The 23 Best Podcasts of 2024

This year, I listened to 717 podcasts (yes, you read that right… 717). As I listened to them, I tracked them all, noting which ones were the “best of the best.”

This month, I’ve been going back through and listening to these “best of the best,” asking myself what about this particular podcast inspired, intrigued, or enlightened me so much. And now I’m here to share that with you. So, without further adieu, here are my 23 favorite podcasts from 2024:

Okay, one more adieu… I’ve linked the title of each podcast with a way to listen to it (typically either Apple Podcasts, though if it’s no longer available on Apple Podcasts for some reason, then YouTube). At the end of the description of each podcast, I’ve also included a Spotify link for the Spotify listeners out there:

23. “Fatherhood Roundup 1” (The Family Teams Podcast)

There’s a lot in this episode that I actually disagree with, so I’m surprised it made it into the top 23. But two concepts I love are 1) thinking about the third generation and 2) the shrinking middle class. Since hearing this episode, I’ve thought lots about training my 1 year old to be a parent herself, which has helped us not get caught up in her own happiness and the temporary things about being a child and instead, focus on a 50 year vision for our family. Additionally, it put a fire under me to continue focusing on building assets to help our family fulfill God’s calling for us.

22. “Episode 91 Brian Russell and Rich Lewis – Lessons on Writing, Publishing, and Marketing a Book” (The Deep Dive Spirituality Podcast)

As an aspiring author, this episode taught me a lot about what it means to be a writer, from time management, to the marketing of a book, to launching the book once it’s written. I also appreciate how Dr. Russell and Rich Lewis describe themselves not as competition but as being on the same team, seeking to help introduce others to common topics (in their case, contemplative prayer).
Spotify Link

21. “Joy of Music” (Dream Big Podcast with Bob Goff and Friends)

This was such a fun podcast to listen to. When my wife and I were dating, we read Bob Goff’s Love Does together, which was a bonding experience for us. This past year (as I mentioned on a recent blog post), I became a big Ben Rector fan and listened to several podcasts he was on to learn more about him. I love that he talks about how his calling as a husband and a father is prioritized over his calling to a career. I’m also so encouraged by the work-life balance he maintains, even with an odd career. Two quotes particularly stood out to me. The first was, “I’m not going to argue with this person that thinks everything is terrible…” I’ve met people who think everything is terrible and everything needs to be better and it’s helpful to remember that arguing with them or explaining yourself to them is rarely fruitful. The second quote, from Bob, was “Look how far you’ve come, not how far you have to go.” I struggle with self-compassion and this was a great reminder of my need for self-compassion.
Spotify Link

20. “455 | Creating Your Entrepreneurial Flywheel | Nathan Barry” (ChooseFI)

Over the last year, I have seen myself more and more as an entrepreneur. This podcast episode helped me think more like an entrepreneur and also gives me a good vision for how to use wealth. I also like the idea of a “practice business,” which helps empower me to try out a business that might “fail” (by others’ standards) as a way of learning new skills. (If you listen all the way to the end, there’s a very heartwarming story, by the way!)
Spotify Link

19. “Episode 66 AJ Sherrill – Being With God: The Absurdity, Necessity, & Neurology of Contemplative Prayer” (The Deep Dive Spirituality Podcast)

AJ Sherrill is a deep thinker who highly values spiritual formation, which is a commonality of the spiritual leaders I seem to find myself compelled to listen to (in fact, he’s friends with many of the spiritual leaders I have been impacted by: John Mark Comer, Jon Tyson, Rich Villodas). In talking about contemplative prayer and the Enneagram, AJ uses the analogies of “downstream” and “upstream” practices when discussing spiritual formation practices. Downstream practices are the types of practices we participate in that are really easy for us and upstream practices are ones that are really hard for us, but having a balance of both is deeply formative for us. I found that concept to be particularly helpful because I’ve wrestled with the question, “With so many spiritual formation practices, how do we choose which ones to do?” Additionally, as a writer, AJ gives great advice for writers about how much to prioritize writing while pastoring. Also, AJ and Brian give a theology of sleep, which is one of the most profound ideas I’ve heard all year. It’s helping me to reframe sleep as a necessity that I have to do to an opportunity to put my trust in God and allow Him to heal me.

