Speaking of the treadmill at Planet Fitness (see last post), it actually did turn into a place of delight by listening to a few different podcasts for the 50 minutes I spend there. I’ve never been much of an earbud/headphone person. I think the constant roar of raising kids at home all these years caused me to long for the peaceful silence of a run along the bike trail. No noise in my ears except the wind and the birds.
I also don’t like not being able to hear what’s going on around me. Just ask Robert, who would prefer to have a fan running in our room while we sleep, but uses earplugs instead. It’s because I don’t do well with white noise and not being able to hear what might be happening outside our bedroom door. You can chalk it up to control issues if you like (as some have), but I prefer to think of it as responsible awareness.
But recently I became an earbud person. Though, if I’m running on the bike trail, I only use one earbud and leave my other ear free to be responsibly aware of my surroundings. What I was listening to in my earbuds (or earbud) was so good that I actually started looking forward to the delightful oasis of the Planet Fitness treadmill ~ especially while the bike trail was covered in snow. I longed for the next adventure, the next story, the next sermon and since the treadmill was the venue for all of that, I longed for it too.
Now, here’s the deal. Some of you are podcast experts. You know all the best ones and have consumed many more than I have. I look forward to your recommendations. I can only offer a limited selection of my recent favorites.
Here goes:
I was a tad skeptical about this one, but was hearing about it on many fronts. If white noise is hard for me to endure, imagine my difficulty with mockery. I feared this podcast, hosted by two hilarious pop culture commentators, would mock the things of faith I hold dear. I was wrong. It is laugh-out-loud funny, recounts important Bible stories through a pop culture lens (Who would you cast for Adam and Eve?), and even includes a segment called “A gentle rebuke” at then end in which a certified theologian gives the hosts some feedback on their accuracy and interpretation.
Admittedly, I am not that up on Hollywood, so some of this material is lost on me, but I still find it pretty funny. If you’re a pop culture expert and you love the Bible, then you’ll love this one.
This one is probably no surprise, and you really can’t go wrong with any of these sermons, panels, and conference sessions, but my recent favorite is the one entitled “Why God’s Election is Good News.” I listened to it twice, and then we listened to it in the car on a trip to eastern Massachusetts as a family.
I’ve really only listened to one episode of this podcast, but it was really great. I included it as a resource for the moms who came to the Missional Motherhood session at our women’s retreat, hoping it would encourage them as it did me. The episode I listed to was #32: Gloria Furman, Missional Motherhood. The name of my breakout session was merely a coincidence. I wanted to call it Visionary Motherhood, but that didn’t work with the other alliterative titles we chose.
Bethany Needham, one of the hosts of this podcast, was our women’s retreat speaker last year. She launched this podcast just after our retreat, so we got to be in on the beginning of her new endeavor. She’s been at it a year now, and I still love listening to it when it comes out every Monday morning. Three of my favorite recent episodes are God’s Best For Me Today with Alyssa Bell, Woman of the Word in the Real World with Jen Wilkin, and Baffling the Brilliant with Regina Robinson. Another very profound episode is Is Jesus Enough For You? which is one of only two episodes that features a man!
Oh man! (opposite of Hey Girl!?) There are too many good ones to list. My friend Ashley was featured a while back, as was this full of faith woman.
And a part of my story is there as well – Episode #26: The Treasure of His Word & The Kindness of His People.
And now for one that might seem like the answer to the question “Which one of these does not belong?”
It all started with a brief mention on an Instagram story. Someone I follow, but don’t know in person, shared a screen shot of an episode and said it was an “important listen.” I took her strong recommendation and was hooked. The episode she recommended was called Dirty Water and featured women who had been trafficked and men who had trafficked women. (You learn that “pimp” is not an acceptable term to use when talking with women who’ve had one.) It’s a heartbreaking episode that I’ve now listened to twice, picking up on different aspects and nuances of the issue each time.
Ear Hustle is prison slang for eavesdropping or overhearing, and this podcast is just that – stories from life in prison. It is not at all something you could listen to in the car with your young children, as it includes explicit language (not excessive, though) and mature themes, but I have found it incredibly interesting and helpful in understanding the human condition.
Here are two of my favorite episodes:
But I would recommend all of them except for the one called “The Workaround,” as it has, in my opinion, a couple of gratuitous bits of information. Also, “The Boom Boom Room,” while interesting, may make you uncomfortable.
And now I’m guessing those are the two you’ll go to first – ha! I’d highly recommend at least not starting with those. Start with “Getting a Date” if you just want a nice sample. It includes a fascinating story of a man who escaped prison, was eventually caught (in an interesting way), and is now having some difficulty getting a date…for parole.
Ok, what else should I listen to podcast junkies? Nothing explicit, unless it’s real and redemptive (I could not stomach S-Town) and nothing fantastical. I love real, raw, true, redemptive, and exhortative stuff.
And nothing “inspirational” either. Motivational speaking makes me cringe.
Airbnb guests arrive in a few hours! Pray for us, and have a great weekend!