Sugar Mootz

It is only fitting for me to start the New Year off by talking about podcasts. 2017 was the year of podcasts for me. When my world was spinning, podcasts were there to keep me grounded.
It all started last year with a New Year's resolution I made. I wanted to be tidier and have cleaner house. Since I was fresh off of a ‘serial’ podcast obsession, I turned to Apple podcasts to get my life more organized.  I sat down on Jan 2nd, 2017 and searched the word cleaning, in the podcast app. This is when I stumbled upon Dana White, a hidden gem. The woman who taught me I was a slob and didn’t know it. She also taught me not to stress about being a slob because I’m not alone. The podcast, A slob comes clean, is amazing. Dana actually suggests listening to podcasts or audio books in order to keep a cleaning momentum. If you want to check out Dana, you can listen to her podcasts here: A Slob Comes Clean
After I found Dana, I realized the Apple podcast app has endless possibilities of listening pleasure. I began searching and following tons of podcasts. In my podcast journey,I have found these podcast have been my favorites so far (in no particular order) :

• Cleaning House by The Real Housemaids:  Okay, so the hosts of this podcast go by the alias names Mop and Sponge. I believe this podcast started in 2012 and ran until 2014.  Mop and Sponge are maids in NYC and they dish out the gossip about all their high end clients.  Under the guise of their alias names, they expose their most interesting client's secrets.  I found this podcast pretty interesting because I'm a nosy person. Plus, let's’ face it, NYC has some really interesting people. If you are interested in listening to this podcast, click here: Cleaning House by the Real Housemaids
• Up and Vanished hosted by Payne Lindsey: Don't ask me why I am obsessed with murder/missing podcasts, but I am.  I found this podcast by searching the word missing, in the podcast app.  In this podcast, Payne Lindsey explores what happened to a teacher/Georgia beauty queen, Tara Grinstead. She went missing from her home and it was assumed that she had been murdered.  I won't give out any spoilers on this podcast, but I will say it was really good. I've been listening to up and vanished since episode 2 came out.  That means I had to wait all the tortuously boring days in between each episode, to get an update.  There was no option for me to sit down and binge the entire season. However, you are lucky enough to be able to binge listen to this podcast right now.  Payne also has a second podcast out right now, called the Atlanta Monster.  You can find the Up and Vanished podcast, here: Up and Vanished Podcast  
• S-town hosted by Serial and This American Life:  This podcast is hosted by a man named Brian Reed.  It's about a guy named John who really hates his town in Alabama.  John's story is interesting, but the podcast isn't as long as some of the others' that I have talked about. The story is shocking, raw and not at all about what you think its about.  I found this podcast on the 'Top Charts' section of the Apple podcast app.  Overall, I really liked listening to this podcast and was hooked right away.  After it was over, I was left wanting more stories about John.  If you like a little mystery then you will definitely like this podcast.  If you are interested in listening to S-town, you can find it here: S-Town Podcast
• Someone Knows Something (Season 1):  Hosted by David Ridgen, this podcast investigates the disappearance of 5 year old Adrien McNaughton.  Adrien was said to have wandered into the woods and was never found.  It's a pretty sad and sketchy story.  This is definitely another podcast that left me wishing for a better conclusion.  However, they did go on to record two more seasons of the podcasts.  Season two and three were about different cases that also took place in Canada.  You can check out season one, here: Someone Knows Something Podcast Season 1
• Worst Ever Podcast with Alaa and Christine Lakin:  I must admit that I only started listening to this podcast because I have a girl crush on Christine Lakin.  If you aren't familiar with Christine, she played Al on Step-by-Step. (don't know Step-by-Step? You are too young for me bro)  Alaa is Christine's bestie and from the Mickey Mouse Club (also DJ Khaled's brother). Once I really started listening to all the episodes, I realized that I actually think Alaa is hilarious.  That being said, this is a podcast that you need to check out if you are interested in a good laugh.  This argumentative duo, interviews celebrities and former child stars. Specifically, they have interviewed Andrew Keegan, Staci Keanan (all the Staci episodes are my favorite.), Kelly (X17 online Kelly!!!) and many others.  If you listen to nothing else on this entire list, listen to this podcast. Stroll over to Worst Ever Podcast and listen to Alaa tell Christine that her wardrobe sucks, while Christine tries to explain to him that he is a rude person.   Ok, I’ll shut up about them for now and you can listen to them, for yourself, here: Worst Ever Podcast
• Dirty John by The L.A Times :  The Dirty John Story is what I could only describe as a wild ride. Hosted and Narrated by Christopher Goffard, this is a bizarre story with a bizarre outcome.  The people involved in this story are a odd bunch of characters, to say the least. This podcast is about a dysfunctional relationship that ended in a very scary and dramatic manor. It's a nightmare situation about a woman who is in a relationship with a man who deceives her.   I still really liked this podcast despite it being very short (7 episodes long). If you are interested in hopping on this wild ride, you can listen to it here: Dirty John
• Nowhere Dispatch:  This podcast is hosted by a local guy that talks about weird happenings in the Longview, Texas area (East Texas).  He may have said his name but I don't remember it and couldn't find it in a google search.  I live in Texas so I happen to find this guy, and his friends, pretty interesting.  I especially like it because it's about weird, spooky and eerie stories that take place in East Texas. I like that each individual podcast is its own story.  This makes it easy for me to skip around to things that sound interesting, without feeling like I missed something.  These guys are really down to earth and relatable so I've gotten hooked on listening.  You can listen OR read these podcasts, here: The Nowhere Dispatch
• In the Dark (Season 1) by APM Reports:  This was another pretty sad case about a missing boy named Jacob Wetterling. Jacob was abducted while riding his bike with some friends. Unlike some of the others, will get closure at the end of this investigative podcast.  To listen to Jacob Wetterling’s story, please click here: In the Dark

So now you can go browse around these podcasts and see if you like any of them.  (Just a heads up, Alaa already thinks you will like his podcast the best. )  If you have good podcast recommendations then please email them to me at SugarMootz@gmail.com