18. “Episode 69 Dr. Beth Allison Barr on The Making of Biblical Womanhood” (The Deep Dive Spirituality Podcast)

This episode covers a fascinating topic: how we’ve come to believe the 1900s’ idea of what a Christian woman should do, be, and act like. While I wish Dr. Beth Allison Barr went into some of the Scripture passages that are misconstrued in this discussion, I like her perspective on pulling back the curtain to show how we’ve gotten where we are.

17. “Episode 73: Gena Thomas on Missions, Justice, and Loving Our Neighbor” (The Deep Dive Spirituality Podcast)

This episode is the first time I’ve ever heard immigration framed as a pro-life issue, which was a really helpful reframe for me. I love how Gena and Dr. Russell discuss deeply divisive issues such as justice, missions, and immigration in Biblical and theological ways, which helped me ask how God might want me to think about these topics. In politics, it seems like everyone wants to make big and difficult topics like immigration so simplified. Doing so risks us seeing the complexities that individuals and families face as immigrants. There are no easy, quick answers and frankly, there probably aren’t any solutions that don’t cause pain to people. The question Christians might want to ask is: Are we the ones who are supposed to bear some of the pain? Also, Gena talking about her prayer practice with the rosary and the Pray as You Go prayer podcast encouraged me to use prayer beads and listen to the Pray as You Go podcast to deepen my prayer life.

16. “90 Galatians, Tom vs Luther and gender” (Ask NT Wright Anything)

I believe that NT Wright is the best, most accessible Protestant theologian in our lifetime. In preparation for a sermon series on Galatians, I came across this podcast episode. All of the episode is good but NT Wright’s discussion about the new heavens and earth and gender from 15:35 to the end is particularly helpful. I especially love how he points out that all we know of new creation is merely a “signpost” for the incredible wonder that is to come.
Spotify Link

15. “Episode 87 Dr Michaela O’Donnell–Make Work Matter: Your Guide to Meaningful Work in a Changing World” (The Deep Dive Spirituality Podcast)

Coming from a long line of entrepreneurs, I’ve always had an entrepreneurial bone in my body. In the last decade or so, I’ve seen entrepreneurship as a creative act. Because I believe that creativity is a reflection of the character of God, then I think entrepreneurship also reflects the character of God. This podcast really speaks to those beliefs in ways that are much deeper and theological than I have the words to express and I’m thankful for it. I think the Church would do well for us to begin seeing ourselves as creative people made in the image of God with a gift of entrepreneurship to offer to the world.
Spotify Link

14. “Responsible Inheritance for Christian Fathers: How To Make It A Blessing, Not A Curse” (The Family Teams Podcast)

Our family mission statement begins with “Our multigenerational family team…” As we think multigenerationally as a family, we’re thinking about how we can use God’s resources that we steward (a very important difference than “our resources”) to fulfill the mission God has given us. One of the questions I’ve had about this is how we should be thinking about inheritances. This podcast helped me tremendously in thinking about how to approach both spiritual and financial inheritances.
Spotify Link

13. “Episode 82 Dr Beth Felker Jones on Practicing Christian Doctrine Today” (The Deep Dive Spirituality Podcast)

When I was in seminary, I had the chance to hear Dr. Beth Felker Jones in person and I was captivated by her wisdom, her compassion, and her vision of and for the world. I was so glad to come across a podcast with her on one of my favorite podcast shows. Two things about this episode stand out to me: 1) When talking about undergraduate students and her experiences of their faith, she said this: “I routinely talk to students who feel like their parents are kind of losing it—parents who they’ve admired as Christian mothers and fathers—who seem to be shifting allegiance from recognizable Christianity to something that’s much more nationalistic.” She puts into words something I’ve noticed: that much of our Christianity is distorted by our nationality and/or our political allegiances. How can we choose for our politics to be influenced by our faith, rather than the other way around? 2) Dr. Felker Jones also says that “Theology is good for everyone.” Something I kept thinking this past year was “Good theology is healing.” When our theology is good, it is helpful, healing, relevant, and Biblical. May we all—professional and lay theologians alike—pursue theology that is good for everyone.

12. “Why Tipping is Everywhere” (The Daily)

A question I keep asking about our world is, “Why is everyone asking me for a tip?” This episode answers how we as a culture got to where we are with tipping and why things may not go back to the way they were.

