EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK: Podcasts for Doers and Donors
Podcasts on leadership, management, and creativity that are nourishing me now
Editor’s Note: Most Saturdays we will feature this “Editor’s Notebook” column. MinistryWatch President Warren Smith will offer his opinion on stories in the week’s news or, sometimes, offer a behind-the-scenes look at how and why we do what we do. This week we feature his quarterly podcast recommendations. 
Twice a year, MinistryWatch conducts a reader survey. (You can find the results of the latest survey here.)
One of the things we learned in these surveys is that our audience is made up primarily of what I call “doers and donors.” Many of you are active in your churches, communities, and both local and global ministries. Some of you are volunteers, but we also have a lot of ministry and church staffers among our readers.
Another large block of you are donors to these ministries. You use MinistryWatch to help you be better stewards of the resources God has entrusted to you.
That’s why, in this quarterly review of podcasts, I am focusing on podcasts that I think will help make you more effective “doers and donors.” They are podcasts that focus on leadership, management, and creativity.
Freakonomics Radio. This American Public Radio program and podcast is based on the 2005 bestselling book by Stephen Dubner (who hosts the show) and Steven Levitt (a regular guest). One of the things I like about this program is that it asks important questions and attempts to provide nuanced answers to those questions. For example, recent episodes asked “Why Do Your Sunglasses Cost $1,000?” Another recent episode asked “Why Don’t We Have Better Candidates For President?” An episode that church and ministry leaders should listen to is “Your Brand’s Spokesperson Just Got Arrested – Now What?” This program highlights the fact that most effects do not have a single cause, and the world is full of unintended consequences.
Wisdom From The Top. NPR alum Guy Raz interviews well-known leaders from business, all of whom have been successful and, in some cases, legendary. What makes this podcast interesting to me is Raz’s ability to get these leaders to talk about their failures and the lessons they learned from those failures. Most of them say some variation on this theme: “My successes made me famous, but my failures made me successful.” Recent episodes featured Cheryl Batchelder (Popeye’s Louisiana Kitchen) and Marvin Ellison (Lowe’s Home Improvement), who talked about their Christian faith in ways that didn’t make me cringe.
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The Great Creators. OK, I think it’s fair to say that I’m a Guy Raz fan-boy. This is another Raz-hosted podcast that has been nourishing me for the past year or so. Recurring themes of this program are the importance of hard work in the creative process, and the importance of family and community. I especially recommend the interview with Michael Lewis (The Big Short, Moneyball, The Blind Side). His writing advice is helpful. The 2022 interview with Weird Al Yankovic (recently re-inserted into the podcast feed) will surprise you if you think “Weird Al” is just a novelty act. For one thing, it takes more than novelty to sustain a 50-year career. His thoughtfulness and musicianship and very non-rock-and-roll lifestyle (he abstains from alcohol, profanity, and drugs) are highlighted as secrets to his success.
The Russell Moore Show. Russell Moore is best known for his career in the Southern Baptist Convention and – more recently – as editor-in-chief at Christianity Today. What draws me to this podcast, though, is his interviews with artists. Those interviews invariably lead to discussions of creativity, the artistic process, and the role of art in the church and the world. Recent highlights for me include his conversation with novelist Leif Enger (I Cheerfully Refuse), memoirist Carolyn Weber (Surprised by Oxford), musician and writer Charlie Peacock (who with his wife Andi Ashworth recently published Why Everything that Doesn’t Matter, Matters So Much), and actor/director/producer Ethan Hawke.
I hope you find these suggestions interesting and challenging. If you have some suggestions of your own, please email me: wsmith@ministrywatch. I’m always ready to try something new!
