Hey you!

👋 Ellen and Steph, the co-hosts of The GIST of It podcast, here. We’re sliding into your inbox today because The GIST of It is officially five years old. Can you believe it? From breaking down major sports headlines to sharing laughs along the way, it’s been an incredible ride — and we couldn’t have done it without you.

⏪ We first started The GIST of It in 2020 (excellent timing for a sports podcast) after months and months of our newsletter subscribers asking, nay, begging for it.

• There was — and quite frankly, still is — a major gap in the sports podcast industry of women-hosted shows covering men’s and women’s sports. Of course, we wanted to fill that void.

🛑 We had never hosted a podcast before. We were just two elementary school besties who liked sports and to yap. We didn’t know what equipment to buy, let alone how to edit audio. But, thanks to friends and family who gave us, ahem, lots of feedback, we launched The GIST of It.

⬆️ We’ve grown from a two-woman weekly show to a fantastic bi-weekly show, a true feat considering 44% of podcasts have fewer than three episodes and only 20% of all shows make it beyond the 10 episode mark. Today’s episode? It’s No. 443. 🤯

• We are a Top 10 Sports News podcast on Apple Podcasts across North America, have been recognized as a top sports podcast by Spotify, and have amassed well over 1M downloads. And none of this would have been possible without this amazing community.

🎉 Needless to say, the fifth anniversary of The GIST of It is a celebration of our community. We went back to the drawing board and asked GISTers what they wanted, because there’s no time like a birthday for a little reinvention, right?

• Moving forward, you can expect the same vibes, but with a fun twist. We’ll be switching up the music, focusing on one key topic per episode, keeping things short and sweet, and most importantly allowing you to contribute to the podcast via voicemail. ‪

📲 If you’re an iPhone user, hold down on this link to leave us a message and if you’re on an Android, just click here. Or if you’re going about it the old-fashioned way, give us a ring at 1-437-564-5579‬.

👀 So what are the next steps from here?

• 🫵 Subscribe to/follow The GIST of It on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts
• 🎧 Listen to our latest episode
• 😀 Follow along on social @thegistusa and @thegistca

Thanks so much for supporting us the last five years! Here’s to many more.

Love always,

El & Steph