These days, I have an ever-growing obsession with podcasts. About a year and a half ago, I started reading and hearing buzz about Serial, discovered the podcast app on my iPhone, and was hooked. At that point, Serial season 1 was nearly over, so I binge-listened to that one and started searching for more. Now, podcasts have replaced TV and even blog-reading as my main source of evening entertainment. Honestly, I love that I can become lost in an episode while giving my eyes a rest (crawling under the covers in a dark room with earbuds in? Yes please). I’ve also recently begun listening to podcasts while I drive, which is a nice alternative to listening to music, or the jabbering of a 3 year old.

I also realize I now talk about podcasts a lot, just like I talk about blogs. Just this morning at my Bible study, I referenced podcast episodes twice in our discussions. And surprisingly, not a lot of people have discovered the magic that are podcasts. If this is you- give them a try! There are literally thousands, and if you have an iPhone, there’s a little purple Podcast app right on your home screen I bet you’ve never noticed.

My list grows weekly, but here are my current favorite podcasts.

The Satellite Sisters One of my absolute favorites- 5 real sisters who are all super accomplished in their fields. They are absolutely hilarious and inspiring, and talk about current events, trends, and do TV recaps. And I love that they produce two new shows a week and have a Facebook group for their fans to discuss topics of the shows, or whatever else they want. I do love a good FB group.

The Happy Hour with Jamie Ivey For my Christian friends, this one is a must-listen. Jamie interviews a different woman each week- a lot of them are authors- and I am always inspired by their stories and the work they are doing. These are all women who have discovered their passion and are doing something big with it. I love how real their conversations are- it really is like listening in to a happy hour chat.

Sorta Awesome I love the content and format of this show. There is one main host and then the 3 other co-hosts rotate through. At the beginning of each show they share an “awesome of the week”- a product, show, app, tip, etc. that they are loving. Then each show has a main theme that they discuss- my favorites have included shows on friendship, anxiety, and Meyers Briggs personalities (the host is obsessed with this and I’ll admit, it’s super interesting to me too). This one also has a FB group with great discussions.

The Longest Shortest Time This podcast covers parenting in all sorts of ways. I love it because a lot of the guests are very different than me and my friends, and I love hearing about others’ experiences and points of view.

The Big Boo Cast Anyone who knows me well knows how much I adore Melanie Shankle (The Big Mama Blog). Melanie and Sophie Hudson (Boo Mama) put out this podcast every few weeks and it’s absolutely hilarious. It’s literally like you are listening in on a phone conversation between them- they obviously have no outline or plan to what they are going to talk about, and they just bounce from one topic to another. Sometimes they shop online while they podcast. They talk about mascara A LOT. This podcast just makes me happy (and laugh, a lot). .

Serial Obviously, I had to include this one. But full disclosure- as captivated as I was by Season 1, I just couldn’t get on board with Season 2. But Season 1- swoon.

This American Life Each week, this show has a theme and then all the stories they share revolve around that theme. There are weeks I’ll listen and can’t get some of the stories out of my head for days and days. Such great stuff.

Mystery Show A fun, quirky podcast where the host solves a “mystery”- which are all kind of trivial, but the episodes are riveting.

A Slob Comes Clean I’ve just started listening to this one. Awesome tips on de-cluttering, simplifying and dealing with routines and STUFF. Very timely as we are getting ready to move.

Mud Stories with Jacque Watkins This is another new one to me. Jacque interviewed Jamie Ivey a few weeks ago and that’s how I found it. Each episode is the story of someone with a “Mud Story”-some kind of suffering they’ve gone through and what it’s taught them and how it’s changed their life. Heavy stuff, but I love it. Be sure you listen to Jacque’s story- episode 61.

Do you listen to podcasts? Have any must-listen ones I am missing?!