Podcasts were a big part of our lives before the coronavirus kept us from going to work and the gym, and their presence in our daily routine probably hasn’t changed now that we’re all sequestered to our homes. And while you’re probably subscribed to all your favorite podcasts made by folks who don’t call Tampa Bay home, there are plenty produced right here to keep you company, too. These are just a few worth checking out, and there’s an even more expansive list of them via cltampa.com/arts, but we’ll publish part two in print next week. Did we miss your podcast? Tell us more about it by emailing rroa@cltampa.com.

Angry Grrrl Music of the Indie Rock Persuasion When Anne Schipper, member of Tampa punk band Nervous Girls, says a podcast “introduces me to new bands that I love,” you pay attention. That’s why we’ve tuned to “Angry Grrrl Music of the Indie Rock Persuasion,” which features interviews with musicians and others across the indie, punk and emo scene. Host Amanda Starling had Ohio outfit Snarls on the show before the release of its new album, Burst, which is one of the year’s best. Angrygrrrlmusic.com Photo via Angry Grrrl Music/Facebook
#BlockMeBack The name of this one is apropos. Hosts trod through controversial topics and pitch unfiltered, unabashedly brash takes on everything from racial injustice to sports. Not for the faint-hearted, and certainly not for the P.C. police either.#BLOCKMEBACK on Apple Podcasts Photo via #BlockMeBack/Apple Podcasts
10K Dollar Day You’ll never live out your Instagram vacation fantasies, and neither will best friends and one-time starving artists, Alison Burns and Lulu Picart, who use their comedy podcast to plan imaginary vacations where they spend $10,000 a day in hilarious fashion. Someone get these ladies a travel sponsor and camera crew. 10kdollarday.com Photo via 10K Dollar Day/Facebook
Barely Legal Attorney Josh Sheridan—whose Tampa Heights office has an homage to Elliott Smith’s Figure 8 album painted on the side of it—regularly sits down with a wide swatch of local musicians, artists, comedians, lawyers and business people for candid chats that range from casual get-to-know-yous to in-depth talks.Barely Legal Podcast on Facebook Photo via Barely Legal/Facebook
Beauty & The ‘Burg Podcast For more than half a decade, Cindy Stovall has sat down with members of St. Petersburg’s creative class to talk about what makes them tick and why they love The ‘Burg. No one’s exempt, and Stovall does a good job connecting with her guests whether they’re musicians, visual artists, dancers or actors. Beauty & The ‘Burg Podcast on Facebook Photo via Beauty & The ‘Burg Podcast/Facebook
Block Party Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Dan Girardi and 102.5-FM alum Seth Kushner have an amazing Bolts-centric podcast that gets amazing guests be they Hall of Fame faces of the franchise (Martin St. Louis, Phil Esposito) or behind the scenes figures (Lightning Radio’s play-by-play man Dave Mishkin and the networks’s analyst Caley Chelios). A must for any Lightning fan.nhl.com/lightning Photo via Tampa Bay Lightning/Facebook
Cannon Fire Podcast Hosts Rhett Matthew and Evan Wanish are the voices of fans who’ve lived and died with the Bucs since the creamsicle days. There are already more than 100 episodes in the book, and there’s a lot to talk about for the next two years as Tampa turns into Tom’s town.@cannonfirepod on Twitter Photo via Cannon Fire Podcast/Facebook
Cigar City Radio CL’s been a fan of this podcast since 2016 when it launched out of Blind Tiger in Ybor City. Hosts Randy Ojeda and Jason Solanes are just as invested in the music scene as CL’s been for the last 30 years, and it’s cool to hear the boys travel the Bay area interviewing both locals and national acts passing through. Cigarcitymanagement.com Photo via Cigar City Radio’s website
Tampa Bay Times’ “Coronavirus in Florida” We start our days with the “Up First” newsblast from NPR, but this one from “Florida’s Best Newspaper” is a good companion these days. tampabay.com Photo via Tampa Bay Times
