The 15 Absolute Best Podcasts for Women, by Women
Updated: Feb. 24, 2024
Thanks to their smart, savvy and often hilarious perspectives, some of the very best listens are podcasts for women, by women
Podcasts under a female lens
It’s safe to say that podcasts are as much a part of our popular culture as movies, radio and TV shows. And we’re not the only ones who think so. Edison Research says that 42% of Americans over the age of 12 have listened to a podcast in the past month, and the listenership continues to grow. Podcasts have replaced other methods of entertainment for many people, in part because they are so easily accessible for free on popular platforms like Apple, Google Podcasts and Spotify. But why is business booming? Not only are there hundreds of genres available to choose from, but the best podcasts out there are able to connect through shared experiences. And that’s why podcasts for women and by women resonate so well.
The most popular true-crime podcasts, comedy podcasts and political podcasts aren’t just hosted by women, they also offer insightful and often hilarious commentary on their subjects through a distinctly female lens—they reevaluate history, consider news through a feminist point of view and offer advice about women-specific issues.
This is one of the great things about listening to podcasts: Even when you’re looking for something fluffy to pass the time, you might just get an eye-opening new perspective or hot take about the world around us. Here are some of the best podcasts for women that can help you do just that.
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Wiser Than Me with Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Best for: Meaningful insight on wisdom and aging
Julia Louis-Dreyfus is a Hollywood comedic legend thanks to her work on Seinfeld and Veep (two of the best sitcoms in history). But with her new podcast Wiser Than Me, she has frank and meaningful conversations with women who are older and “wiser” than she is to glean meaningful advice about life, death and everything in between. Some of her interview subjects include actress Jane Fonda, comedian Carol Burnett and author Isabel Allende, who all touch on certain subjects unique to women.
The Jane Fonda episode touches on the way Fonda’s reputation often suffered thanks to her outspoken social and political views, and the way the word “ambition” is often a negative one for women—her experiences in Hollywood are fascinating to hear firsthand. Dreyfus manages to extract candid reflections from all her guests as they regale her with the stories of their lives. Proving herself to be skilled onscreen and over the airwaves, Dreyfus has created one of the best new podcasts for women out there.
Forever 35
Best for: Self-deprecating self-care
Hosts Kate Spencer and Doree Shafrir’s self-care and pop-culture podcast Forever 35 is charming, funny and occasionally self-deprecating, much like the show’s title. The beloved podcast, which launched in 2018, features the two “friends who like to talk about serums” as they discuss everything from beauty products and relationships to celebrity gossip—basically everything that falls under self-care. Many of the episodes feature conversations with a diverse range of guests, including comedians, physicians and political activists, but my personal favorite episodes are their “product recall” episodes, which take a deep dive into the history and popularity of beauty products we were obsessed with in the ’80s—from Noxema and St. Ives Apricot Scrub to Drakkar Noir.
I never thought I’d get sucked into a show that talks about the history of face wash, but the way the hosts mix humor and history hits a sweet spot of nostalgia that’s both addictive and fun. You can literally smell the Noxema as they talk about it.
You’re Wrong About
Best for: History of public opinion
You’re Wrong About started as a podcast hosted by Sarah Marshall and Michael Hobbs, both journalists, as an attempt to offer a more balanced perspective on news coverage over the past century. (Hobbs has since left to focus on other projects—see Maintenance Phase below.) Some of this history podcast‘s best episodes include a five-part series about the life of Princess Diana, and a look at the media vilification of Tonya Harding.
The show is eye-opening and often shocking as it pulls back the curtain on information that many of us took as fact, and includes details that were often unreported or misreported at the time. While not every episode features a news story with a female protagonist, you’ll start to notice a pattern emerge, especially with regard to 1990s news stories that painted women like Lorena Bobbitt, Amy Fisher and Anna Nicole Smith as villains. In reality, all of them were victims of domestic and/or sexual abuse. You’re Wrong About is a show that can only exist in hindsight of these stories, but it’s a fascinating and entertaining look at the way many people, especially women, are depicted in popular culture.
