10 Lessons from a Year of Podcasting
by Mallory McPherson-Wehan
Yesterday marked one year since Lara, Makena, and I launched F*ck Wellness (originally the Generation Three Girls Podcast). We learned a ton about ourselves, friendship, wellness, and how to record, edit, and publish episodes. I wanted to take a few minutes to reflect on some of my favorite episodes and lessons that I’ve learned in the past year.
A refresher: F*ck Wellness is a podcast dedicated to building a definition of wellness that aligns with what you actually need. From figuring out what the hell crystals do to getting at the root of our crippling anxieties about the future, co-hosts Lara, Mallory, and Makena are here to help you redefine wellness on your terms. Join us every Wednesday for conversations that take us one step closer to our truth right alongside you.
You can find our episodes wherever you listen to your podcasts!
10 Lessons from a Year of Podcasting
Having a weekly podcast takes A LOT of work. I truly don’t understand how anyone could podcast more than once a week, but I guess most of them are paid and get help so maybe that’s how. We usually record for 2 hours; it takes 3-4 hours to edit a podcast (depending on the length); we listen again to our podcast on the hosting platform to make sure everything sounds ok; and then Lara does all the marketing which I’m sure takes a ton of time. We don’t make money off of F*ck Wellness (not sure if people knew that). Hopefully one day!
One of the most wonderful things about our podcast has been the ability to share people’s stories. We’ve done two community episodes where we interview 9-12 people about their stories; the first was about birth control and the second was about therapy. They were POWERFUL episodes and so so wonderful. Understandably, they are two of our most listened to episodes.
Self-promoting does not come naturally to me. I don’t like to ask people to listen to the podcast or support us. But I’m realizing that some of that has to happen to grow as a podcast. I know that we have a high-quality, substantive podcast so that makes it easier to pass around. But I think Lara, Makena, and I have all struggled to really market ourselves.
I have some really f*cking cool friends. I’ve had a lot of my friends on the podcast and I feel so lucky to have such thoughtful, empathetic, and curious friends. We’ve had my friend Meredith on the podcast a few times and she truly has changed how I view all things fitness, food, and life. The episodes with Meredith challenged me to think differently about discipline, fitness language, and life transitions.
IDK how Ezra Klein does it. He has to read the interviewee’s book and do research before every podcast! Most of our guests don’t have books or research, but we got a taste of it in next week’s podcast. My grad school professor, Dr. Ava Safaie, came on the podcast and we all read her 241 page dissertation before the recording. It was so well-written and interesting, but man, I don’t know how interviewers do that every week!
It can be hard to have a business/podcast with your friends! I think Lara, Makena, and I have done a great job navigating business and personal friendships, but it can get tricky sometimes. It takes lots of communication and transparency about your needs, wants, and desires. Also finances get complicated!
I’ve been in my intuitive movement, eating, living journey over the past year and some of our guests have helped me so much with it. Nikki’s IG and friendship has helped remind me of what it looks to constantly unlearn diet culture and societal norms. Allegra has been pivotal in teaching me intuitive eating and gentle nutrition. Meredith has been a constant companion and supporter in the past year, helping me push back on thoughts and listen to my body.
Our most recent episode with Gretchen Driscoll changed my life (seriously). She talked to us about her big life transition - dealing with her husband’s death from brain cancer and navigating life after. It was such a powerful episode and one that has stuck with me since we recorded it a few weeks ago. There are some episodes that just change the way you view things and this was one of them.
I feel so lucky to have such a great group of friends and family that listen to every podcast. It’s funny because when you start a podcast you think “is anyone going to listen????” and so many of you do listen! My bucket is filled every time I hear feedback or your perspectives on our episodes.
You learn so much about yourself making a podcast — your filler words, topics you talk easily about, strengths and weaknesses in interviewing, etc. This year has been one of immense growth for me so THANK YOU for your support and love. You all are the best and make doing this podcast, newsletter, etc. so easy and fun!
