It’s true – podcasts are the newest & latest mode of entertainment. You can listen to just about anything these days! Choose your favorite category of news, sports, or pop culture & someone has most likely made a podcast out of it. 

Running a photography business gives us lots of time in our office & on the road. These are margins for lots of “listening time” & we love it! While we both love listening to podcasts, there are some that we listen to together & a few that we prefer to listen to separately. But whether or not we are together, listening to podcasts is something that we both have a love for!

Today we are sharing our favorite podcasts & why we love them. We hope that you find a new podcast to enjoy from today’s list. Drop us a note in the comments box to let us know if you tried a new podcast today! 

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Ryland’s Favorites:

Radiolab: Radiolab was the first podcast we really followed, for good reason!  Radiolab is the life-long learners delight!  Every episode is a fascinating exploration of a unique topic ranging across science, history, politics, sports, and beyond.  Episodes range from 20 minutes to over an hour and are always thought-provoking so get ready to discuss these with someone else!  This is definitely one we always come back to.  A few of our all-time favorites are Black Box, CRISPR, & 23 Weeks 6 Days.  Be prepared…

Faith & Life: Faith & life is a beautiful exploration of Christian life in our modern world.  Each forum is “Faith & ___” opening the floor to godly leaders from every corner of life.  How do we think about faith & finance, faith & culture, faith & leadership, faith & dreams?  What does faith mean for every aspect of our complicated lives?  A few episodes we haven’t been able to get out of our heads are Faith & Story – how can we understand our lives as stories and how does that move us?  Faith & Heroism – how beautiful was the martyrdom of Dietrich Bonhoeffer!  Faith & Imperfection – how do we engage in true & vulnerable community as the body of Christ in a society that demands perfection?  We literally can’t shake this one, we keep coming back to it!

Hardcore History: Do you ever just want to geek out about something?  I (Ryland) sure do!  But that’s not everyone (JP), so this is one I listen to by myself!  Dan Carlin is not a doctoral historian or anything.  He would be considered an amateur.  But his passion for history is palpable in every one of his podcasts!  Buckle up though, each episode or series is a bit like Moby Dick – thorough to the point of madness!  (But that’s the definition of geeking out about something isn’t it?)  The five-part, 8-hour series on Genghis Khan was my first exposure to Hardcore History and I’ve never forgotten it. His single episode “blitz” titled Prophets of Doom is unbelievable! (A little trick for these – listen on 1.5 speed!)

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JP’s Favorites:

Wait, Wait Don’t Tell Me: We are avid NPR fans already, but add in the fact that a lot of our Saturday mornings are spent driving to weddings & you have got loyal “Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me” fans! This show has been around as long as I can remember & boy, it has stood the test of time. With Peter Sagal & Bill Kurtis hosting, this show is a mix of stand up comedy & current events all rolled into one. We are often doubled over laughing & will often quote back one-liners to each other throughout the rest of the week. My favorite episode as of late is this one: “Who’s Bill This Time”. Get ready to laugh about centaurs, the recent eclipse, & so much more!

The Circe Institute: If you love books & learning more about classical education (yes, that’s a total niche – but hey, who say’s you can’t have multiple loves?) then you will love the Circe Institute podcast. My favorite series that Circe records is called “Close Reads”. In this series, Andrew Kern, Angelina Standford & Tim Macintosh discuss books as a group. The format can vary, but usually a book is discussed a few chapters at a time. A few personal favorites of mine include: Narnia Nostalgia, the Pride & Prejudice series & the Wind in the Willows series. 

Risen Motherhood: I have only just recently started listening to this podcast! I am about 3 episodes in & I have really loved each one. As a “new” momma & still very much in awe of what this whole new world & what it means, I have loved being reminded of Truth. My favorite episode so far has been this one, Mom bods & the Gospel. Because, who doesn’t need reminding that we are first & foremost not perfect & will never be. But second, that our measure of success is not defined in how our jeans fit. Instead, we are called to remember & serve our Father who has paid it all & loves us more than we will ever know. Every single episode points me back to Christ & that is exactly what this new momma needs!