Podcast Spotlight: Wonderful: An Enthusiast Podcast

Wonderful: An Enthusiast Podcast

Genre: Culture
Hosts: Griffin McElroy, Rachel McElroy
Network: Maximum Fun

Spotlight and review by Scout Schiro

“Make a list of all the things that are awesome about being alive.”

Reed told me to do this the other day when I was feeling stressed. (As a calming exercise? It really works, by the way. Try it.)

That’s kind of why I love Wonderful: An Enthusiast Podcast, hosted by Griffin and Rachel McElroy. It’s a weekly, hour-long list of the little things in life that are just – well, wonderful.

Wonderful! is hosted in the same podcast feed as Griffin and Rachel’s older podcast, Rose Buddies. It actually had a backdoor pilot in the form of episode 77, where the hosts took a break from speaking about The Bachelor to speak about things they love – from mystery-flavor Dum Dums to Bud Light Lime (‘the ocean potion’).

The show is recorded while their 9 month-old son sleeps, so the hosts speak in quiet voices – it’s very calming. At the same time, both Griffin and Rachel are easily excitable, and it comes across in their delivery just how happy and passionate simple things in life make them. In just the first two episodes, highlighted topics include:

• The phrase ‘no worries’, where Rachel reveals that the phrase originated in Australia.
• Baseball films, in which Rachel and Griffin play a lightning round naming various baseball films (and Griffin realizes halfway through the conversation the only one he’s actually seen is Angels in the Outfield)
• Virtual reality, where our hosts marvel over the fact that immersive virtual spaces exist in our lifetimes and the speed of current technology
• A six-note sequence of vocalizations in Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Cut To The Feeling”– and a long discussion of CRJ’s current standing in pop music
• Bar-shaped foods, including breakfast bars, brownie bars, and the like (in which Griffin forgets the name of KIND bars)
• Rube Goldberg machines (look at these things! I didn’t even know they had a name.)
• The game (not the website) Four Square – where we learn about Griffin making a  Place Certificate with clip art for his friends for a childhood basketball game

The sweetest part of the episode is the listener section, where Griffin and Rachel read listener submissions about their favorite fixations. Oftentimes, both hosts will share their own experiences with these ‘treasured items of enthusiasm’.

Verdict
Listen! A drive home with Wonderful: An Enthusiast Podcast playing is a sweet hour of self-care, and a reminder to just enjoy things. After all – isn’t that what being a fan is all about?

Wonderful! is hosted by the Maximum Fun network and can be also found on iTunes.