My Favorite Murder
Best for: True crime
My Favorite Murder is one of the original hit true-crime podcasts. It gained popularity thanks to the way hosts Georgia Hardstark and Karen Kilgariff invite listeners in and make you want to be their best friends. During each episode, the women rehash the details of famous (or not-so-famous) serial killers, cults and other death-related stories, sprinkling their darkly funny brand of comedy into the otherwise grim subject matter. With more than 30 million listeners a month, the pair are queens of the true-crime genre and champions of other women too. They have used their popularity to start their own podcast network, Exactly Right, which produces more than a dozen other podcasts, most hosted by women. You can find My Favorite Murder on Apple, Google Podcasts, Spotify and Wondery.
Feminist Survival Podcast
Best for: Stress management and burnout tips
Many women carry the bulk of their family’s mental load. After all, it seems the term “work-life balance” is often geared specifically to mothers and wives. Feminist Survival Podcast, which is no longer producing new episodes but ran from 2019 until 2021, was hosted by Emily Nagoski, PhD, and Amelia Nagoski, DMA (doctorate of musical arts), who co-authored the book Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle, about the unique stresses in the life of a woman.
The podcast is something of an instruction manual on how to prioritize what matters, and how to process the mixed messages the world sends women with regard to things like parenting, weight and appearance, and work, while also encouraging listeners to seek out the right support systems and tools to help calm our weary brains. And while the show doesn’t produce new episodes, Emily Nagoski has since hosted another great podcast for women, Come As You Are, about sex and sexuality.
The Assignment with Audie Cornish
Best for: News and current events
The Assignment could have just been another newsy, political podcast that relays current events, but what sets it apart and makes it one of the best podcasts for women is the way host Audie Cornish presents the news of the day and immerses herself in it. Cornish brings in politicians and pundits who are actively part of the news cycle to speak on their experiences, and her calm demeanor and sharp, insightful interviews are truly informative. Toeing the line between journalism and interview show, Cornish is able to bring some of her own experiences and feelings to the table in a way that’s relatable and feels like you’re part of a conversation with a friend.
You Must Remember This
Best for: Hollywood history
Writer Karina Longworth’s podcast You Must Remember This is an exhaustively researched show about film history, with women’s representation in media deeply ingrained in the subject. Whether she’s discussing the way women’s sexuality has been written for the screen or shining a spotlight on female auteurs like movie art director and producer Polly Platt, Longworth pulls back the curtain on the ways Hollywood has often disparagingly and unfairly treated women—and how that treatment has evolved over time. Early seasons of the show featured many great standalone episodes, but the podcast has evolved into more single-topic full seasons. This includes deeply researched seasons about the careers of actresses Jane Fonda and Jean Seberg, as well as an entire season simply called “Dead Blondes,” about the mythical careers of several starlets who epitomized sex and beauty but tragically died too soon. These single-subject seasons are addictive and the perfect podcasts for road trips if you’re looking for informative entertainment.
You Might Know Her From
Best For: Actress interviews
Want to hear from actresses who fall into the “Oh, hey, that woman!” category—actresses whose faces you recognize but whose names escape you? Hosted by comedy partners Anne Rodeman and Damian Bellino, You Might Know Her From is a love letter to some of the best character actresses working in Hollywood and on Broadway. It features interviews with actresses and non-cis figures in entertainment.
Bellino and Rodeman (who are both gay) have not just created a show dedicated to women; rather, it’s a solid entry in the canon of LGBTQ podcasts. They banter freely about everything from celebrity gossip and sexism in the industry to LGBTQ+ issues (including but not limited to political activism and the enduring legacy of the Spice Girls). But at the heart of the pod is a genuine desire to shed light on talented women with amazing stories to share about their triumphs and setbacks.
Second Life
Best for: Career advice
Second Life is informative and inspiring, with a message that it’s never too late to do what you love. Host Hillary Kerr is a shining example of that. She went from being a magazine editor to running a massive digital media and clothing brand, Who What Wear, despite not having any prior experience in digital media. On every episode of her show, Kerr speaks with a different woman who has made this kind of career pivot, and what education and experience they had (or didn’t have) at their disposal when they made the leap. Kerr has spoken to women like model-turned-host and author Padma Lakshmi and reality TV show star-turned entrepreneur Lauren Conrad. Their advice is a blueprint for finding meaning in what you do, as well as doing what satisfies your heart and soul.
