17 Podcasts That Made 2017 Super Awesome
In many ways, 2017 has been a hard year, right? I, for one, am ready to bid it farewell and get a beautiful clean slate for 2018.
But it wasn’t all bad. And these 17 podcasts were part of what saved this year for me.
Here they are, in no particular order. Seriously. No particular order.
1} 2 Dope Queens
Why I love it:
I cannot for the life of me imagine why anyone would not love listening to Phoebe Robinson and Jessica Williams all the livelong day. I mean honestly. They’re hilarious. They’re smart. They’re ridiculously likeable. And as if that’s not enough, they throw in with every episode a few comics I’ve never heard of doing awesome stand-up plus the occasional surprise guest to deliver water to their parched mouths {you’ll get it when you listen}.
Start With:
Seriously any episode. There’s never been a not good one. But if I had to choose, I’d have to say either #47 Vanessa Bayer at Beyonce’s Baby Shower or #45 Tig Notaro Gives the Best Advice or #44 Marc Maron is Very Needy {mash up of two of my favs!} or Tig Notaro’s Skin Regimen {April 6}. Told you I couldn’t choose.
2} Beautiful/Anonymous
Why I love it:
There’s something inexplicably soothing or comforting about listening to Chris Gethard talk…about just about anything. And that’s good, because {in case you haven’t heard} anyone can call him and talk about anything and he just has to stay on the phone with them for a full hour. I waffle back and forth between thinking that, with this premise, anything anyone says could totally be completely fabricated and maybe that should taint the listening experience…and…just loving it.
Start With:
I have to admit I missed a lot of episodes this year. There just isn’t enough time. {More on that later.} But…Vinyl Market Researcher certainly hit me where I live {that leap from corporate to my own thing}. Hipster Hospice Chaplain is a great example of the style and what you might be getting yourself into here. Moravian Trademonk is also fabulously awkward and endearing and just a fun listen.
3} The Pitch
Why I love it:
The description — real-life Shark Tank — pulled me in. But what’s super awesome is my 8yo son loves it, too {and, yes, parents there’s sometimes swearing}. Since I took the leap to launch my own business, my son has been really fascinated by the whole idea — what are clients, why doesn’t Mommy have investors, what is marketing anyway {yeah, a lot of people wonder that}. Listening, with him, and talking about real-life people launching real businesses has just been super awesome.
Start With:
Shimmur is a great one to start with, and not just because it’s a pretty interesting idea. Industrial Organic was fun to hear with my son, since it’s on a really worthwhile mission.
4} The Arlington Street Church Sermon Podcast
Why I love it:
Much like 2 Dope Queens, but for very different reasons, I cannot imagine anyone not loving this podcast. Full disclosure: Rev. Kim Crawford Harvie performed my wedding 10+ years ago. We were so lucky to have her, but we live too far away now to get to attend her church. Getting to experience her wisdom and storytelling whenever I need it is just…I don’t know what I’d do without it.
Start With:
Any episode that’s a sermon by Rev. Crawford Harvie {there are sometimes other speakers} will be a worthwhile listen. And this is another one that I miss more than I’d like. But the recent “No Regrets” hit me where I live
5} Death, Sex, + Money
Why I love it:
As the intro says, it’s a podcast about things we all experience and need to talk about more. Host Anna Sale is a masterful interviewer. Every episode is a fascinating story and an unflinching look at the things that drive all of our lives, but in very different ways.
Start With:
Try starting with Why I Steal. It was possibly the most controversial episode of the series. Great example of the challenging topics covered and how Anna Sale interviews. Then follow it up with Why She Steals: Your Reactions.
6} Heavyweight
Why I love it:
I just can’t get enough of these stories. I love host Jonathan Goldstein’s often self-deprecating and sometimes slightly awkward dry wit. But also the editing and production that masterfully craft each storyline always grab me.
Start With:
Rose or Jeremy. Because who doesn’t want to get to the bottom of why Rose was summarily booted from her sorority after surviving cancer, or why Jeremy went from planning to be a Rabbi when he grew up to…not.
7} Katie Couric
Why I love it:
Not to be a broken record, but, who doesn’t like Katie Couric??? She and her co-host have such fun with this project, but also rope in really compelling, influential guests, and dig in to the tough questions she became known for in television news.
Start With:
#25 Ina Garten, #33 Mitch Landrieu, or #46 Danny Meyer. The fact that I have two chef personalities on this list, when I am not a foodie says something. And Couric is certainly in her element with political interviews, so I couldn’t exclude the frank talk on the Landrieu episode.
8} Missing Richard Simmons
Why I love it:
There’s nothing I can say about this one that hasn’t already been said. If you missed it, go get it.
Start With:
Well, obviously, the beginning. But seriously. If you don’t know about this one, it’s a serial podcast. So. You have to start with the first episode.
