“You should start a podcast.”

A friend said those kind words this summer and at first, I just rolled my eyes. Yes, I’d heard that before. And yes, the idea was intriguing. And FINE OKAY YES, I’d talked about doing this very thing with more than one friend over the years.

But it seemed so hard!
And scary!
And overwhelming!

So I tried to shrug off her suggestion, like I’d done before. I tried to ignore her. I really did. But my brain didn’t cooperate. My thoughts kept circling back to this idea and I kept hearing my inner voice whisper, “What if…?”

What if I tried?
What if I liked it?
What if people liked it?

For better or for worse, this idea was reignited right before I took a road trip. With several hours in the car, on my own, I had no way of escaping my thoughts or my ideas or, just maybe, my dreams. I voxed a friend who had started a podcast last year and she happened to be available to chat. She told me All The Things about starting a podcast and, by the time I arrived at my destination, I was about 90% sure I would be starting a podcast.

But when?
And how?
And what kind of show would it be?

While I began figuring out these things last summer and fall, I decided to jump into having conversations with friends about pop culture (the vague topic and format I had in mind for this future podcast). Thus, Favorites with Friends, a weekly(ish) Facebook Live video, was born! If you missed these online chats, you can still watch them on Facebook. Here’s what you missed:

• Niki shared her expertise in all things royal wedding.
• Myquillyn convinced me to watch a historical drama on PBS.
• Lisa-Jo and I talked about her undying devotion to her favorite shows.
• Anna surprised me with her current favorite show (which happens to be one of mine, too)!
• Becky and I talked about the need for warm, kind television.
• Dawn told me about an old show she’s fallen in love with.
• Kelly talked about finding a show the whole family can watch.
• Katie almost (ALMOST) convinced me to give everyone’s favorite family drama another try.
• Grace introduced me to a sweet, funny sitcom I might never have found on my own.

Favorites with Friends really became one of my favorite parts of my week. And I decided, once and for all, that I wanted to create a place for conversations like these. A place where I could chat with my friends not just about our favorite books or movies, but where we could talk about why these things matter in the first place.

Next week, that place will finally be ready for you to move in. THE COUCH, a podcast where we have conversations about pop culture and why it matters, will be live! On Tuesday, January 22, you can download the first three episodes of THE COUCH — a short one with just me, plus conversations with my friends, Amanda White and Myquillyn Smith. I hope it will be just as fun for you to listen as it was for us to make the episodes!

I still have some work to get the podcast ready for you. But I wanted to let you know it’s coming soon. So you can mark your calendar, of course. Seriously, while we wait for the big day to arrive, will you tell me what you like (and don’t like) about podcasts?

What makes you keep listening every week?
What makes you turn an episode off right away?
What makes you subscribe and leave a review and tell all your friends to listen?

Tune in next week for the first episodes of THE COUCH. I can’t wait to share it with you!