6 Podcasts You Should Be Listening To

I recently conducted a reader survey to get a feel for what you guys (my readers) are all about and what you would like to see more of on Avoiding Atrophy. Many of you responded, and to you wonderful ladies (and one dude. What up, one dude!), I am eternally grateful. I learned a lot, and I'll be sure to do a more thorough evaluation of my findings from that survey later in the week. But for now, I want to focus on just one aspect that I found particularly interesting. Take a look at this chart:

I have my own reasons for asking this out-of-nowhere question (which, again, I'll get to at a later time), but I have to admit that I was a bit surprised by just how many people NEVER listen to podcasts. Podcasts are so much a part of my daily life that I guess I just naturally imagine that they are a part of everyone else's. Before I leave my apartment, I always make sure that I have one queued up and ready to play, but I suppose it was a bit ethnocentric for me to assume that everyone does this exact same thing.

Still, I believe there is so much value in listening to podcasts, especially because, for me, they make my commute about a thousand percent more bearable. They keep my mind sharp, they often invoke wonderful storytelling methods, and they certainly keep me distracted from that guy next to me on the B train who has decided that the subway is the optimal place to clip his toenails. 

So for those of you who are new to podcasts, or even for those of you who are seasoned veterans, I thought I'd share some of my all-time favorites. I promise these will be well worth your time. Or maybe they won't. I don't even know anymore.

1. This American Life

This American Life is basically the gateway podcast. It remains my first love of the podcast world, and I know I'm not alone in this since it's pretty much always listed as #1 on iTunes. The show is hosted by Ira Glass, whose delightful voice and mannerisms are reason enough to tune in. Each episode is centered on a theme and each act features a story based on that theme. They are usually interviews told with narration, but sometimes they feature short fictional stories, poetry, comedy -- anything that artistically portrays some human truth. You will laugh. You will cry. You will reexamine all of your life choices.

Typical episode length: One hour

Recommended episode: Episode 484 -- Doppelgängers

2. Serial

Even if you didn't listen to it over the last few months, you probably still heard all about the buzz surrounding Serial. It's a spinoff of This American Life hosted by one of the show's producers, Sarah Koenig. For twelve weeks straight, Serial bumped its parent podcast from the #1 spot and became the most-listened to podcast in the world. This last season, the show recounted and reinvestigated the details of a 1999 murder of a high school girl in Baltimore. The show was so gripping that it even spawned podcasts solely centered on discussing theories from Serial. As in, people were actually making podcasts ABOUT ANOTHER PODCAST. The next season is still some time away, and there is no word on what the story will be, but if it's anywhere near as compelling as this last one, then you should tune in. 

Typical episode length: 45 min.

Recommended episode: In order to do this thing right, you have to start at Episode 01: The Alibi. 

3. Comedy Bang Bang

Do you like funny? Well, here, have some funny. Comedy Bang Bang, hosted by Scott Aukerman, can best be described as podcast interview improv. Some of your favorite comedians (Jenny Slate, Nick Kroll, Paul F. Tompkins, Lauren Lapkus, and so so many others) come together on this show as either themselves or as ridiculous characters. It's a good time. Don't overthink it.

Typical episode length: An hour and a half

Recommended episode: I could not stop laughing during this episode with Jenny Slate and Nick Kroll.

4. Radiolab

Remember that one biology teacher you had who made science fun? Radiolab is like that. This podcast combines science and storytelling in a way that makes the two seem more related than we ordinarily might think. This show serves as a continual reminder to always be curious about the world around us. Plus, hosts Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich have such a seriously adorable banter.

Typical episode length: It varies. Usually 30 minutes to an hour.

Recommended episode: Season 13, Episode 3: Patient Zero

5. The Moth

I honestly can't imagine a person alive on this earth who would not like The Moth, but perhaps, as a storyteller, I'm a bit biased. The Moth podcast features true stories told by real people at live storytelling events. Originally based in New York, there are now Moth story slams happening all over the country, possibly the world, and the podcast showcases some of the very best. If you ever start to lose faith in humanity, please listen to The Moth. After all, storytelling is one of the greatest tools humans have in promoting peace and understanding in this world (if this is sounding at all familiar, it might be because I've written about storytelling a lot on this here blog).

Typical episode length: 20 min.

Recommended episode: Seriously, any of them. 