We Can Do Hard Things with Glennon Doyle
Best for: Motivation and encouragement
Author Glennon Doyle, along with her wife Abby Wambach and sister Amanda Doyle, have created one of the great motivational podcasts of all time with We Can Do Hard Things. The premise of the pod is to get at the heart of life’s challenges by addressing them frankly, honestly and head-on (often causing a cathartic cry). Their discussions include everything from parenting to health and wellness and sexuality, and the show has incredible guests, including Dolly Parton, Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey, who all share their stories and experiences. The show, which tackles often difficult topics and occasionally dives into personal trauma, can be a roller coaster of emotions, but it lends a feeling of solidarity to anyone experiencing difficulties in their life.
The Gist of It
Best for: Sports talk
The Gist of It is a sports podcast created by hosts Ellen Hyslop and Stephanie Rotz that discusses everything happening in mainstream sports, from the NFL to the WNBA. The show is both a newsy discussion about current sports events and an interview series where Hyslop and Rotz speak to influential athletes from around the world. The hosts don’t gloss over women’s issues, but truly dive into subjects like the rise of women managers in professional leagues and sexual harassment in sports. Add to that their “intersectional analysis” of topics, such as climate change’s effect on sports, and the political practice of “sportswashing,” and you get one of the most unique and refreshing sports podcasts for women (and men) that goes places many other sports shows don’t bother to go.
Maintenance Phase
Best for: Health and wellness
With so many health fads, weight-loss plans and fitness equipment out there, not everything that proclaims to be healthy actually is. That’s where Maintenance Phase comes in. Hosted by Aubrey Gordon and Michael Hobbs (formerly of You’re Wrong About), this podcast debunks myths and misconceptions about everything wellness related, which, let’s face it, is often targeted to women. The show exposes truths behind celebrity endorsements and workouts, drugs like Ozempic and broadly discusses fatphobia as a cultural phenomenon, while also promoting healthier and more realistic standards for regular folks to follow.
The Bechdel Cast
Best for: Discussions about women in film
If you haven’t heard of the Bechdel Test, which was created by writer and cartoonist Alison Bechdel, it’s a measure of how women are represented in media—on film, on TV and in books. The test asks whether a project features at least two named female characters who have a conversation about something other than a man. The Bechdel Cast is a podcast that discusses women’s roles in film, along with conversations about the actors who play these roles. Hosts Caitlin Durante and Jamie Loftus, both comedians, welcome a different guest each week to discuss a specific film and the female characters (and other characters that don’t specifically identify as male) who appear in it. They then rate the film on their proprietary “nipple” scale of one to five to determine how women and other marginalized characters are represented—and whether these classics are feminist movies or not. It might be a podcast about Hollywood, but it’s also a truly insightful analysis of the way women are represented in the classic American film library.
Girlboss Radio
Best for: Career and work-related topics
Hosted by HR expert Avery Francis, Girlboss Radio is geared toward women with lofty career aspirations (or anyone who just wants to feel inspired in the workplace). Francis interviews CEOs, founders, actors and influencers to discuss the challenges unique to women in the workforce. Girlboss Radio is one of the best podcasts for women in business and beyond, thanks to its empowering and often transformative messages about what it takes to succeed. While the show features interviews with successful women in business, it also offers thoughtful advice on leveraging social media, acing job interviews, creating a personal brand and promoting a positive work environment for listeners.
You Are Not Broken
Best for:Â Sexual health
You Are Not Broken is hosted by urologist Kelly Casperson, MD, and is a thoughtful and often funny exploration of women’s bodies and their sexual health. The show’s mission is to educate women on topics that don’t often get addressed, which is why Dr. Casperson claims to be “the friendly expert you never had.” What happens to our bodies as we approach menopause? How do we deal with changing libidos? Does surviving cancer affect your sex drive? The answers to these questions have not always been readily available, and Dr. Casperson is here to dispel myths and eviscerate the formerly taboo subjects. With laughter and candor, the show tries to destigmatize the struggles many of us face, while speaking with experts who can help us understand our bodies better.
Sources:
- Edison Research: “The Infinite Dial”
- Pew Research Center: “Audio and Podcasting Fact Sheet”
- Pew Research Center: “A Profile of the Top-Ranked Podcasts in the U.S.”
- Paramount Insights: “Americans Believe That Podcasts Are the New Age of Radio”
Originally Published: December 22, 2023
