in the ballpark (<– ha, see what I did there?). (Weekly episodes, downloading every Friday)
Start here: Disney Dads, Survivor Recap/Predictions, and Sports Polyamory
7) Pod Save America – I’ve been listening to my guys at Pod Save America since the beginning of the Trump presidency, and they have carried me through 2022 as well. I love the way they break down the biggest political stories of the week and help them make sense to someone like me. They also make me laugh, and I do very much enjoy the way they make fun of Fox News and the Republican party as a whole. Politics can sometimes feel very disheartening and disillusioning, but Pod Save America makes things feel a lot less shitty. (Twice-weekly episodes, downloading every Tuesday and Thursday.)
Start here: 2022 is dead. Long live 2024
8) The Popcast – Ah, of course. The podcast I chose as the only podcast I would listen to if I could only listen to one podcast for the rest of my life. Knox (mentioned above!) and Jamie Golden are the most perfect hosts who make me laugh every week with their funny, lively debates. They discuss all things in pop culture, but they go way beyond a typical pop culture podcast by doing deep dives on movies and celebrities, discussing the NOs of certain things (like, the NOs of Thanksgiving or the NOs of vacations), and unveiling everyone’s most unpopular opinions in their Flavor Town regular episodes (and your unpopular opinion must be spicy, nothing like “Taylor Swift sucks.” More like, “Hey, I don’t think it’s weird to marry your first cousin.”) Anyway, this podcast is my comfort listen. I will put it on above anything else, and Knox, Jamie, Erin, and the whole squad are precious to me. (Weekly episodes, downloading every Wednesday.)
Start here: Hallmark Movies Explained
9) Sarah’s Bookshelves Live – If I had to choose one book podcast to keep in my life, this one would be it. I enjoy Sarah’s Bookshelves Live so much! Sarah is such an honest and relatable person, and she is so great at discussing books, running author interviews, and bringing us into her readerly process. I love that she’s not just focused on getting the coolest author to interview; rather, she wants to talk to interesting people who are doing cool stuff in the publishing world, like debut authors, ghostwriters, literary agents, etc. I subscribed to her Patreon this year because I needed more Sarah content, and I think she does a great, great job with her Patreon extras. All in all, if there is one book podcast you should subscribe to, this one is it. (Biweekly episodes, downloading every Wednesday.)
Start here: Behind the Scenes of Ghostwriting with Barbara Feinman Todd
10) Strange Bedfellows – These guys have made it on my favorites list for years and years, and that’s because I find them genuinely funny and comforting to listen to. Jack and Tanner are two guys who started their podcast reading and reviewing books from The Baby-Sitters Club, and now they’re reading and reviewing romance novels as well as watching and reviewing romance movies. (Reading one romance novel every week got a little much for them, and since they’re both working fathers, I don’t blame them!) They make every episode an enjoyable listen, and I very much enjoy subscribing to their Patreon where they are watching old TGIF episodes (like Full House, Family Matters, etc.) from the 80s and talking about them. It’s always a fun time when one of their episodes download to my feed. (Weekly episodes, downloading every Monday.)
Start here: Persuasion
Honorable mentions: Stuff You Should Know, Currently Reading, Lovett or Leave It, Good Christian Fun, and Office Ladies
See any similar favorites here? What were some of your favorite podcasts from 2022?
I also am a Sarah’s Bookshelves Live super fan! I’m a super star patreon and adore her content. I want to be best friends with her – and with Catherine from Gilmores Guide to Books! I love Susie, too, but I especially adore Catherine and think she has the best voice! I also love Currently Reading. I’ve fallen out of love with MMD, though, which makes me sad since that was my original favorite book podcast! I still subscribe but don’t listen to many episodes anymore and I stopped being a Patron. My favorite podcasts, besides those 2 book podcasts, are From the Front Porch, Girl Next Door, Happier, The Mom Hour, People I (Mostly) Admire, and I adored the special “Sold a Story” podcast by American Public Media about the horribly ineffective way reading was taught in schools across the nation. It made me sick to think about how many children have become “left behind” in terms of literacy because all these schools subscribed to this approach to literacy learning that wasn’t evidence-based! But I am grateful for the podcast because I learned a ton and it made me research what method our boys’ school uses – thank God it is not the method that is discussed in that podcast. I think you would probably love that podcast since you are passionate about reading, too!