6. Professor Blastoff

Okay, this one is pretty special to me. Many of the aforementioned podcasts take me on adventures to worlds that I would otherwise not know, but Professor Blastoff just feels like coming home. The show stars comedians Tig Notaro, Kyle Dunnigan, and David Huntsberger. The premise of the show is pretty flimsy, honestly (they receive and interpret transmissions from a genius scientist in outer space). In truth, though, this gimmick is just a platform for everyone to be hilarious. The show usually features an expert in a given subject, and recently, the guests have mostly been other very funny comedians. This is one of those podcasts that makes me look crazy on the subway as I sit there laughing to myself, and I am honestly okay with that. Highly recommend.

Typical episode length: One hour

Recommended episode: I liked this episode on Voice (with guest, Lake Bell)

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Friends, give podcasts a try. Shove those earbuds in your earholes, and join me in one of my favorite past times. I really think it will be a game-changer for you.

And for those of you already listening to podcasts:

Do you have a favorite? Share! Share!

My First Blogging Conference: Alt Summit Recap

“If you have an apple and I have an apple, and we exchange these apples, then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea, and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas.” 

These wonderful words, first spoken by playwright George Bernard Shaw, perfectly encapsulate the spirit of Alt Summit. Alt is a place to spark conversation, share ideas, and feel generally understood. I loved my time there -- the people, the insights, the glorious decor. Here were some of my favorite bits:

The Grand America Hotel

The conference took place at The Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City, and let me tell you...it was grand. Like, guys, I did not belong anywhere near a hotel that nice. Chandeliers everywhere, victorian wallpaper for days, chairs that were so fancy I was afraid to sit in them -- it was a wonderland packed with amenities and I was not worthy of any of it. I actually didn't sleep at the Grand America, but I basked in the glory of it any time I was there.

The bathroom sponsored by The Honest Co.

I'm not ashamed to admit that I may have spent like 30% of my time at Alt in the bathroom. For one, it was a great place to run into people (Oh hey, girl! I'm loving that lip stain you're applying. Also, can we be friends forever?!). But the biggest reason I kept finding myself attracted to the bathroom was the SICK swag spread laid out by The Honest Company. It was basically what I expect the bathroom in heaven will be like. All of The Honest Co.'s products are eco-friendly & non-toxic, so I felt guilt-free snatching pretty much all of them. 

Silhouette's Sponsor Dinner

The first night I arrived in SLC, I went to a dinner sponsored by the beautiful people at Silhouette. It took place at The Melting Pot, you know, the place where you DIP THINGS INTO CHEESE AND CHOCOLATE. So yeah, obviously, it was delicious. But even better, the company was absolutely top notch. There was one long table where most of the attendees sat, but I ended up at a small booth with four other phenomenal women. It was such a joy to laugh and swap stories with these genuine, hilarious girls. Big shout out to Carly, Brooke, Emily, and Camille and a big, huge thank-you to Silhouette for creating such an amazing evening.

Pinterest Strategies Breakout Session

Alex Evjen and Rachel Faucett

I actually stole the George Bernard Shaw quote I used earlier from Rachel Faucett of Handmade Charlotte. She and Alex Evjen of Ave Styles had me and a room full of others positively mesmerized during their presentation on the ins-and-outs of Pinterest. You might not expect a session about Pinterest to be deeply inspirational, but I found myself so riveted by the way they framed the conversation. One of my greatest takeaways from this discussion was the idea of being an "influencer." I tend to reserve that word for people with thousands of Twitter followers and signature fragrances, but it turns out if you know any humans who like you even a little bit, you get to call yourself an influencer. Your mom, your sister, your college roommate -- all of these folks are people whose lives you influence, and it's totally okay to call on them to help share your content because, hey, they're your biggest fans. That's how you grow your influence: work with the people you've already got.

Hosting a roundtable discussion

I hosted a roundtable on Blogging with Comedic Voice, and I loved absolutely every minute of it. Since this was my first time at Alt, I really didn't know what to expect from the roundtable format, and I was particularly nervous that my topic wouldn't really work with it. As it turns out, it went swimmingly, and it was all thanks to the lovely gals who showed up. They just made it such a profoundly fun, easy experience. Before long, the table was full of women from all parts of the blogging world discussing what it means to utilize humor in our various contexts. I learned so much just by listening to their experiences, and I honestly could have stayed in that little comedy huddle for days.

