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| Photo by Will Francis on Unsplash
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When I was a teen in New Jersey, New York's WABC played the current top singles day and night. DJs like Cousin Brucie became celebrities spinning discs from the Billboard 100 that became the backdrop of our lives. Each week they'd make a big of show of playing the top forty in a row, in descending order, when the most current list came out. Which favorite Beatles song would be number one this week?
Those memories came to mind when I learned about a similar listing pertaining not to music but to Podcasting. Earlier this week I was talking with a friend who shared something utterly surprising to me. We were talking about Podcasting at the time. He asked, Do you know who Father Mike is?
Like, no. Should I?
Well, he has the #1 Podcast in the country right now. AND he's from Duluth.
This prompted me to see if I could verify that and in the process I found some compelling stats about podcasting. Currently there are over 1,750,000 podcasters.
There were over 43 million podcast episodes as of January 2021.
50% of all homes are fans of podcasts.
I've placed a link to more listener stats at the end of this post.
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On Wednesday I did a search to see if there was indeed a listing of Top 100 podcasts, which if how I found the above stats. And yes, there was. But on Wednesday this week Father Mike was not #1. Instead, I saw Mommy Doomsday.
That surprised me. I'd never heard of Mommy Doomsday OR Father Mike. Where have I been all these years? As I scrolled down, I found that indeed Father Mike was in the Top Ten, weighing in at #7. Here's the list from Wednesday:
1. Mommy Doomsday (NBC News)
2. Crime Junkie (audiochuck)
3. The Daily (The New York Times)
4. Dateline NBC (NBC News)
5. Morbid: A True Crime Podcast (Morbid: A True Crime Podcast)
6. The Ben Shapiro (The Daily Wire)
7. The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz) (Ascension Catholic Faith Formation)
8. Unraveled: Long Island Serial Killer (Investigation Discovery)
9. My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and George Hardstark (Exactly Right)
10. Unsolved Mysteries (Cosgrove Meuer Productions, Inc. + Cadence 13)
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I remember when I was first learning about RSS feeds and the concept of podcasting back in the late 90s. I downloaded a software program and bought a set of headphones with a microphone. I played around a little with that, and even made a recording of myself singing "I'll Fly Away" in four-part harmony. Though it was an interesting learning experience I didn't see it as anything to pursue.
Clearly Podcasting has found a place in our lives today. People listen while commuting, jogging or just sitting on the deck out in the sun. The topics are as varied as our interests. In fact, last week I was interviewed on a Podcast called The Bobcats, a Bob Dylan fan podcast.
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Just as artists on the Billboard 100 were continuously moving up and down the charts, I've discovered that the Top 100 Podcasts are also quite fluid. When I went to confirm (ten minutes ago) that Father Mike was still on the Top 10, I discovered that today he is #5. If you listen to this Podcast you will hear a friendly Catholic priest read sections of the Bible, occasionally making a few comments on each day's reading.
The fact that this topic would be trending so high can make you wonder how this can be. It shows that there is a large swath of people with a very different set of values than the mainstream culture.
It would be interesting to know the demographics of these listeners. Perhaps some people are curious about religion and listening to this Podcast is a non-threatening way to engage the Bible. It may be that many listeners are motivated by the manner in which Father Mike presents the Bible. He has a comforting voice that people in our isolated times might be soothed by. In a world that increasingly feels scary he is offering hope.
Whatever the reasons, I found it intriguing that a local man with a ministry to youth at the local university was talking to people all over the world, and they're tuning in.
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I went to his website to learn a little more about him. This passage in the section About Father Mike touched me.
In college, I had a class on Shakespeare taught by a monk who was so moved by the beauty of the words that he wept during every class. It was incredible and drew me to a new love of beauty in the English language.
Learn more here ABOUT FATHER MIKE
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Here's a hot link to More Podcast Listener Stats.
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And here's more about The Bobcats
The Bobcats, a Bob Dylan fan podcast
By Matt Steichen
Matt Steichen interviews and swaps stories with fellow Bob Dylan fans he's encountered during 20-plus years of following the Never-Ending Tour. Follow him on Twitter at Matt_Stike and listen to his Stike's Choice YouTube series where he highlights Bob's greatest live performances.
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Get your earbuds on and have a great weekend.
