Welcome back to Wednesday Randomness! I took a little hiatus for the last few weeks with the holidays and then a snow day for the kids last week, but I am back…
Today I am discussing my favorite podcasts. I love having something to listen to but I am not a huge fan of listening to music. I do a lot of driving during the school and work week and podcasts are one of the ways I fill up that time as well as listening to audiobooks. I also listen to podcasts around our house when I am cooking or cleaning and it always makes that time so much more enjoyable.
One of the best ways I have learned about new podcasts is from my friend’s suggestions and so I thought it might be helpful to share some of my favorites with you!
Reading Podcasts:
Bad books and good advice from two questionably young adults. Join 30-something YA enthusiasts Grace Atwood and Becca Freeman every other week for a book club featuring a young adult title that they promise you won’t be able to put down. In between, they’ll share their best tips for “adulting” helping you do everything from finding the right career to the perfect face serum.
Bad on Paper is super enjoyable to me because I like listening to Becca and Grace’s banter about books and their daily lives. Grace is an avid reader and has a great section of her blog that is dedicated to reading and her book reviews. You can see that here. They also just started having some really interesting guests on their podcast and I love the mix of topics.
What Should I Read Next? is the show for every reader who has ever finished a book and faced the problem of not knowing what to read next. Each week, Anne Bogel, of the blog Modern Mrs Darcy, interviews a reader about the books they love, the books they hate, and the books they’re reading now. Then, she makes recommendations about what to read next. The real purpose of the show is to help YOU find your next read.
Anne Bogel is widely known in the reading world for both her book lists. Her podcast gives great book recommendations and she is just so wonderful to listen to.
Zibby Owen’s podcast Mom’s Don’t Have Time To Read is one of my new favorites. She has authors as her guests and I love hearing their conversations which are always just fascinating! I just listened to her episodes with Delia Owens and Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen and I learned so much not just about their books but also their writing processes and collaborations.
News, Money & Special Topics Podcasts:
Kate and Doree are two friends who love to text each other about serums. On Forever35, they talk about sheet masks, serums, exercise, nutrition, meditation, anxiety and stress, Kate’s favorite drugstore mascara, Doree’s addiction to restorative yoga, and much more. And explore how it all takes on new meaning as they age. Plus, each episode features an amazing guest talking about their own self-care routines, plus tips, product recommendations, advice, experiments, and most importantly: LOLS!
I have been listening to this podcast since the beginning and I enjoy the variety of topics Kate and Doree cover. It feels like catching up with an old friend and I especially enjoy their mini-episodes so much because they cover everyday tips and also answer listener questions.
The news can be overwhelming, especially lately. I love this small dose that you can easily consume in less than 15 minutes. It covers important US and World topics that are timely and pertinent so you can feel “up to date” without falling into the rabbit hole the endless news cycle.
Death, Sex and Money is an interview-style podcast hosted by Anna Sale that discusses the big questions “often left out of polite conversation.” Sale’s episodes are thought-provoking and include timely topics that are vulnerable and also so important to normalize and discuss.
Host Jill Schlesinger, CFP®, tackles sometimes uncomfortable and even controversial money and investing issues, without the financial jargon, to get to the heart of what’s important for anyone to know. Jill takes listener phone calls and interviews informative and entertaining guests each week to uncover surprising insights and provide actionable information so you can make the most of your money.
I love Jill’s practical financial advice and I especially love when she takes listeners phone calls. I have learned so much from this podcast from financial planning to college savings and I highly recommend it.
Parenting Podcasts:
Stories about the surprises and absurdities of raising other humans—and being raised by them. The Longest Shortest Time is an award-winning podcast about parenthood in all of its forms. But you don’t need to be a parent to listen.
I have listened to this podcast for years and it has some of the most honest discussions about parenting and I have always found it super relatable…especially the earlier episodes about Hillary’s own transition into new motherhood. The new host, Andrea, is wonderful too and she covers a wide variety of topics pertaining to parenting.
Love your career? Love your family? Best of Both Worlds is the show for you! Hosts Laura Vanderkam, author of I Know How She Does It and a mom of four, and Sarah Hart-Unger, a practicing physician and mom of three discuss work/life balance, career development, parenting, time management, productivity, and making time for fun. Tune in each week for strategies to help you thrive in all spheres of life.
I have listened to every single episode of this podcast and I just enjoy it so much. I love their conversations about being working parents while still fitting in their own activities. They are positive and proactive about the challenges of raising a family while also having a career and I love that they look at the plus sides of having a career while also sharing honest advice about the things they do in their families about making it manageable (which often means they don’t do it all). They have very interesting guests that also share their own stories of motherhood in the workforce and how they “make it work” in their families. I love hearing about logistics so this one really works for me!