Oh, and for anyone who wasn't able to make it to my roundtable (or those of you who weren't even at Alt), I posted some of my notes for you on the blog. 

The beautiful people

Blogging can be a really isolating experience at times. It's usually just you, your computer, and thazzit. Alt created a place (a real place, not an online one) for all of us isolated blogger weirdos to be together and just marvel at each other. There were times where I would see people whose blogs I read, and I would think, my god...they're moving. Breathing, eating, occupying physical space. That blogger is more than just her profile picture or her DIY tote bags -- she's a human being.

And I met so many beautiful human beings at Alt. Everyone was truly kind, ready to embrace you and talk about any and everything (not just blogging). I engaged in conversations about marriage, womanhood, cocktails, Tina Fey -- you name it. It was so uplifting to be around such talented, authentic people.

The business cards

Remember all of those beautiful human beings I was talking about? Well, those guys made some seriously creative business cards. While business cards are usually a staple at most conferences, they have become somewhat of a magical tradition at Alt Summit. People deck their cards out with trinkets, toys, gorgeous designs. It's amazing, and every time you get a new one, you feel like a million bucks. It felt like I was a nine-year-old in the 90s trading Pokemon cards -- gotta catch em all.


There was so much I loved about Alt, and I actually don't even think I began to scratch the surface here. Oh, like I forgot to mention this insanely pretty garden party that took place on the final evening:

So in summation, Alt was excellent. I am so fortunate to have had the opportunity to go, and I would love to go again. Going into this experience, I was nervous about awkwardly inserting myself into conversations or being the comedy gal in a sea of designers, but I decided to just go with it. I sat down with strangers, I mixed, I mingled, and it was great. There is a lesson to be learned here, probably something about putting myself out there or making the best of every situation, but meh, I won't overthink it.

Thanks to all who made Alt the joyful thrill ride that it was!

All photos (except for that one Instagram of me awkwardly standing by my roundtable) courtesy of Justin Hackworth and Brooke Dennis. 

How Improv Comedy Will Make You a Better Writer, Blogger, and Person

I have no pictures of me doing improv because they would probably look ridiculous, but here I am doing standup at The Stand.

The act of blogging can often feel like a completely solitary act -- just you and your computer taking on the world. While the process is definitely independent, the truth is (and you know this already), you are not alone. Your blog, just for the very fact that it is exists in an online space, is part of a larger cultural conversation, one that is continually evolving. The content we create may be original, but so much of what we do is either 1) a response to what is already happening in the world around us or 2) an attempt to start a new kind of conversation.

For these reasons, it's easy to draw parallels between blogging and improv comedy. In improv, two people get on a stage, one makes a statement, the other responds, a conversation is had, and in that process a world is created. No scripts, no props – just people. When untrained audiences watch improv, they often marvel at the readiness with which the players advance their scenes so creatively. The truth is, these actors are actually working within a specified set of boundaries, principles of improv that enable scenes to be great. These rules of improv comedy can be applied to any creative practice, but as a writer and blogger myself, I have found them to be transformative to the way that I view the writing process. Here are a few of my favorites:

“Yes, and…”

You may have read about this one in Tina Fey’s fabulous memoir, Bossy Pants. Essentially, “yes, and” means that when you are in a scene and your scene partner says to you, “Margaret, you hair is on fire!” – you should not respond by saying, “No, it’s not. It’s just fine, and also my name isn’t Margaret. It’s Tammy.” Saying “no” in a scene effectively kills it. Instead, the right move would be to say something like, “Holy crap, it IS on fire! That’s the third time this week!” In doing this, not only are you agreeing to what your partner has set up, but you are also adding new information for them to work with. The “and” part of “yes, and” is essential.

How this relates to blog life: It can be so tempting to use formats and conventions you’ve seen work on other sites. For instance, with the success of sites like Buzzfeed, the online world began turning everything into quick, readable lists. These lists are easy to digest as a reader and easy to produce as a writer, so it makes sense that so many are turning to this method. While pulling inspiration from other sites is definitely not bad, we must ask ourselves as bloggers, how can I add new information here? How can I utilize a similar format without just duplicating it? In other words, am I just saying “yes” or am I saying “yes, and”?

