20 Best Women-Focused Podcasts in 2023

Podcasts for women can be hard to find.

Studies have shown that regular podcast listener demographics break down to almost exactly 50% women, 50% men. However, studies also show that podcasting is still disproportionately a man’s world. 🤴

Whether it is the host’s gender, the gender of the production executives, or the content focus of podcasts, men dominate (white men, specifically).

Because of these power dynamics, it can be a little bit more difficult to discover podcasts that are women-focused. That is why we wrote this blog post! 😎

Here are twenty women-focused podcasts that we think you should check on in 2023. ⬇️

In no particular order…

20 women-focused podcasts for 2024

Our Body Politic 🗽

Created near the end of 2020, Our Body Politic, is “unapologetically centered on reporting on not just how women of color experience the major political events of today, but how they’re impacting those very issues.”

The host is Farai Chideya, a reporter, author, and researcher who specializes in American political issues. With over one hundred weekly episodes under its belt, the show has proven itself and then some.

If you are interested in conversations about “the economy, health, politics, education, the environment, and the most prescient issues,” tune into this podcast.

The History Chicks 🐥

The History Chicks have been around for 12 years, which is like 120 in podcast years. The co-hosts are Beckett Graham and Susan Vollenweider. They post new episodes about every two weeks and each episode is about an hour long. The podcast is part of Wondery.

Their stated goal is “to introduce you to female characters in history, factual or fictional via our podcast and shownotes. An introduction, an overview and a little push to explore and learn more on your own.”

Attacking Third ⚽

This podcast by CBS sports has everything you want from a great sports league show. Focusing on the National Women’s Soccer League, hosts Sandra Herrera and Lisa Roman give you the latest news and analysis, plus interviews with former and current players.

The podcast launched in the summer of 2021. Each episode is about a half hour long. Perhaps what is most impressive, they release new episodes just about every other day.

This kind of in-depth coverage of a women’s sports league is rare in podcasting. So sit back, turn it up, and enjoy.

We Can Do Hard Things 😤

This show is not explicitly about women. However, the hosts are two women who love women and a sister of one of those women. So you can see where the topics covered tend to have a women’s focus and perspective.

The podcast is a spinoff of one of the host’s (Glennon Doyle) books, ‘Untamed.’ Glennon is joined by her wife and former soccer start, Abby Wambach, and Glennon’s sister, Amanda Doyle.

A new episode drops each week. The show is about how “Life is freaking HARD. We are all doing hard things every single day – things like loving and losing caring for children and parents; forging and ending friendships; battling addiction, illness, and loneliness; struggling in our jobs, our marriages, and our divorces; setting boundaries; and fighting for equality, purpose, freedom, joy, and peace… [we will ] help each other carry the hard so we can all live a little bit lighter and braver, more free and less alone.”

Criminalia 🏛️

This true crime podcast’s first season focused on women killers, particularly those who used poisons.

Though subsequent seasons have broaden to include more stories of killers who are men, the podcast remains committed to covering women criminals and the role gender plays in “criminals and crimes of the past.”

Katie’s Crib 🍼

Hosted by mom and actress Katie Lowes (you might know her from the TV show, ‘Scandal’), this podcast is all about women and parenthood.

With a new episode each week, Katie “welcomes guests for open and honest conversations about everything parenting from fertility and postpartum life to the trials and tribulations of raising tiny humans.“

Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls 🌛

This podcast is a spinoff from a popular kids book with the same name. It dubs itself as a “fairy tale podcast for kids about real life extraordinary women from all over the world.“

It started in 2018 and now there are over two hundred episodes. The show often has the stories of incredible women read by other incredible women, for example in one episode Anita Hill reads aloud the story of Rosa Parks.

The stories are about 20 minutes long, a perfect length for little ones.

The Women’s War 💪

This limited series, iHeart podcast is about the Rojava revolution in Northeast Syria where women took up arms to defeat ISIS and continue to work to build a feminist, anti- authoritarian society. The hosts, Robert Evans and Jake Hanrahan, interview the women involved the farming, law enforcement, governing, and military fighting. There are eight episodes total.

There Are No Girls on the Internet 💻

Launched in July 2020, this iHeart podcast is a great resource to learn about how women and other marginalized groups have shaped the internet. It is hosted by Bridget Todd and now has over one hundred and seventy episodes.

It describes itself as “Marginalized voices have always been at the forefront of the internet, yet our stories often go overlooked. Bridget Todd chronicles our experiences online, and the ways marginalized voices have shaped the internet from the very beginning. We need monuments to all of the identities that make being online what it is. So let’s build them.”

The Bechdel Cast 👯

Name after the famous “Bechdel Test” this podcast bills itself simply as “a podcast about the portrayal of women in movies.” Simple enough.

The hosts for this iHeart podcast are Jamie Loftus and Caitlin Durante. With over three hundred thirty episodes and counting, chances are they have reviewed your favorite and your least favorite movies. Examples include: A Goofy Movie, Titanic, The Ring, Casper, Mad MaxFury Road, and much, much more.

Unladylike 😳

This show describes itself as “a feminist lifestyle podcast on a mission to stay curious, build empathy, and raise hell.” The host is Cristen Conger, formerly of How Stuff Works and Stuff Mom Never Told You. Started in 2018, it now has over two hundred episodes.

