Rec's on rec's on rec's

So friends, I have decided to add a more light-hearted category to this blog. I would like to have a space on here to add my recommendations on anything from food, music, books, movies, shows, podcasts, and more. I don't know if anyone would actually care to know my recommendations, as well as I don't go out of my day to make real-life, unsolicited recommendations, but at least I'll feel like I'm giving some value-add to the blog, as well as helping to promote some of the things I love. Maybe one day if this blog becomes more than my brain dump/online journal, I might get paid for my opinions. Who knows.

I think for my first recommendation, I will start with my go-to podcasts. I don't have a huge variety in my podcast selections but there are some that I have been listening to religiously since I first started listening to podcasts 2-3 years ago.

1. Girls Gotta Eat - GGE was one of the very first podcasts I ever listened to. I was in a dark place at the time. There was some family trauma that was happening at the time and I wasn't able to deal with social or extracurricular interaction during my work day so I decided to look for an entertaining podcast to try out and see if I liked it. They were listed in the top ten comedy podcasts (I think on Spotify, don't remember exactly) so I figured I'd give them a try. Worst case, I hated it and I would try something new. The podcast is hosted Ashley and Rayna, two women in their 30s living in New York and they talk about dating, sex and relationships. The show has evolved quite a bit over the past three years but I've loved it. There are some aspects of it that I can't relate to since I am not in my 30s (yet) and I am a married individual but I still love the educational resources and fun guests they have join.

2. The Unofficial Expert - The Unofficial Expert is one of the funniest podcasts I've every come across. This podcasts features two black women in New York, Sydnee and Marie, and they created the concept of having people come on the show to be an expert in some way and it's been extremely entertaining. I found them on the comedy podcast list on Spotify as well. Their show is still up on Spotify but they recently parted with the network that was producing their show, so I have linked their Patreon account where, I believe, they are exclusively posting new episodes. As the show progresses, it eventually becomes less of new experts and more on the personal lives of Sydnee and Marie with some occasional experts, but I have loved listening to them over time as well.

3. The Bitch Bible - Ohhhhhhhhh lordy, The Bitch Bible podcast is something for the ages- also available on Spotify under comedy podcasts. The host, Jackie Schimmel, is one that is mildly problematic, borderline batshit crazy, but definitely a woman that is authentically herself and I couldn't be more appreciative of it. She is a woman who is not afraid to speak her mind, make fun of herself, and has gotten shadow-banned on Instagram multiple times. This podcast is not for the faint of heart. She gets really feisty and says some outlandish and problematic things that may offend some listeners. Sometimes the more outlandish she gets, the more I love her. She has fluctuated over time with having consistent guests and monologuing for 45-60min. It's honestly pretty impressive how she can maintain a stream of conscious thought and speak to herself for that long on a weekly basis. She has actually been the one that has inspired the idea to start a podcast. I keep thinking to myself that I could manage to monologue long enough for a podcast episode but I'm pretty sure I was lying to myself haha.

Those are the main three podcasts that I listen to/have listened to on a regular basis. I have tried branching out to new podcasts and I'm working on accepting new ones. I can get pretty picky when it comes to who I want to listen to speak for an hour out of my day. Some previous podcasts I listened to that I'm either currently working on or have stopped listening to since the shows ended were Schnitt Talk (ended) , Down to Date by Kendall Long (ended) , and am currently working up a rapport with This Might Get Weird (I linked their YouTube channel but they are available on anywhere you can get podcasts.) All of these podcasts I found available on Spotify.

For the most part, I have stuck to the realm of comedy podcasts since I usually use them as an escape or a source of entertainment on my drives to and from work and wherever I end up. However, the very first podcast I ever listened to was true crime podcast called Serial . I originally first had to listen to it as part of an assignment for an intro to criminal justice class (that class was ridiculous) but I ended up enjoying listening to it so after the first season, I continued to listen to all three seasons available. This podcast was available to listen to from their website but they are also available on Spotify. I know I have listened to other true crime type podcasts as well but I unfortunately don't remember what they were now. I did have to take break from them though because I started getting paranoid that I was going to get attacked and assaulted while going on my runs. (my brain loves to amplify my anxiety)

So if you've made it to the end, thanks for reading all of my rambling. Maybe one of these podcasts will pique your interest and give you something new to listen to. Either way, I love that I have given some space to some of the things that have helped me through different parts of my life.

-A