Hooked: A Pop Culture Podcast with Mary Carver

What is going on here? Two podcasts, two weeks in a row, both about sports? What can I say, friends? It's that time of year!   This week I'm joined by my friend and sports fanatic, Robby Malone. Robby is a new friend from church and also the creator of some really fun stuff on TikTok and Instagram. As soon as we met, we started talking about getting him over to The Couch and with the Super Bowl co...

Toe pick! It's Olympics time! I didn't slam into the ice this week, but I did catch a cold and show up to The Couch with a hoarse voice. Luckily, my friend and friend of the show, Jenny Rapson, was here to carry the conversation. As a self-proclaimed Olympaholic (it's fine, it's a word), she was the perfect fit for an episode about the best Olympic-themed movies. But, of course, before we got to t...

After a season (or two or three) of seeing very few new movies, 2022 is promising to be a big year for movies! My friend (and friend of the show) Dawn Camp is back to preview the spring movies we think you are going to want to see. In this episode, we're sharing the best movies schedule to come out February to May (with the caveat that things may change because that happens). We'll share with you...

Today is a big day! This is the 100th episode of The Couch! Thank you so much for being here—this week and every week I've shared a new episode with you. It has been a blast so far, sitting on the virtual couch with some of my very favorite people (including you) to talk about pop culture and why it matters. I can't wait for the conversations we'll have in the next 100. My good friend and friend o...

Now that we've come to the end of the holiday movie road for this year, it's time to take a look back at the thousands (or, at least, many dozens) of new holiday movies we watched. Together with my best friend, friend of the show, and partner in all things holiday movie-related, Anna Rendell, I'm here to review the 2021 season of new holiday movies. It was hard but we did it. We picked our top few...

Well, it was bound to happen eventually. Friends don't have to agree on everything, right? Right. And this week, despite all the things we agree on wholeheartedly, my good friend NJ Rongner and I have very different opinions about a holiday movie. And you know what? It's okay! Totally okay. NJ is a woman of many hats. She works full time as a sales and marketing coach at Clickfunnels and is the fo...

Welcome to a new episode of The Couch. Today I'm here with my friend and friend of the show, Latasha Ferguson. Tasha is a speaker, writer, ministry leader, and host of the Overcome to Become podcast. She's a teacher, a wife, and a mom who loves empowering women and, lucky for us, watching movies. We are talking about a bunch (although not all) of the holiday movies we watched last weekend and whet...

Can a beloved country star win over a reluctant holiday movie viewer? Time will tell… Laura Tremaine joins me this week to share her experience watching her very first Lifetime holiday movie, and it's both exactly what we expected and a whole lot of fun! Laura is the author of Share Your Stuff, I'll Go First , the creator of the #onedayHH Instagram campaign, and the host of the 10 Things to Tell Y...

Can I convince a holiday movie skeptic to give holiday movies a try? (Spoiler alert: I can!) Meg Tietz is the host of the Sorta Awesome Show and the creator of the Sorta Awesome Hangout Community, and I adore her and both of those things so much! Last December I was on an episode of Sorta Awesome with Meg, in an attempt to convince her to try watching holiday movies. I have finally succeeded, and...

Is anything better than watching our favorite characters in our favorite shows engage in holiday hijinks? Or learning something brand-new about those characters when they go home for the holidays or attempt to roast a turkey or win the ugly sweater contest? I don't know for sure, but I do know that I love a good holiday episode of my fave TV shows. And that's why my friend and friend of the show,...

What do we do when our holiday movies are wholly holey (but—don't get confused—not holy)? This week my friend Kristen Strong is here to chat with me about a couple of new original holiday movies, including one that requires so much suspension of disbelief that we just don't even know how to rate it! Kristen is a writer and speaker, a fellow fan of Hallmark movies, and just a dear friend. I know yo...

Time travel: yay or nay? And does it belong in our holiday movies? Join my friend, Aliza Latta, and me as we discuss this and so much more in this week's holiday movie recap episode. Aliza is a Canadian writer, artist, and author—and a huge fan of telling stories. Her artwork and writing has been featured in publications for LifeWay, Dayspring, and (in)courage. She's always searching for the goodn...

