During the summer, I went through a podcast phase. No, it’s not a thing; Yes, I made it a thing. I was bored of my Spotify playlist and decided to upgrade. While I thought listening to music was a waste of a 30-minute car drive, listening to podcasts instead was almost a productive drive. One of the podcasts I listened to even featured the speaker talking about how music basically wastes your life. As I stated earlier, this was only a phase. Currently, I guess I’m still wasting life on my entertaining car rides with my updated Spotify playlist.
Now, getting to the point of my article: I’m entering that podcast phase again, and I feel excited and passionate to share what’s been filling my ears lately.
In no particular order:
1. Learn True Health
You saw this coming! I’m on my second year of studying health education, so this podcast is academically helpful, and it gives me different perspectives on my life. Speaker Ashley James breaks things down so that they’re easy to understand. She almost always has a guest to speak of their profession. These speakers can be self-taught or even have a master’s degree, plus ten years of experience. They can be authors or even hosts on their own podcast shows. Some episodes include “Shift Mindset For Healing” (ep. 282), “ADHD” (ep. 282), “Food As Medicine” (ep. 279), “How To Gain Muscle and Strength Without Lifting Heavy Weights” (ep. 275), “Arthritis” (ep. 275), and “How To Eliminate Anxiety” (ep. 273).
2. MercyTalk
Jen and Melanie are on the staff team for Mercy Multiplied as counselors and show hosts. They give spiritual advice and always have a story to share that inspires or uplifts. Occasionally, they have guest speakers like family, friends, coaches, and other spiritual influencers in their lives that have amazing breakthrough stories worth hearing. Their shows are catered towards younger to middle-aged women who are feeling led by the Holy Spirit. Jen and Melanie have done counseling with young girls suffering from eating disorders and with other women experiencing events that may have put them in a downward spiral, which then leaves them equipped to spread their journeys. Some episodes include “The Impact of Your Voice,” “Overcoming Rejection: Defined,” “Why, and How, Loving People Back to Life,” and “Why Does God Allow Heartache and Suffering?”
3. Teacher Tactics: High School Teaching Strategies
I’ve only listened to two short episodes, but I intend to listen to more! The episodes are brief, ranging from 3-20 minutes, making it a perfect listen while on break, walking to class, or driving to Target (because where else?). I listened to an episode called “Three Quiet Games (Quiet Time)” before my day started working at a childcare center. This 11-minute discussion gave me helpful ideas for our resting time in the middle of the chaotic, field trip-filled day. The hosts are teachers, and they bring on other educators that share tactics. Some episodes include “How to set the right tone with your classes in September” (ep. 001), “How to ask for teacher feedback” (ep. 033), “How to deal with phones in the classroom” (ep. 026), and “Four ways to survive staff politics at school” (ep. 019).
These are my top three podcasts that I’ve been impressed with, intrigued by, and engaged in over the course of six months. I encourage you to start listening to podcasts, even if it takes time to find ones that genuinely interest you. Learning these new perspectives on old topics or hearing new ideas is eye-opening and prompts your brain to generate its own views. Try out the ones I mentioned and take a leap of faith to find some of your favs!