My Top Ten Favorite Podcast Episodes and a BIG Announcement!

Wow. Stacy and I have been podcasting for almost 8 years! And co-hosting a weekly podcast has been the most amazing experience, and a key driver of my personal and professional growth over that period of time.  Not to mention, even 400 weekly episodes in, I still love it!  I love researching new topics spurred by listener questions; I love getting to nerdy chat with my friend every week; I love the connection with you.

How did this podcasting adventure begin?

I don’t actually know how I ended up on a reviewer list for Eat Like a Dinosaur by Stacy Toth and Matthew McCarry of RealEverything (then Paleo Parents) way back in early 2012.  It was probably thanks to my website name making my compatibility obvious, in addition to having achieved a critical mass of social media followers in my first 4-5 months of blogging.  It was a Big Deal!  I mean, someone actually wanted my opinion on their book!  They even sent me a free review copy! Weeeeee!

I took my inaugural book reviewing duties super seriously.  I cooked a ton of recipes out of the book (even buying kitchen equipment to make the waffles, which rocked my world), I read the children’s story within to my kids and got their feedback, and I crafted my review.

Good thing I loved the book.  Stacy reached out to me on social media and we had our first phone call.  We ended up talking for well over an hour, hitting it off.  Stacy had been thinking for a while about creating a podcast and asked if I would co-host it with her, with Matt producing the show.  We talked about her vision for the podcast, discussed possible names, and formats…  I was in!

And, The Paleo View Podcast was born.

I wish I could say that it was a strategic choice to align myself with established bloggers through our podcasting collaboration.  Nah, I just really liked Stacy (and still do!) and thought that podcasting sounded fun.  But, jumping aboard this ship ended up being awesome for the continued growth of my blog and brand.  I was able to meet other Paleo bloggers through Stacy and Matt, and plug myself into the community in a new way.  And, communicating now in two media, written and audio, helped me to find confidence in my knowledge base and to hone my voice, something I was still struggling to solidify.

The experience of podcasting has been key to my professional evolution from mommy blog to health authority, utilizing my science research background and personal health history to create evidence-based, contexted and nuanced resources, clearly communicated in an accessible, relatable and engaging way. And I found my mission: to reverse the current epidemics of chronic illness by improving scientific literacy on health topics.

Just as my approach to resource creation evolved, so too did the podcast.

We started off tackling many parenting topics, having a guest nearly every week, and keeping the science behind each week’s topic contained to a short “Science with Sarah” segment.  While we settled into the swing of things, we unintentionally fell into the traditional podcast formula, becoming interviewers rather than experts in our own right, another stop on the virtual book tour.  Some episodes were great fun, and some were not.  We adjusted our format, bit by bit, to try to achieve that fun and informative vibe every week.  But we didn’t really realize what was wrong until we had a couple of experiences of interviewing someone who made a claim that we (and the science) resoundingly rejected, but felt trapped between wanting to be polite and respectful podcast hosts while also caring deeply about the quality of the information communicated in our podcast.  The last of these interviews was so bad that we opted to record a new podcast and not air the interview.  And that was when we had an epiphany.  We could do our podcast differently.  We could share our own hard-earned expert knowledge and not rely on unpredicatble guests to bring value to our listeners.  Our listeners love science and we could incorporate nerdtastic information (including tons of mythbusting) with how-to, mindset, emotional topics, real life, quips and puns.

For the last few years, we’ve really come into our own.  Hours of planning and research go into every episode. We record an episode every week with a fast turnaround so that every episode can be topical and current.  We record with 7-8 pages of notes, including links to scientific references, in front of us.  We carefully vet sponsors and match them to show topics so you can get discounts on products we both personally use and love and for which there’s science to support.  We rarely have guests on the show and only when we have an expert friend who can add value to our listeners by discussing a topic that neither Stacy nor I can speak to. And, our respective teams are critical for the creation of the podcast.

We’ve taken a holistic approach and broad perspective to addressing every topic.  We aim to provide the full picture on the current state of scientific evidence, including what questions remain to be answered by the research and where conflicting data might imply context, while also addressing practical aspects, implementation, emotional health, and family challenges, and sharing our own experiences, lessons learned, and hurdles yet to overcome.  We’re keen to ditch diet dogma and fad diet mentality, in favor of a balanced and sustainable approach to health backed by scientific consensus. In short, we’re no longer just providing a Paleo view, we’re providing a whole view.