The Desmond Foster Child Podcast There’s a healthy arts scene bubbling underground in Tampa, and this podcast is tapped into it. Driven by its host, Mr. Foster Child, each of the more than 40 episodes—featuring guests like artist Fary “Junkyrd” Charles—feel like you’re eavesdropping on a conversation between the cool kids at the bar where all the best ideas are born. The Desmond Foster Child Podcast on Apple Podcasts Photo via The Desmond Foster Child Podcast’s website
Flohio Radio If listeners want a one-stop shop where they can tap into multiple aspects of the underground hip-hop, poetry and art scenes, then they should visit Flohio Radio, which is home to close to a dozen shows including Waves of the Bay, Jus Chillin, Tuth Radio, Diamond Vibes and more. Flohio Radio on Facebook Photo via Flohio Radio/Facebook
House Of I Frontman Daniel Caballero and drummer Elizabeth Piedrahita fly under the banner of their Tampa indie-rock band House Of I as they settle into long chats with figures in the Tampa Bay original music scene. Caballero likes to say that he’s shy by nature, but his inquisitiveness is one of the best parts of the show. House of I on YouTube Photo via House Of I/Facebook
How To Die Alone The comedy podcast’s tagline says a lot (“A podcast for the broken person inside all of us. If you’ve ever wondered how to find delight in oblivion, wonder no more”), but tuning into the more than 100 episodes lands you in a room with hosts Stephen Henry, David Wayne and Matt Williams who aren’t holding their tongues about any topic. @htdapodcast on Twitter Photo via How To Die Alone/Facebook
Loud, Fast and Shitty Every Monday, Bob Noxious and Erawk present an episode of news, reviews and interviews all devoted to the religion that is punk-rock. Locals like Dead Cat Lounge, Abortion Twins and Twisty Chris get a lot of shine, but recent ‘sodes also find Noxious chatting it up with out-of-town bands like Philadelphia’s Riverside Odds. Loud, Fast and Sh*tty Radio Show on Facebook Photo via Loud, Fast and Shitty/Facebook
Nine Bullets Radio 9B used to be a kickass Americana radio program on community radio station WMNF Tampa 88.5-FM, but then its host moved to Nashville. Now it’s a Music City podcast still wholly dedicated to breaking the genre’s best new artists (Becky Warren and John Moreland are some my personal favorites, which I found on 9B). Host Bryan Childs still roots for the Lightning, too, so we’re lumping him into the local pile. 9bradio.net Photo via Nine Bullets Radio’s website
Officially Legit If you miss your cool officemates, then you might want to subscribe to this watercooler-ready podcasts from “your favorite Savage Coach Wilson Zarzuela and The Filipina Colada Cat Lim.” Lim, is a Tampa Bay-based designer, and together with Zarzuela, Officially Legit tackles pop culture (hi, “Love Is Blind”) and talks with Bay area creators. Bonus points for the regular playlists and inside baseball around Rolling Loud music festival. Officially Legit on Facebook Photo via Officially Legit/Facebook
Queer Tampa Ren and Jai Lopa host this podcast about queer issues in Tampa Bay, but also bring it out into the real work for a quarterly happy hour so that discussion about issues that matter can happen face-to-face as well as in your earbuds. @queertampa on Instagram Photo via Queer Tampa/Instagram
Reverse Psychology Reverse Psychology Doctors Mike and Diana might not be able to write you a prescription, but the Seminole Heights psychologists can let you into their world, an hour at a time, thanks to this podcast that’s recently looked into why we binge watch TV, take part in cancel culture, the Asch line experiment and phobias. reverse-psychology.pinecast.co Photo via Reverse Psychology/Apple Podcasts
Something Planet If you like your podcasts raunchy, then this one based out of Clearwater, with over 400 episodes in the bag, is your ticket. Nothing is off the table for hosts John J, Stuey B, David the Day and Endless Mike, but every episode is not safe for young ones. somethingplanet.com Photo via Something Planet’s website
