Lora Felger
Any podcast fanatics with me today? I love podcasts, and in my travels throughout central and eastern North Carolina visiting my territories, the long windshield time gives me a nice stretch to get completely engrossed in a really good, juicy story.
My favorite topics are true crime and weird tales of the supernatural. My podcast obsession has even led me to add an extra stop to my vacation travels in order to visit the locations I feel like I already know, thanks to really good podcast storytelling. For instance, I have stopped in Point Pleasant, W.Va., to visit the famous Mothman statue featured in the podcast Supernatural. I also pulled off southbound Interstate 55 en route to New Orleans to visit Winona, Miss., the topic of a Peabody Award-winning podcast called In the Dark, Season 2. I couldn’t resist seeing these places with my own eyes.
I suppose the idea of listening to a really good story started early in my life. I grew up in northern Illinois, and my memories of school day breakfasts included my dad coming up from the basement shower (yep, we showered in the basement like animals) with his portable radio. He would plug it into the wall and grab a cup of coffee while we all listened to Chicago’s WGN AM morning hosts Wally Philipps and Bob Collins. After they retired, Spike O’Dell took over.
We loved Spike; he went to the same high school I did. Before hitting it “big” in Chicago, he was Spike-at-the-Mike on one of my hometown FM dials.
As I grew up and radio led to fancy things like compact disc players and Bluetooth iTunes, I still clung to my AM roots. For many years, I took turns either screaming at or agreeing with Rush Limbaugh as I traveled the backroads of Nebraska, Iowa and Illinois bringing Medicare information to the masses.
Spike has retired, and Wally, Bob and Rush have all passed away. I needed a new friend to listen to in the mornings and afternoons. And then a millennial introduced me to the podcast. I have been hooked ever since. Using three different streaming services, I now follow no less than 12 different podcasts and wait with bated breath for each new season to “drop” into my “feed.”
I even fangirled a woman recently who works for Meals on Wheels in eastern North Carolina because her daughter is the host of three of the podcasts I listen to. Anyone following the recent murder trial in South Carolina of socialite Alec Murdaugh knows where I’m coming from. I found Mr. Murdaugh’s story and journey to justice almost two years ago thanks to a podcast hosted by a young journalist living in the same area of South Carolina.
So guess what? I’ve made my own podcast. Well, actually, I’m a guest on a podcast. SeniorLivingGuide.com hosts a monthly podcast on anything and everything that might be of interest and useful to people heading into their retirement years.
On June 19, my podcast dropped into all the major streaming services. The subject? Medicare of course. Specifically, information for those getting ready to turn 65 and enroll in Medicare. I’d like to say I’m as riveting a storyteller as my juicy murder mystery hosts are, but I do my best to be as clear and “real world” in my explanations as I can. Humor leaks through, too, I hope.
So tune in by following this link here or by visiting the SeniorLivingGuide.com website or Facebook page. Feel free to fangirl (or fanboy) afterward, if you happen to see me at a meeting or health fair. I won’t let it go to my head.
Lora Felger is a Community Outreach/Medicare Advisor with FirstCarolinaCare. She is the mother of two terrific boys, a world traveler and a major Iowa State Cyclones fan. She also has a naughty yet lovable Yellow Labrador Retriever named Harvey.
Like this article? Feel free to respond to FCCOutreach@FirstCarolinaCare.com Thanks for reading!