Podcast Hosts That Make Podcasts Worth Listening To

Podcast Hosts That Make Podcasts Worth Listening To

Curated by...

Tatiana Matias (she/her)

Why did you choose this theme?For me, tuning into my favorite podcast each week feels like catching up with a good friend. A good friend is supportive and provides balance and emotional comfort. Sometimes turning to a good friend is the best way to relieve some stress and celebrate the joys of life. Here are some hosts that live up to that task of celebrating the values that bring us together in life. 

PODCAST PICKS:Click on the podcast art to listen 👂

Your Mama's KitchenKerry Washington

"Tell me about your mama's kitchen.” That’s the simple request by acclaimed journalist and host Michele Norris. Listen to this episode featuring actress, producer, director, activist, mother, and wife, Kerry Washington. She joins the show to discuss her book, the importance of a kitchen in the Catskills, and how a pit stop in India changed her life and career.

Good Life ProjectHow to Get Back Up | Mark NepoWhat does it mean to live a good life? Is it about happiness, health, friendship, love, or work? Wealth, purpose, service, or something else? Host Jonathan Fields explores these questions with leading voices from health, science, art, industry, mindset, and culture. Listen to this episode in which Jonathan learns about resilience and transforming struggle into meaning when life knocks you down. 

Don't Blame Me/But Am I Wrong?Dating Your Cousin's Ex

Hosts Meghan and Melisa strive to create community grounded in activism, mental health, and inclusively. Think of them as your blunt, honest friends who give you the advice you need to hear 

—

not necessarily what you want to hear

— 

but are rooting for your success. In this episode, Meghan and Melisa talk hilariously about a rude wedding planner, paying too much for a bachelorette party, and more. 

Keys To The KingdomOperation PetticoatKeys to the Kingdom is an unprecedented, eight-part docuseries exploring the peculiar backstage life of theme park characters, performers, and fans. Hosted by recovering theme park employees Matt Gourley and Amanda Lund, each installment promises insider secrets, stories of absurd guest interactions, and fascinating tales of workplace minutiae.

Reality Gays with Mattie and PoodleThe Golden Bachelor 0104Hosts Jake Anthony and Matt Marr are two Southern Queens who absolutely love reality shows about lonely hearts looking for love. They recap it all, including TLC's 90 Day Fiancé, Love is Blind on Netflix, Love After Lockup, and some other shows where the people are just hot messes looking for love. Listen to their take on The Golden Bachelor in this featured episode.

SPONSORS:

Brand Podcast Virtual Summit '24

The first Brand Podcast Virtual Summit organized by Lower Street will be hosted on January 24. This event brings business thought leaders and podcasting experts together to give you all the tools you need to make your brand podcast a success.Presentations include:

• How to Understand - and then Reach - Your Target Listeners, by Rand Fishkin

• How to Grow Your Podcast: Paid and Free Strategies to Find New Followers, by Hannah Southern & Shannon Martin

• AI and Podcasting: The Tools and Tactics to Improve Your Podcast Workflows (Speakers announced soon)

The summit is free and open to all. All registered participants will get the chance to win a microphone and a pair of headphones worth $500!

Discover a new show: Academy

Welcome to Bishop Gray Academy, a world of high stakes and cutthroat competition.Academy, a riveting coming-of-age audio drama co-produced by AT WILL MEDIA and Wondery, follows the story of Ava Richards (Myha’la Harrold), a scholarship student who transfers to Bishop Gray, one of the most elite and competitive boarding schools in America. As Ava tries to find her place in this high-pressure environment, she soon crosses paths with an underground society known as The Night of the Wolf, which caters to the school's wealthiest students and enforces strict secrecy.With trust in short supply, Ava must navigate a dangerous and alluring world where friendships will be tested, romances will bloom, and ambitions cut short.

COMMUNITY:

🎤This week in Podcast The Newsletter: Lauren Passell writes: "One of my favorite new shows of 2022 was Alabama Astronaut, a show that captures undocumented music about snake handling sung in the hills of the Appalachians. Marked for Life is tangentially connected, focusing on a name you will recognize if you listened to Alabama Astronaut, Cody Coots, who you’ll remember got bitten on his head by a big old venomous snake after snake handling during a sermon.🎙️90 Minutes Or Less Film Fest celebrates films with an under-90-minute runtime (hurrah!) Over the holidays, we sat down with writer + director Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World) to discuss his top 10 under-90-minute movies of 2023.

On the EarBuds Blog:

• Top Podcast Fun Facts of 2023

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PODCAST NEWS from Podnews:

• Are news podcasts a brand-safe place to be? Analysis from Sounder suggests that over 80% of NPR’s news shows were classified as safe for brands to advertise in — significantly better than all news podcasts, where that figure drops to 54%.

• PRX is to distribute Condé Nast’s podcasts, including brands like WIRED, Vogue, The New Yorker and Vanity Fair. Condé Nast and PRX will also collaborate on advertising initiatives.

• PodMatch paid more than $185,000 to podcasters last year, and the company announced it has now achieved more than a quarter of a million dollars overall.

SPOTLIGHT:

RippleThe largest oil spill in American history captivated the public's attention for the entire summer of 2010. Authorities told a story of a herculean response effort that made shorelines safe and avoided a worst-case scenario. Was that really the whole picture?Ripple is a new series investigating the stories the public was told. In season one, we travel hundreds of miles across the Gulf Coast to learn the ongoing effects of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill — which are still impacting many coastal residents more than a decade later.

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