ABC Initiations

If you go to an improv show, the actors will usually ask for a one-word suggestion from the audience. Someone will usually shout out something like “Pickles!” (fun fact: people often yell out names of food because that’s usually what we are thinking about). From there, improvisers will either go straight into a scene or they will play some kind of “pattern game” to help generate ideas. Essentially, with any suggestion, the job of an improviser is to think of ways to utilize the word or phrase without being too literal. The process looks a lot like… A makes me think of B, which makes me think of C. Pickles make me think of hamburgers, and hamburgers make me think of the 4th of July. Great, let’s initiate a scene at a 4th of July block party.

How this relates to blog life: So much of the writing process exists outside of actually writing. Much of it involves just collecting inspiration, whether that’s scribbling observations throughout your day or perusing other blogs for ideas. If you are wondering if you are being too literal in the way you are using your inspiration, or if you are just struggling to come up with an idea to begin with, do a pattern game in your mind. PICKLES. Pickles makes me think of Snooki from Jersey Shore (because that’s her favorite food), and Snooki makes me think of how I want to make sure my daughter never becomes like those girls on the Jersey Shore. Great, I’ll write a post all about how to keep that from happening.

Find the Game

“Game” is that thing about a scene that makes it unusual or interesting. It’s the big joke, the pattern, the point. Once an improviser spots a game in a scene, they will then take measures to enforce and heighten it.

How this relates to blog life: First off, writing should be like a game. It should be a place to play, a place to imagine and explore, but we often treat it with such unnecessary seriousness. If you are a blogger who creates content on a highly regular basis, you might be neglecting an important step in the writing process – first drafts. Not just first drafts, but “shitty first drafts” as author Anne Lamott calls them. This is the part of writing where you throw it all out there, every crazy, weird thought you have on a certain topic. Then you look it over, find that one interesting or unusual thing, and then you work on heightening it from there. In writing, this usually means adding as much detail as possible. The more specific you can get, the better.

Be Real

It can be so tempting in a scene to make a choice that will get a laugh, even if it might be a little forced. This usually results in a scene escalating way too quickly with nowhere to go.

How this relates to blog life: In the blogging world, we spend a lot of energy trying to make everything about our platform look pristine, but sometimes the unpolished things in our lives are exactly what our readers need. The best thing you can do, especially in comedic writing, is express the parts of yourself that are not so glamorous. For me personally, my most viral post was when I wrote about things I did terribly wrong at my own wedding.

Make Statements

Improvisers are often discouraged from asking questions in scenes because it leaves your scene partner in the position of having to come up with an answer. It’s much better to make declarative statements. I had a great improv teacher who would always say, “Say that again, but this time, KNOW.”

How this relates to blog life: Confidence is key as a blogger. You already know this because you constantly have to justify to friends and estranged relatives that this thing you are doing is more than just a hobby. In your writing, when you know exactly what you want to say, when you have a good sense for the game of what you are doing and a strong point of view, then you free your readers from the burden of having to fill in the gaps. Ask yourself the questions (“What exactly am I trying to say here?” “Why am I doing this?”), but only meet your readers with declarative, bold statements.

The "Why" of Comedy

A few weeks ago, you may have seen the following image floating around the Internet. These are the notes of a seven-year-old girl planning her first comedy show:

Image via http://www.pophangover.com/

As someone who writes material for standup routines on the reg, I think it is safe to say that this girl has got it all figured out. At seven-years-old, she is not only determined to make a room full of people laugh, but she is also making incredible observations about the conventions of humor. She has discovered some pretty genius comedic formulas here (tiny food + giant silverware = laughter), and I can totally picture her crowd work: "So where are you from? Michigan? AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!...Oh, you're serious."

I love this especially because it gets at the "why" of comedy. So often we laugh at something without really assessing what it was that made it funny. We just know that a person said something, and it made us get that happy feeling inside, so we laughed. This seven-year-old, on the other hand, hears a comedian make a silly too-high or too-low voice, and she realizes that that's the trick. Genius, right?

