5 new podcasts to listen to this week

If you are looking for podcasts that will challenge you to become better versions of yourselves, this week’s podcast picks will do that.

1. Ethically Questionable

Streaming platform: All streaming platforms and YouTube

Genre: Environment

Ethically Questionable is a new podcast exploring how we can have everything we want in our lives, without destroying the planet.

Each week, former global head of sustainability and social impact at Soho House, Jamila Brown, will talk with leading figures who are known for their activism, innovation within industry, and for shaping the culture, who are all  figuring it out too.

In the debut episode, Brown explains why she started the podcast and highlights common misconceptions about sustainability.

Brown talks about carbon footprints, the industrial complex that makes people feel they are solely to blame for all environmental issues, and why it’s important to keep in mind the companies that extract fossil fuels.

If you are also trying to figure out what’s worth keeping in the pursuit of the good life, and what’s classed as ethically questionable, then tune in.

(By Yolanthe Fawehinmi)

2. Hormones & Heroines with Sarah-Jane Crawford

Streaming platform: All streaming platforms and YouTube

Genre: Health and wellbeing

“The juggle…” it’s a well-documented part of life that many women find themselves in.

Motherhood, a career and caring for family can make us feel like we’re burning the proverbial candle from both ends. Add to that the dreaded hormones, and you could have a disaster on your hands.

But there is hope at the end of the tunnel, and in this podcast, we get to meet high-achieving women who are managing to do it all, and thankfully, they’re here to give us a few pointers on how to navigate life while also dealing with fertility, period pain, perimenopause, miscarriage and everything in between.

Our host is broadcaster and mum-trepreneur Sarah-Jane Crawford. In the first episode, she is joined by rapper and actress Eve, who discusses her rollercoaster rise to fame alongside her battle with fibroids and four rounds of IVF.

Next up is Henrietta Rix, the woman behind the RIXO fashion brand, who discusses living with PCOS, her fears surrounding fertility, and the difficulties of being a working mother.

Crawford manages to hit the perfect mix of humour, gravity and fact in these 40-minute episodes.

If you are looking for more conversations with heroines who are just about keeping all the plates spinning, then give Hormones & Heroines with Sarah-Jane Crawford a listen.

(By Rachel Howard)

3. To Be A Boy

Streaming platform: All streaming platforms and YouTube

Genre: Wellbeing, family and society

To Be A Boy is a podcast that unpacks the chaos that can come with raising boys in the 2020s and beyond.

In the latest episode, hosts Joeli Brearley and Elliott Rae are joined by men’s health advocate and campaigner George Bell, who chats about the harm that terms like “man up” or “boys don’t cry” can have on a generation of boys.

Bell – also the author of Be A Man About It – gets vulnerable about how he struggled with his mental health 10 years ago, why he couldn’t speak about it, and how his sense of masculinity is what got him to that place.

The trio explore how parents can better support their children. Bell suggests speaking to a support network – including seeking professional advice – and explains why persistence is key.

To Be A Boy is a thoughtful podcast that debunks toxic masculinity myths and provides a safe space for real and honest conversations about the future of our boys.

(By Yolanthe Fawehinmi)

4. Between Mothers and Daughters

Streaming platform: All streaming platforms and YouTube

Genre: Family and wellbeing

It’s rare to find a powerful space where cross-generational conversations are had with mothers, daughters, and powerful women – but that’s what Between Mothers and Daughters has become.

In each episode, the mother and daughter duo, Patti Roberts and Kamaria Roberts, discuss everything from life lessons, identity shifts, and creative journeys to entrepreneurship and the beautiful rebirths we all go through.

This week, single mother of two, Kiana Leroux – also Patti’s co-worker – joins the hosts for a candid chat about changes in female friendships, being raised by narcissistic parents, and how to enforce new boundaries in your life.

The trio also discuss why it’s important to be in a relationship that also supports what you want for your children, the “luxury” that can be found in being a single parent, and why it’s OK to be a villain in someone else’s story.

If you are looking for a podcast that builds new and healthy bridges between mothers and daughters, then Between Mothers and Daughters may be for you.

(By Yolanthe Fawehinmi)

Spotlight on…

5. Why Do I…? 

Streaming platform: All streaming platforms and YouTube

Genre: Wellbeing and relationships

Why Do I…? is a podcast hosted by Tom Stroud that explores behaviours across different types of relationships.

On this week’s episode, journalist Poorna Bell joins Stroud to discuss why so many of us fear ageing and why it doesn’t need to be villainised.

Bell, who wrote the new book, She Wanted More, in which she charts what ageing looks like – especially for women, opens up about why she picked up competitive weightlifting at 38 to confront the negativity that comes with growing old.

The pair explore how capitalism feeds off our fears, why we find it difficult to comprehend physical changes about ourselves, and how the cycle of dissatisfaction shows up differently in men versus women.

Bell speaks about the languages used to describe middle-aged women, and why it gets more pronounced the older you get.

Why Do I…? is a podcast for people who are still figuring out how to become the best version of themselves – without any judgement.

(By Yolanthe Fawehinmi)