How the Host of the ‘Sleep with Me’ Podcast Does Breakfast (2024)

Drew Ackerman is in his early 40s, lives in Oakland, works as a librarian, and has a side gig telling bedtime stories to adults. He hosts Sleep with Me, a podcast that, according to Ackerman’s own tagline, consists of “a lulling, droning, boring bedtime story to distract your racing mind.” Narrated by Ackerman’s alter ego Dearest Scooter–essentially a slower-talking, easily distracted version of himself–Sleep with Me works because its host spins yarns just engaging enough to keep the listener entertained, but pleasantly mundane enough that they don’t feel pressure not to fall asleep while listening to them. In previous episodes he’s tried to learn Spanish through offering recaps of a Colombian remake of Breaking Bad, created a replacement Santa Claus named Roberta, and told a 19-part story about nuns in space called “Nuns in Space.” To get a sense of Ackerman’s storytelling style, think of a combination of the free-associative warmth of Garrison Keillor’s "News from Lake Wobegon," crossed with the sci-fi goofiness of Mystery Science Theater 3000, tempered with a few shots of NyQuil.

It turns out that Ackerman also has plenty of thoughts on breakfast–the meal that helps rouse people from the slumber that Sleep with Me helps tens of thousands of people achieve each night. Speaking over the phone on his commute back from his day job, Ackerman discussed the unlikely success of his podcast, the importance of having a routine both at night and in the morning, and his recipe for what he calls “the most lazy bread.”

Do you make any specialty breakfast dishes?
I have this bread I make for breakfast that I’m pretty proud of–that’s normally what I have in my boring breakfast. It’s based on that no-knead bread that was big from a few years ago. It’s literally the most lazy bread. I’ll put 250 grams of white flour and 250 grams of whatever grain—usually instant oatmeal or whatever stuff I have that might be halfway healthy—and then you put two teaspoons of salt, a quarter teaspoon of yeast, 355 grams of water, mix it together and cover the bowl. I just leave it through the next day at work. Then it rises, I rip it into rolls, and bake it. It’s not terrible.

So I’m guessing you don’t drink coffee as you record the podcast?
No, I try to stop drinking coffee before 11. If I’ve broken that rule or it’s a weekend and I’ve had coffee before recording, I’ll get emails from people who say I’m way too charged up or that I need to slow down. Sometimes I’ll acknowledge in the intro, “I’ve just had four Coca-Colas and feel a little wired right now.” Generally I like being a little calmer and in a less frantic headspace when I record the podcast.

How do you determine exactly how boring your stories need to be? In every episode you mention that there’s no pressure to pay attention, but I find myself following along until I’m not anymore because I’m asleep.
Once I’d been doing the podcast for a while I got a sense of what works and what doesn’t. The good thing is the episodes aren’t live, which gives me an opportunity to listen to them. Other times, listeners will tell me if I’m talking too fast or sound overexcited. During one episode of "Nuns in Space," I started talking about The Most Dangerous Game. After it came out, I heard from people that even using those words planted dark seeds in their minds. I’m obsessive—I’m always trying to figure out what I should be talking about, if I’m talking about myself in the third person too much, or if whatever I’m talking about is getting old. I think one of the things about the podcast is I like it to feel familiar, but different enough that you don’t get used to it.

Have you found that people look to you as something of a sleep expert at this point?
I think the podcast has put me in a curious position, because I’m not an expert but I straddle this line where I’m like a middleman. There are all these people who can’t sleep, there’s this whole industry about sleep, and as I’ve learned and talked to people more, it’s put me in a position to work on my ability to empathize with people. I’ve learned that sleep is this baffling thing where there’s not a one-size-fits-all solution, and I’ve heard from all these different people that are dealing with things keeping them awake. Even when I started I didn’t know I’d learn people’s stories about why they can’t sleep. They’re all very human things—people losing loved ones, or dealing with chronic pain issues. A lot of times I find that’s all the listeners want from me, to feel like I hear what they’re saying. That’s a role I’m comfortable with as opposed to being an authority on sleep–that seems scary!

It definitely puts me in a calmer place while managing to maintain this bedrock of silliness.
That’s one of the things that led me to make the podcast—everything like guided meditation and stuff is always so serious. I always felt like the goofiness was missing. Adults need silly stuff to fall asleep to too, not just kids.