I've been thinking about this awesome girl's comedy tips as I've been prepping to speak at Alt SLC Summer. In just a few weeks, I will be hosting a roundtable about Blogging with Comedic Voice, and in that conversation I will be digging into the "why" of comedy that this little girl understands so naturally. With sites like Buzzfeed or Thought Catalog or whatever else dominating our feeds with funny, sharable content, the pressure to provide a humorous spin on things is huge for writers. I look forward to the opportunity to address that fearful part of every blogger's brain that says, "Am I being funny enough? Witty enough? Smart enough?" while also giving some practical tips on how to naturally infuse humor into writing. Whether it's standup or blogging, I believe the key to comedy is to simply hone in on the expressions of yourself that are instinctual -- or in more blunt terms, stop trying so hard, which is easier said than done. Seriously, just ask this girl:




Whether you'll be joining me for this conversation at Alt or not, I would love your input about how to make this topic more accessible for everyone. I've created a survey about Comedy & Blogging that I would just love for you to fill out. Seriously, it would make my day. If it weren't such an absolutely hilarious thing to do, I might even consider baking you a bunch of muffins to show my gratitude.

And by the way, if you won't be at the conference, no worries, I will be sure to do a blog post with all of my collected data and attempted wisdom. You'll be all set.

The survey is listed below (if you're not seeing it for whatever reason, you can also get to it here). If you have any other thoughts on the idea of being funny, feel free to leave a comment!

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey , the world's leading questionnaire tool.

My Comedic Inspirations

Do you understand that I collected ALL the stickers? (Starbucks)

Rap anxiety

Cat falling in love with me

Peas pregnancy

These are just a few of the hundreds of objectively nonsensical phrases I have written in the Notes app of my iPhone. While they mean absolutely nothing to you, these words trigger in my brain a good deal of significance. For as long as I can remember, I've had this habit of writing things down. After experiencing something funny or interesting, I've always felt this sudden urge to catalog it as quickly as possible by writing a word or phrase that will jog my memory in the future. These "trigger words" are shorthand ways of describing all of those humorous things in life that I just need to hold onto. 

And I never really had any plans for them. Many of these words have sat for years in my iPhone, notebooks, and stray gum wrappers, completely useless -- wasted words that only I understand, and sometimes even I have forgotten their meaning. 

But now I tell jokes. I mean, I've always told jokes. Everyone tells jokes, but now I tell jokes with a microphone in my hand.

That's me. Note the microphone.

And maybe that makes me a comedian. Maybe it doesn't. Maybe I'm not really a comedian until I have a viral video or until an audience member hurls some kind of rotten fruit at my face. But regardless, this is something I do now, and I don't remember what really made me start. One day I just got up and I did it and then I did it again another day and then again on another day. 

Maybe it has something to do with that one time I ran into Jerry Seinfeld on accident when I was working as a temp Production Assistant on a show called "The Marriage Ref." Perhaps in that interaction, I got bit by some kind of radioactive comedy spider. 

Who knows. But one thing is for sure, this whole joke-telling thing has given a whole new life to all of the trigger words that have been waiting patiently in my iPhone. It's a good feeling. Suddenly, "peas pregnant" becomes a bit about how my sisters convinced me that eating peas would make pregnant. "Rap anxiety" becomes a character who gets flustered when he freestyles. Sometimes the trigger words spread wings and become their own three minutes of material. Other times, I find that they are completely unusable. Other times still, they turn into jokes that an audience just doesn't want to hear. It doesn't matter. It's just good to set them free.

This is what it looks like when I write my set. Thanks, trigger words.

I get asked a lot why I'm doing this, why I decided to get up on a stage with the intention of being funny, and I've already told you, I don't know. Like writing (which I feel pairs nicely with comedy anyway), it just felt natural -- like something I should do, something I might be good at.

But while I may have sleepwalked up to the mic those first few times, my life has always been inspired, almost exclusively so, by comedians. The cast of characters who made me laugh on Saturday nights were my superheroes. The late night talk show with the tall, self-deprecating host was my ritual. The woman who was working on her night cheese and wanted to have it all -- she was my role model.

If you have no idea what I'm talking about, no worries. I'm about to introduce you to all of these people. These are my comedy inspirations, the people who blew my mind with their quick wit and their varied expressions of confidence. You've almost definitely heard of all of them, and you'll maybe even feel pissed that I didn't include some other notable ones. Trust me, there are plenty of others who could make this list, but these are the ones who just reached out and grabbed me with their ingenuity and brilliance.

Instead of gushing about them for you, I'll let their work speak for itself. Here they are...

1. Tina Fey


Bitch is the New Black-Tina Fey by ecacn6

2. Conan O'Brien

Conan O'Brien interviews Martha Stewart - watch more funny videos

3. Amy Poehler



4. Kristen Wiig



5. Mike Birbiglia




6. Tig Notaro



So those are my favorites. Tell me some of yours!