Podcast Bestie Turns 4!!!! 🎉

And here’s the real milestone I'm celebrating

Hey Besties!

Podcast Bestie just turned FOUR (!!) and, full transparency, I am not throwing a big birthday bash this year. No confetti, no special guest, no press release. Why? Because I’m overextended. Like… comically overextended.

Right now I’m juggling the final-final-FINAL revision of my debut memoir (coming April 1!), my very ambitious MFA critical paper, prepping for a taped standup showcase, and a bunch of other deadlines that simply can’t be moved. I have zero extra minutes in my life—and that’s precisely why this anniversary feels worth celebrating.

Podcast Bestie made it to year four because I've learned the ultimate longevity lesson: Sustainability is everything.

This summer, while I was neck-deep in memoir revisions, I dripped out pre-drafted lessons from my six-month podcasting course for Podcast Bestie subscribers. I also recycled some of my favorite Private Parts Unknown episodes so I could show up every Wednesday, per usual. (Bless the giant archive that made that possible.) And then, to rebuild my content runway for Private Parts Unknown and The Bleeders, I interviewed 35 people in three weeks (most of them in two) like an absolute psycho so Future Me didn’t have to deal with it.

Those decisions are the only reason all my shows, my book, my MFA, and the rest of my life didn’t collapse like a teetering Jenga tower.

Sustainable podcasting isn’t about doing less or half-assing it—it’s about working smarter, pacing yourself, planning ahead, and giving yourself permission to prioritize good and done over perfect. It’s knowing when you need to recycle. When you need to batch. When you need to hit pause so you can focus on the bigger, more urgent thing.

And honestly? I think that unlock is worth celebrating just as much as the bright shiny milestones. It’s actually what makes those bright shiny milestones possible.

Thank you for four incredible years of nerding out about podcasting with me. Here’s to creating smarter, not harder—and building systems that support the life, business, and art you actually want.

Your Bestie,
Courtney

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I’m teaching some upcoming workshops you might be interested in:

• Edit & Elevate: Revision Intensive

• The Multi-Passionate Writer’s Life

• How to Make 2026 Your Best Writing Year Yet: Manifest Your Writing Goals

• How to Build a “Platform” for Writers Who Shudder at the Thought

• Start a Newsletter to Supercharge Your Platform, Network and Business

• Land Big Bylines by Writing for Columns

• So You Want to Start a Podcast?

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So… ROLL CALL! 🗣

Have you used any sustainable strategies in your creative or podcasting life lately?