Song Divers A Critic’s Pick for “Best Immersive Podcast” in CL’s 2019 Best of The Bay awards. We’d start with the episode featuring Bay area songwriting God and guru Steve Connelly. You’ll learn about a bunch of old venues long gone and come to find that Connelly is still one of his own biggest critics. Hosts Ed Woltil and Stefan Scheuermann aren’t afraid to go deep with their guests, and it’s why we always tune in.songdivers.com Photo via Song Divers/Facebook
St. Pete X Local business and civic leaders with a long for the Sunshine City pop in to share stories, strategies and ideas about the development of St. Petersburg. Episode 61—featuring Jonathan Daou, a developer and raconteur who’s always in headlines locally—is a great place to start.St. Pete X on Apple Podcasts Photo via The St. Petersburg Group
Sweat Equity Law Smith is a wild man, and Eric Readinger keeps him in check. Their Sweat Equity Podcast provides not just pragmatic business advice, but motivation to keep working at that hustle that’s keeping you up for an extra hour or two every night. The latest episode is titled “How To Instantly Reject Exposure in the Face of Adversity Because the Value of Free is Zero Like Kanye West in anything he has ever done,” so that should give an idea of how this goes.Sweatequitypod.com Photo via Sweat Equity/Facebook
Tampa Bay Podcast Know who was smart enough to snag “Tampa Bay Podcast”? Caleb Fuddy, and some of his chats—especially the one with Manny Leto and Rodney Kite-Powell—are required listening for and self-respecting Tampeño. Bonus points since one of CL’s favorite artists, 3lbgod does the artwork. Tampa Bay Podcast on Apple Podcasts Photo via Tampa Bay Podcast/Facebook
Tampa News Force Podcast If you like the idea of a Tampa Bay version of satirical news site The Onion, then soak your ears in the podcast. Our favorite episode so far: “Matt Gaetz talks about the House Judiciary Committee.” tampanewsforce.com Photo via Tampa News Force/Facebook
That Joe Joe Madiedo’s just getting started on his “Brady Bucs” podcast, but the “That Joe” podcast family also includes one series aimed at helping a very niche industry—limousines and their drivers—navigate the fallout surrounding the coronavirus. We’ll be keeping an eye on this one. The Brady Bucs on Apple Podcasts Photo via That Joe/Apple Podcasts
The Zest One of Tampa Bay’s best food podcasts is getting ready to serve its second season to listeners who’ve come to love the way senior producer Robin Sussingham talks to folks from across the state about how our plates get to the table. Upcoming ‘sodes include talks with oyster farmers, Taco Bus founder Rene Valenzuela and bonus content about the coronavirus’ effect on the statewide food scene. thezestpodcast.com Photo via The Zest/Facebook
The Unused Substitutes Matthew Cox and Stephen Cundiff—the team behind this soccer podcast—have been covering the Tampa Bay Rowdies since 2014. And while there’s no games, there’s plenty to talk about. Fans—from diehards to casual onlookers—could get by on this podcast alone. theunsubs.soccer Photo via The Unused Substitutes/Facebook
Waves of the Bay I love Waves of the Bay for its commitment to shining a light on local musicians, and I’m even happier now that hosts Tone Kapon and DJ Spaceship brought the program to FM airwaves care of a Saturday night slot on Tampa Bay community radio station WMNF Tampa 88.5-FM. tone-kapone.com Photo via Waves of the Bay/Facebook
MidPoint from WMNF News The underlying thing beneath a post about podcasts is that radio has—and always will be—there for listeners, including those without access to podcasts, especially in times of crisis. But community radio station WMNF is there for the rest of us who have internet thanks to a dozen of its shows, which are available wherever you stream podcasts. Midpoint, which airs five times a week on 88.5-FM, is a good place to start especially since hosts from the ‘MNF news department always ask tough questions about topics like affordable housing, the use of slurs by city council people and more. wmnf.org Photo via WMNF News/Facebook