11. “Notre-Dame Rises From the Ashes” (The Daily)

For the longest time, I’ve been intrigued by the following quote, attributed to Winston Churchill: “We shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us.” If that’s true—and I believe that it is—then how we build and rebuild the buildings around us is important. This podcast addresses the intriguing and important question of “What is the meaning of a building?” through the lens of the Cathedral of Notre Dame and its reconstruction. It grapples with the question of what Notre Dame tells us about ourselves, and more broadly, what architecture tells us about ourselves. In really beautiful and poetic ways, it also talks about the dignity of labor and craft in a world that so often wants to automate everything.

10. “Episode 72 Aaron Perry on Pastoral Care and Leadership in the Local Church” (The Deep Dive Spirituality Podcast)

I’ve heard a lot of efficiency gurus talk about using your time well and effectively. Being in a pastoral role, though, efficiency often conflicts with being present with people. What I love about this episode is that Dr. Perry discusses how to use time well, specifically as pastors. One of my favorite things he says is that, if we’re doing our jobs as pastors well, “out-of-balance” people in our ministry settings should be wondering why we aren’t “getting more done.” Our schedules should look so radically different than those we’re around who aren’t present to themselves, to others, or to God. Without using the word “boundaries,” he also talks about good and healthy boundaries for pastors. I particularly enjoyed the practice of using Facebook as a way of praying for and caring for others. Being a pastor on Facebook in 2024 wasn’t easy (which wasn’t very surprising, as I heard colleagues say the same about 2020) and learning how to redeem the Facebook experience led me to pray more and to unfollow people more, which made my social media usage much more enjoyable.

9. “1. preaching in a secular society (season 2)” (The Art of Teaching)

I don’t know about you, but I throw out the word “secular” a lot without truly knowing what secularism is. This podcast episode defines secularism in a really helpful way. I appreciate how they talk about secular culture in a way that doesn’t make it a threat to Christianity or our own personal allegiance to Jesus, but rather, as the waters we swim in and get to minister in.
Spotify Link

8. “What Happens When You Ignore The Family’s Design” (The Family Teams Podcast)

One of our family pillars is integration, so I love how this podcast talks about integrating children into the parents’ lives. I want to approach everything—my work, my investments, my free time—as a father, and this podcast episode helped give me clarity into that desire. Being a father is a primary identity of mine (that’s why I wrote this blog post). I’m thankful for the ways this episode helped fan the flame of integration and seeing myself as a father.
Spotify Link

7. “445 | Fundamental Truths of Investing | Brian Feraldi” (ChooseFI)

As I’ve written about before, I love thinking and talking about personal finance. This is hands-down, the best articulation of investing basics I have come across. If I could only put one resource into people’s hands for investing, I think this would be it.
Spotify Link

6. “5. re-enchanting Our Preaching” (The Art of Teaching)

To get a full context of what this podcast is about, you’d have to listen to the full series (well worth the listen for any pastors reading this). But these three—Jon Tyson, Jefferson Bethke, and John Mark Comer—are three of my favorite Christian voices to listen to. In brief, this podcast season is about how to preach in a secular age. This podcast episode is the beginning of their explanation of how to do so. There are so many things about this episode that I love—their encouragement to read about the Christian saints, the way they talk about a theology of sex, their explanation of desire—but my favorite thing they say is that, while all humans strive for the three highest ideals (according to Greek philosophy) of the good, the true, and the beautiful, in a world that sees goodness and truth as relative, the Church should be reclaiming the beautiful once again. For many decades (maybe even centuries), the church has minimized beauty in preference of the good and the true. But if we can reclaim what it means to claim the beauty of God and the Christian faith—whether that be through the arts, community, nature, etc.—we can begin to engage a secular society that doesn’t know how deeply its desires point to God.
Spotify Link

5. “Ancient Wisdom that Heals the Modern Family” (The Family Teams Podcast)

Jeremy Pryor and Family Teams have been deeply formative in helping Haley and I learn about a more Biblical model of family than the post-Industrial Age West has offered us. And while I disagree with Pryor that the Bible only gives the father the authority to lead the family, this is a very helpful sermon in helping us look back to, what I believe is, a more Biblical way of approaching family.
Spotify Link

