Liz Wylder Boyer and Tim Larson named their podcast from ideas and questions written on 3 x 5 index cards that come from listeners and their own thoughts.

On one of their last broadcast shifts at WLUV-AM, Rockford radio friends Liz Wylder Boyer and Tim Larson hatched a plan to utilize their media connections and benefit the local community.

“After owner Joe Salvi died (in 2020), we were preparing his radio station for sale and discussing our next venture,” Larson said. “Liz had a light-bulb moment on the air and said, ‘Let’s start a podcast!’ and that’s how Life’s 3x5s Podcast was born.”

Unscripted and unpredictable, the podcast takes its name from ideas and questions written on 3×5 index cards that Larson and Wylder Boyer receive from their listeners, people they meet while podcasting, and their own thoughts and musings.

Both podcasters love featuring guests cultivated from their media connections in the Rockford community. Larson works the midday air shift at Sky Radio 7 Phoenix and is the former owner of Skyward Productions. Wylder Boyer is a voice-over artist and is best known as a former on-air personality for WZOK-FM and B-103 (WGFB-FM).

“Our podcast is mobile because working in radio, we’ve both been inside the ‘glass box’ of a studio for many years, and we wanted to be out in the community doing Life’s 3x5s,” Wylder Boyer said. “We talk about life, whether it’s a topic, a question, a memory, a current event, a person, or our podcasting location. I like to think of the podcast as eavesdropping on two friends.”

Taking a cue from cocktail party etiquette, Larson said. “The only topics off-limits are politics and religion.”

Having a mobile podcast allows Larson and Wylder Boyer to broadcast from some pretty cool locations. During a podcast at the Rockford Speedway, Larson randomly pulled out an index card which posed an interesting question. “The card said, ‘Do either of you sleepwalk?’ I quickly answered, ‘Not at the racetrack, we don’t!”

“Every location we podcast from seems to be my favorite,” Wylder Boyer said. “But our very first podcast from the middle of a cornfield holds a special place in my heart. I have also enjoyed being on location at the Coronado Performing Arts Center, Alpine Hills Adventure Park, 317 Art Collaborative, and the Rockford Park “District’s Snow Sculpting Competition.”

“Tim and I got a real treat when we ‘commandeered’ the WGN radio studios in Chicago and did a podcast from there. It was amazing!” she said.

Rivaling his visit to the Rockford Speedway, Larson’s most memorable podcast took place in another high-octane location. “We were out on the tarmac of the Chicago-Rockford International Airport, and I had my back to an arriving cargo plane,” he said. “The plane created a draft when it started to turn, and all the papers and notes we had on our table just took off.”

Beyond the thrill of being on location, Larson and Wylder Boyer want Life’s 3x5s Podcast to showcase the fascinating people, businesses, and organizations of the region. “My selfish reason for doing the podcast is that it keeps me connected to radio and involved in the community,” Wylder Boyer said.

“Producing Life’s 3x5s Podcast gives us the opportunity to promote some of the fantastic events, local shops, and worthy organizations around town. We like to think of the podcast as our own ‘Visit Northern Illinois’ ad campaign,” she said.

“We try to partner with the Rockford Area Convention and Visitor’s Bureau and the Rockford Chamber of Commerce and bring awareness to events going on in our region,” Larson said. “During the mural painting in downtown Rockford, we squatted between the murals and did our podcast there. We see all the potential our Rockford area has, and that’s what we want others to know about.”

Podcasts are available at https://lifes3x5s.com