Its episodes are about forty-five minutes long and its show notes are packed with resources and citations. It goes where few dare, candidly discussing sex, reproductive rights, and “what it really takes to choose your choices – big or small, public or private, inside or out.”

Stuff Mom Never Told You 👵

Started in 2009 by Cristen Conger at How Stuff Works, this show now has over two thousand episodes! The current hosts are Anney Reese and Samantha McVey.

The show’s description is “Continuing the conversation of what it is to identify as female through research-based discussion around feminism and how it impacts everyday life.” It features interviews with feminists around the world as well as fun conversations about the latest books and TV shows.

The Waves 🌊

‘The Waves’ is a Slate podcast, started in 2009 and still going strong with three hundred episodes and counting. Named after how eras of feminism are referred to as the first, second, and third waves, it looks at current events through a gendered lens.

The show does not have a set host, rather Slate’s writers take turns steering the podcast ship. Recent episodes include topics such as living with ADHD, myths about fat people, women’s voices, and reality TV.

Buffy 🎸

Next on our list of podcasts for women and about women is “Buffy.”

This 2022 Canadian Broadcast Association limited podcast series dives into the life of Buffy Sainte-Marie. Its show description: “Buffy Sainte-Marie is one of the most prolific singer-songwriters of the past century. For 60 years her music has quietly reverberated throughout pop culture, and provided a touchstone for Indigenous resistance. In this five-part series, Mohawk and Tuscarora writer Falen Johnson explores how Buffy’s life and legacy is essential to understanding Indigenous resilience.“

The host Falen Johnson, is also the co-host of the CBC podcast “The Secret Life of Canada.” In “Buffy” she interviews the artist along with interviewing others in her life including a childhood friend and a high school boyfriend.

1972 ✊

Yhane Washington Smith, an independent audio drama creator and writer, has put together this seven-part audio drama about Angela Davis’ trial and Shirley Chisholm’s run for president in 1972.

As the show description states, Davis and Chisholm were “two highly respected Black women who dared to hold a mirror to the systemic racism and sexism within the United States. The show portrays the true story of two women refusing to be ignored and silenced by a society comfortable with the status quo.”

Latina to Latina 🤝

Started in 2018 by LWC Studios, this interview series now has over two hundred episodes in the books. According to its description, “host Alicia Menendez talks to remarkable Latinas about making it, faking it, and everything in between. In often-hilarious and always-revealing episodes, Alicia and her guests take on the challenges of existing, and then thriving, as women of color.”

The host, Alicia Menendez, has a background in journalism as does her co-executive producer, Juleyka Lantigua, and managing producer, Paulina Velasco.

Lost Women in Science 🔬

Next on our list of podcasts for women and about women is “Lost Women in Science.”

As the show description states, “For every Marie Curie or Rosalind Franklin whose story has been told, hundreds of female scientists remain unknown to the public at large. In this series, we illuminate the lives and work of a diverse array of groundbreaking scientists who, because of time, place and gender, have gone largely unrecognized… we focus on a different scientist, putting her narrative into context, explaining not just the science but also the social and historical conditions in which she lived and worked. We also bring these stories to the present, painting a full picture of how her work endures.”

The first three seasons each dove into a single woman’s life: Dorothy Andersen, Klára Dán von Neumann, and Yvonne Y. Clark. Now this podcast has pivoted to covering one woman per episode.

The show is by The Lost Women of Science Initiative, Inc., a nonprofit organization. The organization partners with podcast agency Public Radio Exchange for distribution.

New Women 👩‍🦽

Written by Louise Page, “New Women is a fictionalised podcast series which interweaves the stories of disabled first-wave feminists Rosa May Billinghurst, Helen Keller and Mabel Normand. Throughout each 10-minute episode, the women narrate their lives in the early twentieth century.”

The show was produced by Clear Voice Enterprises and funding provided by England’s Disability Arts Online’s Covid Commissions program.

Asian Boss Girl 💄

This podcast touts itself as “a podcast for the modern day Asian American woman.” Started in 2017, it now has over two hundred episodes to choose from.

Hosts Melody Cheng, Helen Wu, and Janet Wang say they started it because “It’s no secret that Asian women are lacking in almost all media outlets, and those who are present mostly represent the fashion, beauty, or blogging industries. We started ABG as girlfriends while balancing jobs in finance, technology, & media with corporate careers spanning over a decade. Here, we share our experiences and explore topics as 20/30 something Asian American women working, dating, and living in LA, CA.“

I Swear on My Mother’s Grave 🪦

Actress and daughter, Dana Black, started this women-focused podcast in 2020. Its show description reads, “Bold, funny, vulnerable conversations about the loss of our complex mothers, and not just in death. We promise to make you laugh too!“

There are now three seasons with over twenty episodes. Each episode is about one hour long, though it depends on the conversation.

Wrap Up

Thanks for taking the time to read through our recommendations for best podcasts for women, and about women! 🤩

You can find them on just about any listening platform: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, etc.

As you can see, these women podcasts cover every topic: career, workplace-life balance, midlife advice, deep dives into historical people, money and power, family, science, health, film, and everything in between. 👀

In general, each host does a good job getting their guest to talk about what you, the listener, will find most interesting. 🎙️

Their content is powerful and they have done a great job building a community around their show.

As podcasters, you can listen to these podcasts for women and about women, and see what you can implement in your own content. 🤓

But above all, enjoy the listen! 🚀