Isn’t it nice how we get a cozy, warm-ish fall season right before the frigid chill of winter sets in? Don’t get me wrong, I love winter, but it’s definitely a stay inside kind of season. Or, if you’re not allowed to stay inside for three months, it’s a long road trip to see family kind of season. What I’m saying is that winter is the perfect time for podcasts, and if you’re ready for some hilarious new content from some seriously smart women, you’re in luck.
There’s something so special about lady comics. Obviously, I have a mad love for female comedians, but it goes beyond just liking to laugh. It’s incredibly uplifting and inspiring to hear women be able to dissect, analyze, and then make fun of the annoying parts of daily life. It’s a refreshing alternative to wallowing in self-pity! (Full disclosure: there’s nothing wrong with a wallow or two every now and then. Life is about balance, right?)
Lady to Lady
Hosts: Barbara Gray, Tess Barker, & Brandie Posey
L2L Comedy
This indie podcast is run by three Los Angeles-based comedians who invite special guests to what I’d consider a radio show slumber party. They play games, give advice, talk about current events, and keep things positive and full of laughter. Best of all, this podcast is weekly, and these girls clearly work really hard to make this show as awesome as it is. They just hit their 300th episode and celebrated by broadcasting live from Color Me Mine where they painted ceramics with French Stewart because why not?!
While they were once supported by a podcast network, they’ve since decided to go indie, using Patreon and elbow grease to make their podcast dreams come true. If you’ve ever gone to a coffee shop to work, and jealously sat near a table of three BFFs who keep saying the most hilarious and true things about life, wishing you could just pull up a chair and share your own stories, then this is the podcast you’ve been looking for.
Subscribe to Lady to Lady on iTunes
Mother, May I Sleep With Podcast?
Host: Mollie McAleer
MMISWP
This podcast is an absolute treasure. Each week, Molly McAleer – co-founder of Hello Giggles and writer for Two Broke Girls – brings in some funny lady friends to dissect the enigmatic movies from the Lifetime channel. Yes, those movies. The emotional try-hard, made-for-TV movies full of B-to-D-list actors and dramatic, cringe-worthy life situations. Many, many people indulge in Lifetime movies as a guilty pleasure (my Dad, however, prefers Hallmark movies…), and the famous guests that Molly is joined by on Mother May I Sleep With Podcast are not only committed to the discussion, they’ve often seen the movie in question several times on their own. What I’m saying is: if you’ve dreamed of having someone to hash out the minute details of your favorite Lifetime movie with, you’ve met your match by the dozens.
Just to give you a scope of this podcast, Molly is on the third season of this podcast, and there are 15 episodes per season. That’s nearly 45 Lifetime movies, openly and seriously discussed by intelligent, irreverent hosts. The latest episode features fellow podcaster and ingenius comedian Lauren Lapkus. Together, they discuss the movie “Wicked Mom’s Club” (that’s truly where the apostrophe goes, I checked) and the investment in the characters is 100% real. If you’ve been waiting to find the perfect friends to dish on Lifetime movies with, you’ll find all of them in this podcast.
Subscribe to Mother May I Sleep With Podcast on iTunes
The Reductress Minute
Host: Rachel Wenitsky with special guests
Reductress
First thing’s first: this one is explicit. If you’re uncomfortable hearing hilarious jokes about all-too-real sexual situations and living life as a woman, pass on this one. This podcast comes straight out of the Reductress offices which, if you’re familiar with their work, means this podcast isn’t just funny, it’s bizarrely relevant. For those who aren’t Reductress readers, they’re a web-based parody magazine based on women’s lifestyle content. It includes comedic commentary on everything from politics to shopping to dating.
The Reductress Minute is actually about 30 minutes, and covers best-of-the-best Reductress articles, interviews with the subjects of (fictional) features like “Why This Woman Stopped Dating Men and Started Following a Herd of Majestic Bison,” and special features like “How to get to know the guy who sells CBD oil out of your co-work space.” Those were some conveniently clean examples, but most of their content is not for the faint of heart.
Join Rachel Wenitsky, the Deputy Editor of Reductress, and special contributors like Rachel Bloom, Mara Wilson, and Late Night with Seth Meyers writer Jenny Hagel. Seriously, these are funny women and this podcast will have you LOL’ing your pants off under your electric blanket.
Subscribe to The Reductress Minute on iTunes
Sooo Many White Guys
Host: Phoebe Robinson
WNYC
You guys know how we feel about 2 Dope Queens, and this is another opportunity to support and consume the incredible mind of comedian Phoebe Robinson. This time, in her own podcast called Sooo Many White Guys, which is a perfect way to describe the state of the comedy and entertainment industry. But with Phoebe at the wheel, there isn’t a white guy in sight – okay, except for a couple. They allowed a few white guys on the show, but they’re dudes like Tom Hanks and Bill Hader, so really who can be mad about that? The rest of the guests are non-white creatives and icons like Awkwafina, Gayle King, Gloria Steinem, and Zoe Kravitz.
The weekly podcast is produced by Ilana Glazer who makes occasional cameos on the show. While there’s definitely comedy involved (how could there not be?), race is obviously the common thread that runs through each episode, and guests are encouraged to share their experiences as a non-white person in the entertainment industry. These tales of tokenism can get pretty unnerving, but it’s amazing that Phoebe has given people a place to share their stories. It’s a great opportunity to learn while laughing, and hear first-person, from recognizable faces and voices, the stories of non-white people who are chasing their dreams of success.
Subscribe to Sooo Many White Guys on iTunes
If you have a favorite podcast not listed here, tweet us about it or slide into our DMs!