Over the past few years, I have made an almost complete transition from listening to talk radio to listening to podcasts. I must confess that podcasts have become a bit of an obsession.
There are so many I want to hear, but so few hours in the day. I rotate the podcasts I'm following, simply because there is no way to keep up. But the complete list of the podcasts I alternate keeping downloaded in my podcast app reads like this:
- The Victor Davis Hanson Show - Victor Davis Hanson*
- Highly Concentrated Hugh - Hugh Hewitt
- The Bible in a Year - Fr. Mike Schmitz
- The Megyn Kelly Show - Megan Kelly
- The Dan Bongino Show - Dan Bongino
- Call Me Back - Dan Senor
- The McCarthy Report - Andrew C. McCarthy
- The Commentary Magazine Podcast - John Podhoretz
- The Shawn Ryan Show - Shawn Ryan
*=Never miss one
I occasionally drop in on The Rubin Report with Dave Rubin and Getting Hammered with Mary Katherine Ham and Vic Matus, when time allows. But the recent discovery of Shawn Ryan has practically ruined my life. I don't know where my head has been, but I didn't know about this host of the No. 21 podcast on the Top 100 Apple Podcasts until I heard Megyn Kelly interview Shawn recently. His story is so fascinating that I searched his podcast, scrolled down the titles, and promptly followed his show.
Since that moment, my life is not my own. Shawn Ryan's first podcast was in December 2019, so I have a lot of catching up to do. I pick out the titles that intrigue me, and I listen. And listen some more. While I'm cooking, cleaning, doing laundry, driving, weeding the garden, or trying to get to sleep at night, Shawn keeps me company. His podcasts are long; most are two or three hours, but some are more than five hours. The listener has to plan manageable segments, but it's often hard for me to break away.
Shawn has a calm, quiet demeanor that belies his life experience as a combat veteran Navy SEAL. His conversations with other SEALs and special forces veterans are riveting. I've also listened to his talks with Michael Shellenberger, Jordan Peterson, Jim Caviezel, and Tucker Carlson. The story of his spiritual experiences that brought him to faith in Christ (Episode #63) is spellbinding.
I may have found the object of next spring's Lenten fast. Giving up all podcasts would be beyond my human strength. Let's not get crazy. But, like a pretend SEAL training exercise in endurance, I'd like to see how long I could go without listening to Shawn Ryan.