The most fun you’ve ever had with two moms you’ve never met. Co-hosts Meagan Francis and Sarah Powers have eight kids between them, preschool to teen. Weekly conversations offer practical tips and real-life encouragement for moms who want to enjoy motherhood more, and cut back on comparison, worry, and stress. We’re not experts, we’re moms who’ve been there. We’re not perfect, we’re real. Welcome to The Mom Hour.
This podcast is super relatable and I love that they have the perspective of having kids that are at such different ages and stages. They don’t sweat the small stuff and I always learn so much from their great and very pratical parenting advice.
Kid-friendly Podcasts:
But Why is a show led by kids. They ask the questions and we find the answers. It’s a big interesting world out there. On But Why, we tackle topics large and small, about nature, words, even the end of the world.
Our boys love this show and I do too! We have learned so much and also enjoy that is produced right here in Vermont. Kids call in with questions and they get the answers from experts in those fields…We listen in the car and it is a great way to help have a smooth and peaceful car ride.
Brains On!® is a science podcast for curious kids and adults from American Public Media. Co-hosted each week by kid scientists and reporters from public radio, we ask questions and go wherever the answers take us.
This is another kid questions based show and we enjoy this one too! The questions are more STEM based and answer so many of those questions that your kids ask and you go…”ummmmm?”
Let’s Fly! Reading Bug Adventures is a story podcast for kids from The Reading Bug. Each episode is a new adventure — just hop into the Reading Bug’s magic book bag, and we’ll be transported to whatever time or place is in the books inside! Join us to explore new books, new concepts and new worlds, and bring your crayons and paper along so you can color your own illustrations. Reading Bug Adventures is created, written, and produced by The Reading Bug, an independent, family-owned children’s bookstore in Northern California
Our kids love this podcast and I think it really connects with a fairly wide range of ages..our boys are 6 & 8 and I can see this also being a great fit for kids that are preschoolers and up. The stories are fun and the music is very engaging. It also has a time where kids can reflect and color which we haven’t tried because we listen in the car but I thought it was a great idea.
True Crime Podcasts:
It was a crime that rocked an idyllic seaside town in Cape Cod — the 2002 murder of Christa Worthington, who was found stabbed to death with her 2-year-old daughter, unharmed at her side. What came next was a three-year search for her killer that would involve unorthodox steps by police, a lengthy list of potential suspects, and an entire town under suspicion. Christa’s trash collector, Christopher McCowen, would eventually be convicted of the crime, but his trial would raise questions about the evidence, investigative methods, and whether racial prejudice played a role. Now, ABC Radio and “20/20” take a look at all the evidence and for the first time ever, hear directly from Christopher McCowen, to examine whether the right man is behind bars.
I listened to this podcast a couple of years ago but it still sticks with me. It is a fairly short series so it’s a great one to binge on and I really hope there is another season at some point!
Markis, Hannah, Devonte, Abigail, Jeremiah, and Sierra Hart—six beautiful black children, ranging in age from 12 to 19—were all adopted by Sarah and Jennifer Hart, both white. On Jen’s Facebook page, it looked as if they were the perfect blended family, even earning the nickname “Hart Tribe” from friends. Then, on March 26, 2018, the family’s GMC Yukon was found belly-up on the rocks below California’s Highway 1. The news of the murder-suicide shocked their friends and made national headlines, leaving many wondering what possibly led to the fatal crash. Could these lives have been saved? Broken Harts, a new podcast from Glamour and HowStuffWorks, investigates this question with more than 30 never-before-heard interviews. Cohosts and Glamour editors Justine Harman and Elisabeth Egan and reporter Lauren Smiley follow the family’s journey from South Dakota through Minnesota, Oregon, and Washington, and finally to that 100-foot cliff in California.
I am currently listening to this podcast and while it is absolutely heartbreaking it also does a great job of looking at so many aspects of this family including foster care, adoption, and race. I am really hoping more people I know listen to this because I would love to discuss it!
Debra Newell is a successful interior designer. She meets John Meehan, a handsome man who seems to check all the boxes: attentive, available, just back from a year in Iraq with Doctors Without Borders. But her family doesn’t like John, and they get entangled in an increasingly complex web of love, deception, forgiveness, denial, and ultimately, survival. Reported and hosted by Christopher Goffard from the L.A. Times.
This podcast was super disturbing but I also couldn’t stop listening! It was full of lies and deception and was a great “easy” podcast to get into. There is a show now that is based on this one though I haven’t watched it yet…
Do you have any podcasts that you would recommend? I would love to hear! <3