4. “433 | Chris Bruno | Transitions and Transformation” (Pirate Monk Podcast)

This is the only episode of the Pirate Monk Podcast I’ve ever listened to and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It talks about how rites of passage went away in Western society when the Industrial Revolution began splitting apart families by taking men away from the home every day. Recently, I’ve been fascinated by the impact of the Industrial Revolution on how we perceive the family and this podcast spoke to that immensely. Additionally, I’ve heard lots of conversation around accountability in church settings but I think the definition this podcast gives is by far the best definition and most compelling reason for accountability: “Accountability is keeping you to who you are and reminding you of that.” Also, the phrase “serious whimsy” was used and I just loved that phrase.
Spotify Link

3. “God Comes Where He’s Wanted – Jon Tyson” (Church of the City New York)

Jon Tyson is one of my favorite preachers and this is one of my favorite sermons of all time. Its bottom line is powerful: “God comes where He’s wanted.” We don’t need more strategy or self-control or willpower. We need more desire. There’s so many great one-liners to chew on as well throughout this sermon, such as “the gap is the gift” (talking about the gap between where we are and where we want to be actually being a gift). Also, on a second listen-through of this sermon, this one stuck out to me: “God can’t transform the person you’re pretending to be.” This sermon transformed the way I’m thinking about awakening and revival and even inspired me in helping to preach a sermon series entitled “Awakening” this year at Mulder. What I also love about this sermon is that it was preached just a couple weeks before the Outpouring at Asbury University broke out. I think this was a prophetic and needed word.
Spotify Link

2. “CNLP 660 | Steve Cuss On How to Recognize if Your Have Chronic Anxiety (or Anxieties), How To Handle People Who Get Their Kicks Out of Kicking the Leader, And The Complex Job Description of Lead Pastors” (The Carey Nieuwhof Leadership Podcast)

This is by far the best podcast geared towards pastors that I’ve ever heard. But I think it’s especially helpful for parishioners as well to know the challenges that pastors face as we seek to lead our churches well. Steve Cuss points out that pastors don’t particularly have a tougher job than other vocations—and I think that’s a helpful clarification, as pastors can often fall into self-pity pits—but that until we understand the complexities and challenges of our vocation, we won’t be able to be healthy leaders. And, according to Cuss, “The best thing a leader has to offer their people is a well self.” Some of the complexities and challenges Cuss points out are:
– Pastors are almost always wearing multiple hats (pastor, friend, fundraiser, community leader, family man, etc.) and that we need to be asking ourselves: How many minutes a week do I get to be exactly myself and not a representative of God to another person?
– Pastors are often subject to people who get their kicks out of kicking the leader.
– A reason that pastors often face burnout is because the typical pastor knows ten times as many people with cancer or a fatal illness than the average person.
– The role of the pastor is not to provide care for everyone, the role of the pastor is to make sure everyone has care provided for them.
In addition to these (and other) complexities that Cuss points out, here are some other brilliant insights he shares: There are multiple kinds of anxiety and until we begin talking about “anxieties” (plural), we won’t grow as a society around anxiety. Chronic anxiety is always based on a false need. We should aim to view ourselves as “human-sized.” COVID didn’t create any problems in the church, it just exposed all of the problems in the church. Put yourself on the list of people you are in a relationship with; ask yourself why we treat ourselves so much worse than we treat other people that we’re in a relationship with. We should order our days so that we “stub our toes” on the love of Jesus several times a day.
Spotify Link

1. “God Comes Where He’s Wanted: The Cry of the Home – Jon Tyson” (Church of the City New York)

Oh. My. When I went back and listened to this sermon, I wept. This sermon put words to the coals that burn down deep in my soul for the next generation and fanned the flame to burn within my soul. If you’re going to listen to this episode, you’ve got to first listen to “God Comes Where He’s Wanted” (linked above), the intro to this series. But man. This sermon wrecks me. Tyson talks about “breaking down the altars our parents have built of idolatry and dysfunction in their lives” and “dam[ming] the dysfunction off so it doesn’t flow and release redemption and blessing for the next generation.” 100% must listen. Please.
Spotify Link

Well, there you have it! My top 23 podcasts I listened to in 2024. I’d love to hear if you check any of these out and what you think of them. Comment here or on my Facebook page.

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