Drumroll please.

We’ve decided to rename our podcast. Not to change what we’re doing, but instead, name our podcast to better reflect what we’ve already been doing for the last few years.  We are now The Whole View Podcast.

Let me again emphasize for a long-term listeners, we’re not changing the podcast, just the podcast branding to match what the podcast has already grown into.

So, to celebrate, I thought I’d share my top ten favorite podcast episodes with you, in no particular order!  And, if you’re new to the show, here’s ten great episodes to start with!

My Top Ten Favorite Podcast Episodes

1. Episode 210: “Everybody Out” Moments – I love how uncomfortable it makes Stacy to talk about poop!  It’s always easier for her to talk in euphemisms, hence the episode title! Lots of me giggling over Stacy’s discomfort with the conversation, LOL!

2. Episode 280: Yo-Yo Paleo – This episode talked about the science behind on-the-wagon-off-the-wagon diets, how bad these are for our bodies, and why they make it progressively harder to lose weight. Tons of great information and an “aha” moment for Stacy!

3. Episode 315: The Scoop on Red Light and Infrared Therapy – There’s so few biohacks out there that are actually backed by science and live up to the hype.  This was an opportunity to geek out about a notable exception, sharing the impressive science behind red light therapy, and get Stacy hooked on a new health tool.

4. Episode 322: A Healthier Visit With Aunt Flo – Tons of knowledge bombs about women’s health, and one that changed my own personal care habits in response to the science I researched and Stacy shared.

5. Episode 283: Handling Critics, Conflicts and Vegans – This mindset episode is a fan favorite, sharing how to respectfully talk to the people in our lives who don’t see eye-to-eye with us on diet and lifestyle choices, and when to stand our grounds versus refuse to engage.

6. Episode 377: Common Misconceptions about the AIP – This is a great up-to-date introduction to the AIP while discussing common pitfalls and myths about the Autoimmune Protocol.  We also talk about the 3 stages of the AIP, and how important it is to progress through them.

7. Episode 365: Does Paleo Cause Heart Disease? – This episode was in response to a new study that hit mainstream media and garnered an defensive response from our community as a whole that wasn’t openminded to the very important information within this study!  Let’s respect science and continue to adapt our recommendations as important studies shape our understanding of optimal diet.

8. Episode 381: Is Breakfast the Most Important Meal of the Day? – Another one that I changed something in my life in response to what I learned researching the episode.  This is a pivotal podcast to listen to if you’re thinking about intermittent fasting or alternate day fasting, or if you’re a person who just isn’t hungry in the morning.

9. Episode 392: Are Mushrooms Really Magic? Part 2 – The sequel usually isn’t better than the original, but this second mushroom-focused podcast benefited from new science and the research I did for my upcoming gut microbiome book.  So much great information, and if you aren’t already eating mushrooms in some form daily, this podcast will change that!

10. Episode 394: Covid-19 – I’ve worked hard to earn your trust as a Go-To information source by maintaining high-integrity, transparency, and quality in everything I do, and by keeping every recommendation rooted in current non-cherry-picked science. So, this podcast was about living up to that role and providing you with non-fear-based, science-rooted actionable information about the covid-19 pandemic, with a strong focus on the small changes we can all do to support our immune health during this unprecedented time.

A Veggie-Filled Bonus!

One of the long-running themes of our podcast is the important of high vegetable consumption for human health.  Whether we’re busing myths about low-carb diets or talking about the gut microbiome, the benefits of eating tons of veggies and as much veggie variety as possible keeps coming up again and again (and again!).  So, honorable mention, here are my favorite veggie-focused shows. Stacy and I are ready for part 5, so submit your veggie questions!

Episode 152: All About Vegetables

Episode 304: What’s Better: Raw or Cooked Vegetables?

Episode 335: How Many Vegetables Part 3: Souping vs Smoothies

Episode 373: How Many Vegetables Part 4: Powdered Veggies