It's happening! The Christmas Couch is back as my friends and I sit down each week to talk about the holiday movies we watched—the good, the bad, and the so bad they're good! This week I'm so excited to be here with my friend and friend of the show, Tori Rask, for the first holiday movie recap of the season! As you may have picked up on, we are hooked on holiday movies around here, and it's possib...

It's the most wonderful time of the year—holiday movie season! Yes, it's already here, and we are so excited! My best friend and friend of the show, Anna Rendell, is with me on The Couch this week to preview this holiday movie season. As you know, Anna is a writer, speaker, wife, and mom—and the author of several devotionals including A Moment of Christmas . And she's a fellow super-fan of holiday...

Holiday movie season is almost here, so let's talk made-for-TV holiday movies! What do Lifetime movie fans think when the station switches from killer cheerleaders to stars from the 90s having snowball fights? What's the best way to watch a Hallmark movie—while doing laundry or while taking notes because this is serious business? One of my favorite podcasters and now, friend of the show, Brandon G...

Can a book change your life?  Today I'm answering that question with my good friend, Shannan Martin. Shannan is a speaker and writer who found her voice in the country and her story in the city. Shannan, her jail-chaplain husband, Cory, and their kids, live as grateful neighbors   in Goshen, Indiana. She's also one of my favorite teachers who is constantly nudging me to follow God more fully and p...

Planning to watch the new Wonder Years? Can't wait to see Paul Rudd and Will Ferrell in a drama? Already hooked on The Big Leap? We've got book recommendations based on your favorite new fall shows, so get ready to watch your TBR list grow! Welcome to a new episode of The Couch! Today I'm back with my good friend and good friend of the show, Amy Clark. Amy is a blogger and the founder of MomAdvice...

Why do we love mysteries so much? Why is fiction so important? And who are our favorite female detectives? Today I'm talking all of that and more with my friend, Patricia Raybon. ist who writes about faith and mystery, and she's also on the (in)courage writing team with me. And, as you'll hear in this episode, she has a lot to share with us about writing in general and mysteries in particular. Tha...

Welcome to this BONUS episode of The Couch. Today I'm here with my good friends and friends of the show, Tasha Jun and Michelle Reyes. Tasha is biracial Korean American storyteller, and Michelle is a second-generation Indian American author, speaker, and activist. And, like me, they are both wives, moms, writers for the (in)courage website, and big fans of Marvel movies. But though we share quite...

Welcome to a new episode of The Couch. Today I'm back with my good friend and good friend of the show, Jenny Rapson! Jenny is a writer, a shampoo slinger, and as she won't let me forget, a true crime aficionado. In this episode we've been talking about making for, well, a long time, Jenny is going to do her best to convince me to give the true crime genre a try. So if you're like me and you've bee...

Welcome to a new episode of The Couch. Today I'm here again with my good friend and friend of the show, Alana Dawson. Alana is wife and mom, as well as host of The Podcasting Party podcast and a brilliant podcast coach (no, I'm not biased at all). She has held my hand and patted my back throughout my own podcasting journey, and she's also one of my favorite people to talk to about pop culture and...

Welcome to a new episode of The Couch. Today I'm here with my good friend and friend of the show, Dawn Camp. Dawn is a writer, photographer, wife, mom, and huge movie buff. And we have been waiting for this episode for soooo long! This week, Dawn and I are taking a look at some of the biggest movies scheduled for release this fall—something we haven't been able to do for quite a while! As a matter...

Welcome to a new episode of The Couch. Today I'm here with my friend and friend of the show, Rebekah Hoffer. Rebekah is a blogger, podcast, wife, and mom—and as you might remember from episode #64, a big fan of romance novels. You might recognize Rebekah from Instagram, where she shares book reviews and tips for living frugal and green, or the Sorta Awesome podcast, which is where I first met her....

Welcome to a new episode of The Couch!  Today I'm here with my good friend and good friend of the show, Amanda White. As you know from at least 10 other episodes, Amanda is a blogger and the author of Truth in the Tinsel , an Advent experience for families. Also one of my oldest internet friends and favorite people in general. This week, we're talking about something unexpected to anyone who knows...

Welcome to a new episode of The Couch. Today I'm back with my good friend and friend of the show, Jenny Rapson! Jenny is a writer, a shampoo slinger for Monat, and a proponent of forced family fun (which, yes, will come up later). We had a great time talking, just like we always do, and I know you'll love this conversation too. In this episode, we're talking about family movie nights—something we'...