Those that read my blog or know me, have a sense of who I am. Like you, I am influenced by both the past and the present. I am very thankful for being raised with a solid core of spirituality, but as I get older and expose myself to different things, parts of my life have shifted, and others have been enhanced.

I find myself spending a considerable amount of time listening to podcasts. I feel like my time is better utilized when I can be watering my plants or walking the dogs while listening to something. In essence, I am multitasking. (One thing I can’t do is listen and write at the same time.) Also, I feel a bit guilty watching TV during the day- even if I am retired. Don’t get me wrong, I still can get caught up in recurring episodes of Food Network or HGTV, but even those have fallen a bit flat.

So, today I’d like to share what I listen to. I’m going to break my podcast list into a few different categories: spiritual, awareness, and somewhat political.

Spiritual

Questioning Christianity-Tim Keller: By far, at least to me, Tim Keller is the best modern-day preacher. This podcast presents answers to questions we all have, whether you are familiar with Christianity or not. I always need ways to enhance, reorder, refresh and relearn my faith. Tim Keller is brilliant and honest. If you have questions about Christianity, this is the perfect place to start. If you have waned from your faith, this will offer you clarity. There is no judgment, only conversation in a topical format with an opportunity for questions and answers from the audience.

The Bothers Zahl podcast: Oh man, do I love this. I’ve been listening to this podcast for about a month, and I’m hooked. It may not be for everyone, but if you want to listen to three intelligent and very intellectual brothers chat about their faith and experiences in the ‘church’ I think you’ll enjoy this. They talk openly about their life, what has influenced their path, and their faith unapologetically. Each podcast is over an hour, so be prepared to settle in. One brother is an Episcopal priest, one teaches theology to undergraduate students in Cambridge, and one is the director of Mockingbird Ministries. There are so many nuggets of truth intercepted with pop culture. Often I’ll be listening while I walk the dogs and at the end, they state things to read or a movie to watch related to the subject. I find myself trying to remember what they said- making mental notes. But, then after listening to several episodes, I discovered there’s a list of all the things mentioned (books, songs, quotes, movies) and a playlist on Spotify with all the song references they made. It’s brilliant!

Everything Happens with Kate Bowler: she’s the best. I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know her. I feel like I do know her. I first happened upon Kate Bowler during lent. I was looking for something to focus my mind on preparing for Easter, and I found Kate. I’ve learned about her life and struggles. She’s a wife, mother, and writer. She also teaches at Duke Divinity School. At the age of 35, she was diagnosed with stage IV cancer. She is so easy to listen to in her gentle mannerism and complete honesty without an ounce of judgment. She has a lot to teach us. She’s beautiful.

Awareness

I started with spirituality because that feels comfortable to me. But, in order for me to be a better human, I need to be aware of the world I live in and learn what makes others tick. I have thoroughly enjoyed the following podcasts and go back to them quite a bit. This is not to say that the spiritual podcasts do not help me become a better human- this just broadens my perspective on life and allows me to be more aware of my own prejudices.

FAIR Perspectives: I’ll just take a quote from their page- “the official podcast of the pro-human movement, brought to you by the Foundation Against Intolerance & Racism. The hope is to “elevate a pro-human approach to our deadlocked discourse on a variety of topics including race, gender, politics, and more.”

Honestly with Bari Weiss: “The most interesting conversations in American life now happen in private. This show is bringing them out to the closet.” Bari Weiss was a former journalist for the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. She is very smart, sensitive, and deliberate with a desire to be heard but also an immense need to listen.

Conversations with Coleman: “is home to honest discussions with leading intellectuals on polarising issues in the realm of race, politics, and culture in the West.” I don’t really remember how I landed on Coleman, but I think I heard him speak on another podcast- perhaps Megyn Kelly? This brings me to my last category.

Somewhat Political

The Megyn Kelly Podcast: “home for open, honest and provocative conversations with the most interesting and important political, legal and cultural figures today.” I never had a strong opinion about Megyn Kelly when she was on TV- but I really appreciate the variety of topics and guests she has on her show. She leans center-right which could be good or bad depending on your bent. But, either way, she has great guests and the conversation is fair. I like the longer format too. It’s not like some of the other talk shows when the guest is lucky to get half of their viewpoint in while the host capitalizes the whole conversation.

Don’t let any pre-determined opinion or judgment of any of the above individuals prevent you from perusing these podcasts. Land on a person or topic that interests you and listen to that episode in its entirety! Honestly, in the past, I would not have chosen many of these podcasts, but they truly have been a good influence on growing me as a fellow human in a world that is diverse and in need of more truth and love.

I’ve learned I need to listen, watch and read that which might make me uncomfortable in order to grow and better understand others.

Can’t Get There From Here (REM)

this is me trying (Taylor Swift)

You are With Me (Sandra McCracken)