This post was originally published on Audible.com.
There are so many podcasts out there these days that picking a new one can feel overwhelming. Want to learn more about feminist history? Or maybe you need relationship advice? Parenting help? Are you just looking for some laughs? Well, there’a a podcast for that, and that, and that! If you're in the mood for a new podcast, but you're not sure where to start, this list of podcasts for women is a great jumping-off point. These listens cover a wide range of subjects: feminist issues, activism, dating and relationships, personal development, fashion, parenting, books, and history, to name just a few. Hosted by a diverse group of comedians, writers, artists, and thinkers, and with a focus on women creators, guests, and issues, these 20 podcasts are sure to inform, entertain, and inspire.
In this creative self-improvement podcast, bestselling author and motivational speaker Mel Robbins gives you the inspiration you need to to handle all the messes life throws at you. She takes on 13 topics—everything from anxiety and career to family and relationships—and helps you tackle the hardest part of making a change: the first step. Though not explicitly targeted to women alone, this podcast addresses many issues facing women today.
British comedy duo Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders—famous for their BBC sketch comedy show French & Saunders, which itself spawned Saunders's sitcom Absolutely Fabulous—are back with this hilarious comedy podcast. Each episode focuses on a different subject that French and Saunders tit about,
i.e., have a grand old time exploring. From memories of their school days to their favorite vegetables, they bring their signature humor, as well as their unique perspectives, to everything they discuss.
Often, hearing about how other people are handling their problems can help us deal with our own. Relationship therapist Esther Perel is here to provide just that. In each episode of this intimate podcast, she listens to a couple's particular challenges, from infidelity to parenting woes. With compassion and insight, she helps them work through their often complex emotions, offering listeners a template for honestly handling their own challenges.
Calling all woman book lovers! If you love literature and diving into a story, you'll want to check out this podcast all about books by and about women. Hosts Jamila Rizvi and Astrid Edwards discuss fiction, nonfiction, and everything in between, including how the literary world bleeds over into every other aspect of life.
If you're looking for a winning combination of comedy and real talk, look no further than this hilarious and insightful podcast, hosted by comedians and BFFs Phoebe Robinson and Jessica Williams. They discuss everything from romance to race, always centering their experiences as Black women in America, and bringing their delightful wit to every topic under the sun.
Being a woman affects your daily life in a hundred different ways, some obvious and some less so. In this engaging, research-based podcast, hosts Anney and Samantha discuss what it means to be a woman in today's society, looking at a range of feminist issues through the lens of how they impact everyday life.
Hosted by bestselling author and activist Scarlett Curtis, this unique podcast uses an epistolary format to explore the complexities of modern womanhood. Each episode is structured as a series of letters, penned by Scarlett and other activists and creatives, to the women who have changed, inspired, and raised them. Beautiful and moving, this podcast is an ode to female friendship and a celebration of womanhood.
If you thought fashion wasn't a feminist issue, think again! In this wildly entertaining podcast, DJ Clara Amfo and fashion historian Amber Butchart explore the history of fashion from the Middle Ages through the 20th century. But they don't stop there: They also draw connections between fashion history and today's gender norms, delving into the surprising ways fashion has influenced modern social movements.
Award-winning authors Yomi Adegoke and Elizabeth Uviebinené, who co-wrote Slay in Your Lane: the Black Girl Bible, return with this informative and inspiring podcast. They discuss news and pop culture from a Black woman perspective, offering advice on navigating dating, relationships, family, work—and just about everything else that life might throw at you.
Learning how to use the power of the mind to change not only our lives, but the world can be daunting. Not so in this inspiring podcast, hosted by award-winning rapper Common. In each episode, he speaks with a different artist about their particular way of thinking, and how they use that framework in their work, life, and relationships.
If you've ever felt that living a life strictly based on your principles can get messy fast, then this podcast is for you. Comedian and screenwriter Deborah Frances-White knows the feeling well, and she's here to examine and confront it. Each week, she and a guest discuss a different 21st century feminist issue, and their fears and insecurities surrounding it.
The 2020 election is over, but the lessons this period of recent history have to teach us are many. In this in-depth podcast, Rebecca Carroll explores race and identity through the lens of the most recent election. She speaks with thinkers, writers, artists, and politicians on topics including immigration, COVID, media representation, and more. Throughout, she weaves her own stories and experiences as a Black woman in America into the conversation. The result is an enriching, poignant podcast about the past and present of American politics.
Come Through with Rebecca Carroll is a podcast that explores culture, race and identity against the backdrop of the 2020 election. The series will provide listeners with 15 essential conversations they can take with them during this pivotal time. Conversations with prominent thinkers, cultural critics, writers, artists, and politicians on topics like climate change, diversity and inclusion programs, immigration and more are prompted by our host’s lifelong personal inquiry into what it means to form an identity as a black woman against the default American backdrop of mainstream whiteness and white supremacy.
Okay, Now Listen is a bi-weekly podcast hosted by Scottie Beam and Sylvia Obell. They share what’s on their minds, what they're binging and what’s blowing up their timelines. Brought to you by Netflix and Strong Black Lead.
Death, Sex & Money is a podcast about the big questions and hard choices that are often left out of polite conversation. Host Anna Sale talks to celebrities you've heard of—and to regular people you haven't—about the Big Stuff: relationships, money, family, work and making it all count while we're here. WNYC Studios is a listener-supported producer of other leading podcasts including Radiolab, On the Media, The Experiment, The New Yorker Radio Hour and many others.
In this super-informative and useful podcast from NPR, journalists, scientists, and other experts report on everything you need to know about being a better human, from managing finance and work stress to parenthood, sustainable living, health and wellness, and more. At extremely digestible lengths (episodes range from 10 to 30 minutes max), it's easy to binge several important life lessons in a row while still enjoying the entertaining, curiosity-stoking format.
This is another fantastic podcast that comes out daily, and each episode is only five minutes long. In other words, this is the podcast to try if you've always been intimidated by 30-minute or hour-long shows. Each weekday, Wonder Media Network co-founder and journalist Jenny Kaplanoffer offers a brief, fascinating story about the groundbreaking women who have shaped our world—whether you've heard of them or not. Past episodes have featured women as diverse as Octavia Butler, Maria Mitchell, Fannie Lou Hammer, and Marsha P. Johnson, to name just a few of the hundreds of amazing women you'll learn about when you listen in.
We've all been there: someone asks How are you?
and your automatic response is Fine, thanks for asking!
even if you're having one of the worst days of your life. In this podcast from American Public Media, host Nora McInerny asks people how they're doing—and gets the real, unfiltered answers. Her guests include artists, writers, celebrities, and ordinary people. As Nora talks with guests about their lives, their conversations include an incredibly wide range of topics: friendship, widowhood, YouTube, beauty pageants, addiction, parenthood, and so much more.
Laura Sackton is a freelance writer based in rural Massachusetts. She loves all things queer literature, and has a particular fondness for audiobooks.
