Friday, April 8, 2016

Friday Favorites: Podcasts

I haven't done a "Friday Favorites" post in a while, and when I was listening to a podcast on my drive to work today, I thought it would be a good thing to write about.

I think I have only jumped on the podcast bandwagon in the past year or so, probably coinciding with when I got an iPhone. I like to subscribe to several podcasts and have them automatically download onto my phone. Then I can listen whenever I have time.

I love podcasts because they give me some good "conversations" to listen to while I am doing other things (driving, cleaning, cooking, making cards, etc.). I haven't listened to any of the serial story podcasts that have been popular, but I think I prefer an interview format and like the varied topics that come from that type of podcast.

So, here are some of my favorite podcasts that I subscribe to:
(The links are going to the website, where you can listen directly or you can search for them in iTunes or other podcast apps and download them that way.)


The Wally Show is a radio show that is played on WAY-FM stations during the morning drive-time. Since I usually use that time to catch up with my mom on the phone each morning, I miss most of the show on the radio. Plus, I found that when I had a chance to listen, I would only get to hear some of the segments because of music (what? they play songs on a radio station?) or ads would break it up and then I'd have to get out of the car to go into work. When I discovered that I could download the podcast, I became a fast fan, because I could listen to all of the segments (minus the songs) and they also usually include pre-cast and post-cast bonus banter, which I love.

The Wally Show personalities are Wally, Bekah, Betty Rock, and Zach, and they interact so well together that it's like listening to a group of friends talk and debate things. In fact, I've been known to think of these four as some of my "imaginary friends"! Ha! They make me laugh and give me insight on current events and even pop culture.

The Happy Hour with Jamie Ivey
I'm not sure how I heard about this podcast, but it has quickly become one of my favorites. Jamie Ivey spends an hour interviewing/talking with a women in some kind of ministry or place of influence and it's been interesting to learn about women who are living their lives for God's glory and for the good of others. This podcast comes out weekly on Wednesdays, but Jamie has recently started doing a Friday half hour podcast every other week. There are 83 episodes of this podcast and I have downloaded older episodes and listened to them as well, especially if they featured someone I was already interested in or had read their books.


The Big Boo Cast
I think I have mentioned this podcast when I wrote a "Friday Favorite" post about blogs I love. I highlighted the Big Mama blog by Melanie Shankle and the Boo Mama blog by Sophie Hudson, both of whom are wonderful authors, and I love their writing on the blog and in their books.

When I discovered their blog, The Big Boo Cast, it was around the time when I started making some drives over to Knoxville to visit Daniel. Usually, I am driving solo over there and back and it was so fun to listen to Melanie and Sophie talk about all manner of things while I was in the car. It really feels like I am on a road trip with a couple of girlfriends (again, I think of them as some of my "imaginary friends"). This may sound sappy, but it helped me to have this podcast to listen to when I was driving home from moving Daniel to college for the first time and was feeling all the emotions related to that life event. I love listening to this podcast whenever they post a new one and look forward to the next one when I finish listening.


That Sounds Fun with Annie Downs
I found this podcast from reading the blog of author/speaker, Annie Downs. She lives in Nashville and while I don't know her personally, I think we'd be great friends (do you see a theme here?). She has about 10 epidsodes of her podcast and recently started it back up with the release of her latest book, Looking for Lovely. Annie also has a interview format, which is interesting, and has had some interesting people on her podcast. My favorite has been when she interviewed Matt Niehoff, who writes the Experience Nashville blog, about favorite places to eat in Nashville. I wrote down several from that episode that I want to try.

If you have some favorite podcasts that you listen to, let me know in the comments.