I never listened to podcasts before I was a mom. Somehow I just never found time to during the alarming amount of free time I (in retrospect) had. But by the time my son was six months or so, I was realizing that although I didn’t want the TV on all day, I just needed some background noise when I was home alone with him. Somehow, I discovered podcasts, and now I listen to them lots of different times. They’re great to fill the air while washing dishes or exercising, and my husband and I like to put one on in the car to discuss on a date night. It’s like a guarantee that you won’t fall back on talking only about the kids. Here are my five favorites, and what they’re perfect for.
Anna Faris is Unqualified
Perfect for: A little distraction from Mom life
Rating: R, maybe even X. Super Raunchy. Don’t listen to this one with your kids.
Try Starting: #50 – Andy Cohen, # 83 – Eva Longoria Parker, #132 – Kelly Ripa, #137 – Kat Dennings
You’ve seen Anna Faris in comedies like Just Friends and The House Bunny, and in her TV series Mom, but she’s actually way funnier when she’s just being herself. Anna and her BFF/producer Sim Sarna poke fun at each other, make obnoxious comments, interview fellow celebrities, and give some (unqualified) relationship advice to callers during each show. Anna is so down-to-earth and normal that she gets her celebrity guests talking, laughing, and opening up. With games like Relationship ‘Deal Breakers,’ pretty much no topic is off limits. The dedication she shows to her non-celebrity callers is really touching too. But don’t let her kindness fool you; this show is decidedly no holds barred vulgar, so only listen if that’s your kind of comedy.
Unruffled
Perfect When: You’re having a really rough week with your kids and need some new ideas and a reminder that you got this
Try Starting: Whichever episode title sounds the most like your child
Rating: G
Janet Lansbury runs this podcast, and that woman is a parenting genius. Instead of viewing disruptive behavior as ‘bad,’ she encourages you to see it as normal. Janet believes that your role as the parent is not to get mad and punish but to stay calm and ‘unruffled’ and guide your child to behaving in a more appropriate way. There’s no need to raise your voice or even respond to excessive protests. As the parent, you are the leader, and what the leader says goes.
I particularly like how Janet encourages you to see things from your child’s point of view. In one episode, she likened lecturing a child after the fact about something they had done wrong to someone lecturing you after you’ve eaten an ice cream sundae on a diet: annoying, redundant, and ineffective. Her respect for children and their feelings is evident throughout all her suggestions and guidelines. But she’s no softie, especially on parents. She makes it clear that YOU have the power to affect your children’s behavior. I used some of her philosophies when my 4-year-old son was driving me nuts getting up a million times after he was put to bed at night, and honestly they worked like a charm – and quickly. So if you’re looking to stop the yelling, check this podcast out.
WDW Radio
Perfect for: A shot of positivity in your life
Try Starting with: Any Top 10, Listener Email, or Live Dining Review show
Rating: G
Creator Lou Mongello, a ‘reformed lawyer’ who moved his family from New Jersey to Florida to give his all to podcasting, is the most upbeat person I’ve ever heard. His energy and positivity are inspirational, and listening to him talk about his (and my) favorite place in the world just makes me happy inside. He has some reoccurring guests and their witty banter and strong connection make you wish you were trading vacation memories with them too. Try this show out when you need a little morale boost.
One Bad Mother
Perfect When: You need a laugh about parenting
Rating: PG for content, R for language
Try Starting With: A genius/fail spectacular
Elizabeth and Teresa co-star in this hilarious podcast about parenting. ‘Unruffled’ it is NOT, but what it is is a reminder that no one is a perfect parent and we might as well laugh about it. The beginning of the podcast is essentially you eavesdropping on a pair of mom BFFs having a coffee date. They rehash their week as parents, support each other’s challenges, and laugh and swear up a storm. A popular segment on the show is ‘Genius and Fails,’ where parents call in with their most genius parenting moment of the week or their biggest failure. The geniuses are a great inspiration and the fails are a reminder that we’re all in this mess called parenting together, and that’s what the show is really about.
How I Built This
Perfect for: When you need a little inspiration
Rating: PG
Try Starting: Melissa and Doug, Rent the Runway, Ben and Jerry’s
This NPR podcast features interviews with founders of companies regarding how they started and built them. Everything I know about starting a company comes from Shark Tank, so I find it pretty fascinating how someone creates, say, Southwest Airlines or Aiden and Anais, from the ground up. The most inspiring part of this podcast is that almost no one who is featured on the show seems cocky. They didn’t get where they are by doing the bare minimum or having things handed to them. Maybe they knew something about leggings, or travel, or hair styling, (or maybe they didn’t in the case of a few entrepreneurs), but they didn’t know much about starting a business. They just took it one step at a time and figured it out as they went, which is both inspiring and terrifying. People who started these companies are just like you and me. So really, anything is possible.
I hope you enjoy these podcasts as much as I do! What are your favorite podcasts? Let me know in the comments if there’s anything I’m missing.