What Should We Read Next was one of the long-time podcasts I dropped this year! It just wasn’t working for me anymore, and I much prefer the content that Sarah Book Shelves and Currently Reading put out.
I have Sold a Story on my to-be-listened-to list! I have heard amazing things about it.
We really do have polar opposite tastes in podcasts! I’ve tried several of these podcasts and just can’t get into them. However, I am adding Sarah’s Bookshelves Live to my list because I am in dire need of listening material since so many podcasts go on holiday breaks this time of year.
Maybe I’ll do a post about this myself, but the podcasts that always go to the top of my listening queue are Let’s Go to Court, Too Scary; Didn’t Watch, Petty Crimes, and Pop Mom!. I LOVE that there’s such a wide diversity of podcasts out there and that there’s a podcast for everyone.
Yesss Too Scary; Didn’t Watch! I just discovered it this year (when Chuck Bryant from SYSK was the guest) and LOVE it. I joined their Patreon after a week– totally worth it.
I’m going to check out others on your list if you like this one; none of those are on my radar. There is just so much great content out there.
Besides TS;DW, my faves of the year have been: Obsessed with Disappeared, SYSK, Leaving the Theater with Ronald Young Jr, Daniel and Jorge Explain the Universe, and Bone Valley.
Honorable mention to News in Slow Spanish because I use it to try to keep up my Spanish, which is an uphill battle. And also to Impact of Influence because I’m a bit obsessed with the Murdaugh family drama unfolding in South Carolina.
And, Stephany, I’ve also very much enjoyed The Friendship Paradox and listened to every episode enthusiastically! You and Briana are finding your stride and doing great!
Thank you so much for saying that about our podcast, Alex! We’re slowly figuring out this podcast thing, and it’s such a delight to record with Bri. 🙂
I hope you enjoy Sarah’s Book Shelves Live – she has a snarky and refreshing voice and I just love the content she produces.
Don’t you hate when all the podcasts go on break at the same time? Like, I get it but my listening queue is SPARSE these days.
I love Pod Save America, too. Also, Lovett or Leave it. The high notes at the end are always so inspirational. My least favorite part is when people come on to play characters. I rarely think they’re funny. But overall, I love him and all the Pod Save America guys. I’ll add the sports one to my queue. Thanks!
I am the lame one in this conversation. I listen to almost NO podcasts these days. I just…don’t have the time (which Laura Vanderkam would say means it’s not a priority). I just feel like life is going in 1000 directions at once. I can’t listen to a podcast while I work because I find it too distracting. And I tend to do housework in short bursts (so don’t want to get my headphones in for 5 minutes of doing dishes). When the kids are home I’m constantly getting interrupted, and I tend to do most of my exercising with someone. If I run solo outside or on the treadmill, I will usually put on a podcast, but that just doesn’t happen often. Now I’m so far behind on podcasts I used to listen to + overwhelmed with all the recs…that I just don’t think I’ll end up listening to many in 2023 either. Sigh.
I also rarely listen to audiobooks. I think I’ve done two in the last 4 years?
I don’t think you’re lame at all! It sounds to me like listening to things like podcasts and audiobooks just aren’t a priority for you, and not something you’re interested in doing. And that’s totally fine! We don’t all have to have the same interests. 🙂
I also love Maintenance Phase! My current faves are Gen X This Is Why, Forever 35, and Were You Raised By Wolves. Also Jiffy Pop Culture but I’m not sure I would recommend that to you at all.
Of course, I enjoy your podcast very much and am looking forward to hearing more!
Curious about what podcasts you dropped this year?
I dropped What Should I Read Next, which is a show I’ve been listening to for YEARS, ever since it launched. I just think I outgrew the concept of the show and it was started to feeling really “produced” and not natural. Another one I dropped was Throughline, which made it onto my faves list in 2020 and 2021… I can’t even remember why. I think I started noticing I was deleting more episodes than I was listening to, so I finally gave it up.
I have to check some of these out. Including yours- I have listened S1E2 but need to do more! It seems like your style of podcasts is similar to mine (two people discussing various topics in a lighthearted way.) I definitely need to try The Popcast! Thanks for some good recommendations.