Podcast Review: That's What She Said with Sarah Spain

Chicago journalist and ESPN personality Sarah Spain became one of my idols ever since I entered sports journalism. Her thirst for knowledge and pursuit of truth is something that appeals to me.

Spain is fearless about attacking issues head on. She doesn't care about popularity or opinions, Spain is interested in presenting the world as she sees it.

Recently Spain invited another one of my idols onto her podcast. Sports personality, comedian, and television host Katie Nolan. The podcast takes roughly one hour and is quite informative to the casual listener.

During her sit down with Sarah Spain, Nolan shared her story about her unique life experiences to get to where she is today.

Nolan created a blog while she attended college at Hofstra University called Bitches Can't Hang. The blog focused on pop culture and news. Nolan reflected on his initial blog stating that she wasn't pleased with how it turned out. She expressed remorse about the creation and content of the blog, but said she learned from it.

Perhaps she is most known for her work on the a YouTube series known as the Guyism Speed Round.

During her time with Guyism, Nolan wrote, produced, and edited her own show daily. She followed a similar formula to what you would see with on The Daily Show on Comedy Central.

She departed Guyism after the company was bought out and asked Nolan to relocate. The journalist didn't stay unemployed for long as a new sports company sought out her services.

During her interview with Sarah Spain, Nolan recounted the terror she experienced during an audition for Fox Sports 1. Despite her audition, Nolan landed a digital correspondent job with Fox in 2013.

She went on to host her own show Garbage Time in 2015 and received a Sports Emmy for her work.

Garbage Time wasn't renewed by Fox and the show was temporarily placed on hiatus. The network decided to cancel the show, a decision that left Nolan wondering "what's next?"

For the next couple of months, Nolan discusses a battle with depression. She was unable to achieve the simplest tasks and talks about a journey to a "dark place."

She recalled not being able to get out of bed on some days, often sleeping until 1pm. She would wake up, and then go back to bed.

However, the former Fox host landed a position with ESPN in and debuted on studio programming and can be seen on SportsCenter on Snapchat.

This podcast helped put into perspective what a grind sports journalism can be.

Katie Nolan scratched and clawed for everything she has earned.

She is very much a product of her blue collar upbringing and demonstrated resiliency in the face of adversity.

While others would have felt sorry for themselves after getting a show canceled, she picked herself up and got back on the horse.

This podcast comes highly recommended for the aspiring journalist and is a perfect listen for when times get tough.