​Proof to Product​

Katie Hunt is the business strategist and mentor to creative entrepreneurs from whom I’ve learned the most about being a product-based business owner since I attended her (in-person!) Paper Camp conference in 2015. She is razor-sharp, kind and generous and I’ve listened to every single one of the 333 episodes she’s released to date. I look forward to the new ones every week!

​Professional Creative

Bonnie Christine is a newer business mentor from whom I have already learned a great deal. I took her Surface Pattern Design Immersion course in 2022 in order to learn how to make repeating patterns using Adobe Illustrator and I got a lot more than I paid for. She launched her podcast in the fall of 2022 and I’ve been a loyal listener ever since. Bonnie’s advice has almost a spiritual component; her belief in the creative potential in all of us is infectious and I could listen to her talk about anything even if the topic isn’t specifically relevant to my work.

​How I Built This

As the founder of a company, it is beyond interesting to hear the origin stories of other entrepreneurs. Guy Raz is a masterful interviewer and I have been inspired and comforted by many of the stories he’s helped his guests tell. Tate’s Bake Shop, Stonyfield Yogurt and TerraCycle are some of my favorite episodes.

​Design Matters​

Debbie Millman is an A-list pro when it comes to both design and the art of the interview. Her interview with Dani Shapiro is one that stands out in my mind. I can still remember what I was doing in my studio in Brooklyn in 2016 when I listened to it.

​Feminist Founders​

This is a podcast I discovered recently and I’m loving Becky Mollencamp’s fresh take on how to run an ethical, profitable business in alignment with one’s values. I loved this episode on Marketing as Culture Making with Kelly Diels and I look forward to making my way through her backlog.

​Flow State​

This isn’t a podcast exactly, it is a Substack newsletter from Marcus Morretti who shares a two-hour playlist each weekday morning of music chosen to be great for working and getting into a “flow state” of creativity and productivity. Since I found it I have listened to a lot more inspiring (but not distracting) music and spent a lot less time looking for it or making decisions about it.

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Special Mention:

I loved this Beyond the Design interview with wallpaper designer Erin Minckley and this generous, cautionary tale by Emily McDowell on her podcast Quitted: Emily McDowell Quits Being a Human Brand. One other podcast I can’t not mention in this category is After the Jump with Grace Bonney, which ended in 2018. It aired at the perfect time for me but I think a lot of the interviews are still relevant and she is another interviewer who I think does a wonderful job bringing out what is most interesting and relatable in her guests.

​Ologies​

Allie Ward covers topics ranging far and wide. I love the format and Allie is a crackerjack interviewer with contagious enthusiasm for in-depth knowledge of all sorts. My favorite episode is Dendrology (the study of TREES) with Casey Clapp, who also has his own podcast called Completely Arbortrary. TREES! This Ologies interview with Cole Imperi on Thanatology was helpful when I was writing our What to Write in a Sympathy Card guide.

​Quilt Buzz​

​Quilt Buzz is a sweet show all about, you guessed it, quilting (a new fun skill I’m trying to learn). What I love about it is that the hosts, Amanda and Wendy, are disciplined about the format. There is no pre-show chit-chat and every episode is 30 minutes long. There is plenty of fun conversation with the guests, but they do a great job of focusing on the person they are interviewing.

​The Potter’s Cast​

My husband and I each threw a bowl last year at a one-night workshop I gave him as a Christmas gift, and I knew immediately that unless I want to completely neglect all my other interests and responsibilities, I must not take up pottery (at least not yet). Too fun! Host Paul Blais is a staggering 1009 episodes in on this project, and once you listen you will understand why. He is a rare interviewer who is highly skilled at disarming his guests and drawing the very best storytelling and practical advice out of them. “We’re picking up where the art degree ends” is the tagline, and I’ve learned a lot about running a creative business by hearing how the potters of the world are doing it.

​Pressure Cooker​

Veteran food journalists Jane Black and Elizabeth Dunn know that feeding kids has become ridiculously complicated. They break down hot topics like allergies, pickiness, sugar (how much is actually too much?), family dinner (I know we should but why is it so hard???) and moving toward plant-based eating as they relate to kids big and small. I especially appreciated this in depth history of school lunch in America: Part 1 and Part 2.

​ParentData​

ParentData Emily Oster is my go-to for actual factual real news and info about parenting. She’s an economist, she works with data. She has a lot of great advice for how to weigh the different factors and make a decision that is right for your family. This episode on parenting through grief with Marissa Renee Lee is especially poignant and helpful.

​Good Inside with Dr. Becky​

This is one I keep coming back to, despite the fact that I'm conflicted about the overabundance of parenting advice clamoring for space in our brains these days. Big Little Feelings and Unruffled are more examples of this. But the hard moments keep happening, and Dr. Becky has a lot of useful advice for how to navigate them.

​Mother Culture​

Mother Culture is the perfect grain of salt to take along with your parenting advice. These thoughtful ladies’ interview with Kathryn Jezer-Morton “On How Social Media Storytelling Has Changed Our Understanding Of Motherhood, Childhood & What Makes A Good Life” gave me a lot to think about and I look forward to having them in my ear more often in the future. Jezer-Morton’s recent article about Dr. Becky in New York Magazine is another helpful grain of salt to add to your parenting advice diet.

Special Mention

When I was pregnant, The Birth Hour helped me to prepare mentally for the experience of giving birth, and One Bad Mother got me through the hard early years of no sleep, feeding woes and general lack of confidence as a parent.

​House Calls with Dr. Vivek Murthy​

This is an offering of, if you can believe it, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that I’ve been exploring lately. I particularly appreciated this Meditation for Connecting with Loved Ones and this interview with Susan Cain, author of Bittersweet: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole (one of my favorite books).

​On Being​

This On Being interview by Krista Tippett with Barbara Brown Taylor gave me a lot to think about. I especially liked the concept of befriending our questions, thinking of them as our companions instead of focusing only on answers and solutions.

​Poetry Unbound​

This is another offering from On Being, where Irish poet and theologian Pádraig Ó Tuama reads a single poem and unpacks it in his beautiful lilting accent. So lovely!

​All There Is with Anderson Cooper​

Anderson Cooper asks "Do we ever move on from grief, or do we just learn to live with it?" He shares his own experiences as well as interviews with others who have lost people they love in this moving and thought-provoking series. This interview with Stephen Colbert is incredibly tender and moving.