9} Note to Self
Why I love it:
Another podcast hosted by a super smart woman who’s changing the way we think about the things that drive our lives. This time, tech. She asks the questions you wonder about but don’t want to ask out loud. Or don’t know who to ask. Or don’t want to know the answers to.
Start With:
If you’re a parent, start with Should We Post Photos of Our Kids Online?
10} Reply All
Why I love it:
Because the interwebs are crazy #amiright? And these guys defog it all for you. From what the alt right’s up to online, to whether Facebook really is spying on you, they’ve got your back.
Start With:
Look. As a marketer, I should probably tell you to listen to #109 Is Facebook Spying on You. But I’m not gonna. Because you need to listen to the epic journey that starts with a scam phone call and ends in a very precarious international adventure — — part one and part two.
11} Sooo Many White Guys
Why I love it:
Because there indeed are sooo many white guys in the podcast world. And on this list. And because, as stated in #1, Phoebe Robinson is funny and smart and delightful.
Start With:
The Margaret Cho one. Because you know you would love to have dinner with these two ladies. Or, you know, you could go with the Tom Hanks one. Because Tom Hanks.
12} WTF with Marc Maron
Why I love it:
OK. I’ve been listening to WTF since the beginning. So, maybe part of why I love it is that Marc Maron has weirdly been part of the background of my life for so long. While he’s woven his own milestones through the podcast, I’ve blown through my own milestones…so they’re weirdly intertwined.
Start With:
Well, if you want his interview style, start with the Marilyn Manson episode. The Kim Gordon episode was pretty amazing. But to understand why Marc Maron has grown to be the influential voice that he is, please please please start with the Nov 13 2017 episode with Kim Deal. Because he opens with 20min of really raw monologue on the Louis CK situation.
13} Where Should We Begin? With Esther Perel
Why I love it:
Because marriage is hard. And we don’t talk about it enough. Maybe we don’t know how to talk about it with each other, outside of our own marriages or our therapists’ offices.
Start With:
If you can, pick one you might see yourself in. If not, pick anything. Whichever episode you decide to go with first, be ready for some deep stuff; some challenging stuff; and definitely some not-to-listen-to-around-the-kids stuff.
14} Heaven’s Gate
Why I love it:
This is my new podcast obsession. If you’re as old as I am, you remember when way back in the 90s a bunch of people committed suicide all together because God was an alien and would take them away in a spaceship. And you wondered why. And this podcast unpacks that. And it’s hosted by a guy who grew up in a cult.
Start With:
This is another serial one. So you have to start at the beginning. Don’t worry. You won’t be able to stop listening.
15} Modern Love
Why I love it:
OK. Honestly? Not every single episode is a total home run. But a lot of them are. And even when it’s sad or hard it’s lovely and I’m glad I heard it. Some are funny, some are sad. And they’re always beautifully read by super awesome actors.
Start With:
‘When Your Greatest Romance Is A Friendship’ | Modern Love 83. Because we should all be so lucky.
16} Pod Save America
Why I love it:
Because I’m a bleeding heart liberal new englander. ;-) But, really, I didn’t love this podcast immediately. I had to warm up to the guys’ style…and maybe the idea of a bunch of white guys talking at me about politics {see Sooo Many White Guys above}. But I’m glad I did. When I find myself reading the news and saying to myself that this seriously cannot be real life, I can listen to the guys talk it through in way that both echoes my sentiments and adds a lot to my understanding of the chess games that are happening in Washington.
Start With:
The latest episode. Whatever that is by the time you read this. Because it’s a topical show about politics.
17} The Daily and WSJ What’s News
Why I love it:
Yes, I broke the rule and put two very different podcasts here. And that’s on purpose. For a while in 2017, I noticed that these two shows would cover the day’s big political news very differently. Hearing that, and considering what was behind it, was very worthwhile.
Start With:
The latest episode of each. Whatever that is by the time you read this. Because, again, they’re news shows. So you kind of want to hear the news that’s actually happening.
With That Said…Here’s Why I’m Going to Spend Less Time With Podcasts Next Year
Now, podcast fan girl gushing over, I do think I perhaps spent too much time with my dear podcasts this year. Too much time listening to other voices means not enough time spent listening to my own voice.
That’s why I’m committing to putting some space between me and my podcasts in 2018. For the month of January, I’m not going to allow myself any podcast listening during working hours. Now, I work for myself and make my own rules, so my working hours aren’t exactly 9-to-5, though I do set myself a schedule
I considered vowing to swear off podcasts during my winter vacation {which aligns with the 10 days my son is out of school…imagine that}. But then I said hey let’s not go crazy here. Let’s commit to something that’s actually doable…and not painful.
Glad you read this? Click the 👏 like you’re happy and you know it…and help others find some happy, too.
Rachel Jordan helps small businesses grow with marketing that makes sense. Learn more about what she’s up to over here.
