The Best Podcasts For Your Burning Career Questions
It’s a tough world out there, and sometimes it’s hard to find the inspiration amidst all the depressing news. Let’s be real, the current political situation seems like something out of a dark, dystopian novel. Some days, it’s hard to get out of bed (this can’t be just me, right?).
When it comes to women’s professional lives, it can be easy to feel apathetic and, frankly, irritated about the crappy stuff that happens to us at work. (Take your pick: the pay gap, lack of diversity, and sexual harassment.) Still, for most of us, we’ve got to find a way to keep on moving forward, in our lives as well as our careers. After all, the rent sure isn’t gonna pay itself. For some of us, that’s meant blazing a career path outside of the traditional 9–5 space as a freelancer or small business owner. For others, it’s meant finding new ways to make these spaces more empowering, supportive, and accommodating to our dreams (and maybe this means your “dream job” hustle starts every day after 5 p.m.).
Whatever position you find yourself in, these podcasts will provide you with all the grit, resiliency, and inspiration you need, shedding light on topics from mental health, to professional rates, to self doubt — and beyond. All our picks are created by incredible women and women of colour from various different backgrounds, professions, and experiences. So next time you’re stuck in traffic or on a crowded subway car, plug in your headphones and give these a listen for a well-deserved dose of empowerment and inspiration.
The Femails
Career Contessa has long been a great resource for women in the workplace, and they’ve rolled out a new podcast: The Femails.
The show covers women, work, and how to build a successful career on your terms. Career Contessa CEO Lauren McGoodwin interviews different women ranging from CEOs to a happiness psychologists, about their failures, triumph, and advice for career and self-development.
Must-listen episodes include: “When You Go High, You Also Go Low” and “The Power of Odd Jobs & Being Weird.”
The Gender Knot
A Time Magazine Top 50 podcast, The Gender Knot, untangles the new masculinity and femininity and teases out meaning for the audience. Hosted by Nas, aka Nastaran Tavakoli-Far, and Daniel Carroll, the show encourages listeners of all genders to enter into dialogue and contemplation with each other.
The show covers all kinds of topics, from how women can better ask for what they want, negotiate for better salaries, and why some men are scared of ambitious women.
Must listen episode: “Slow Burn’s host Leon Neyfakh on gender in US politics” and “Ambitious women: why are some men scared of them?”
Behind the Brilliance
Behind the Brilliance is a weekly podcast featuring discussions with entrepreneurs, CEOs, creatives, innovators, and more. In conversation with host Lisa Nicole Bell, guests have candid, funny, laid back discussions about their lives, work, and a lot of other surprising things in between.
Listen to this podcast for some guaranteed wisdom, strategies, and realness about living and thriving on your own terms. Must-listen episodes include “Failing Forward,” “Getting Out Of A Funk,” and “More With Less.”
Brown Ambition
Brown Ambition is a weekly podcast run by two women of colour. Their frank conversations cover topics ranging from career know-how to investment to wealth-building on your own terms.
Co-hosts Mandi Woodruff and Tiffany Aliche have different professional backgrounds, coming from a business reporting and a personal finance background, respectively. The podcast is refreshing, honest, and engaging, and is guaranteed to leave you more informed and empowered when it comes to your career and finances. Must-listen episode: ‘The Debt Consolidation Cycle.’
How It Is
On How It Is, women tell their own stories in their own world. The show, which is produced by Reese Witherspoon and hosted by Diane Guerrero, features powerful, personal stories told by a diverse women — including Tarana Burke, Lena Waithe, Gabrielle Union — and makes these experiences relatable to listeners all around the world.
The podcast isn’t explicitly about careers and money, though it does cover these topics in several episodes, including “Work,” “Money,” and “Power.” More than explicit career advice, this podcast is a refreshing and uplifting look at the successes of women from very different backgrounds, and leaves listeners feeling inspired and empowered to chase after their own dreams.
ZigZag
ZigZag is a podcast all about changing the course of capitalism, journalism, and women in tech by documenting personal experiments with change.
After leaving steady jobs at New York Public Radio, co-hosts Manoush Zomorodi and Jen Poyant took a huge financial risk, to build a badass women-owned-and-operated media company — and document their process. Their candid, authentic, and funny conversations delve into the world of entrepreneurship, ambition, and building partnerships. They talk about topics ranging from motherhood, creativity, cryptocurrency, and more.
Check out an episode now.
hey, girl.
hey, girl. is a podcast that highlights the voices of phenomenal women. Author Alex Elle chats with CEOs, poets, authors, and small business owners on everything from self care, to doing what feels good, to navigating loss.
Created with “sisterhood and storytelling” in mind, Elle sits down and gets real with people who inspire her, with each guest giving her (and the audience) a look into their lives through honest and vulnerable conversations. Must-listen episodes include: “Jamila on Self-Value,” “Ajolique on Loss,” and “Nicki on the Waves of Becoming.”
She’s Got Drive
In She’s Got Drive, Black women talk about leadership, motivation, confidence, and success — and how they achieved it. Host Shirley McAlpine speaks with Black women from different professions and walks of life, and delves into deep questions about how they got to where they are, how they navigate change, and how to be your true self no matter where you’re at in your life.
Must-listen episodes include: “Episode 22: Manifesting the Life That You Want” and “Episode 5: Paulette Rowe says Never Underestimate the Power and Importance of Networking.”
After the Jump
We love to throw around the phrase ‘take the plunge,’ when it comes to our careers. But what happens after? In aptly named After the Jump, Design*Sponge founder Grace Bonney interviews designers, business owners, and creatives to shed light on some of the challenges they face. The podcast explores the day-to-day realities of being a creative entrepreneur, and leaves listeners feeling inspired.
Must-listen episodes include: “Episode 91: How to Create Content for the New Online World,” “Episode 83: Overcoming Fear,” and “Episode 99: Changing Pay Rates for Creatives.”
Start listening now.
Jen Gotch is OK…Sometimes
The name of this podcast, Jen Gotch is OK…Sometimes, somehow encapsulates what it means to exist as a woman in the world today: Sometimes it’s amazing, sometimes it’s trash, and other times it’s OK.
Jen Gotch talks openly about mental health, deconstructing the notion of what it looks like for someone to “have it all together.” Though the podcast isn’t specifically about careers, it does delve deeply into something that so often gets overlooked when we talk about chasing down our dreams: the mental and emotional struggles that inevitably surface.
This podcast is vulnerable, and digs deep about many of the things we don’t always talk openly about. Must-listen episodes include: “A Bout of Self Doubt” and “I Cry At Work.”
Creating Espacios
Creating Espacios, or ‘creating spaces,’ is a Forbes podcast hosted by Barbara Gonzalez and Vivian Nunez. The collection of conversations is an amazing resource for current or aspiring entrepreneurial women, and provides invaluable information for those wanting to learn more about the media or startup world.
It’s no secret that entrepreneurship can feel dominated by white men, for this reason, these two women sit down with Latina trailblazers who are innovating in their fields. And the result is sure to leave you feeling ready to tackle your own venture. Must-listen episodes include: “Saskia Sorrosa: Following Your Passions Isn’t Impossible, It’s Just Hard Work” and “Gina Rodriguez: On the importance of Being a Meaningful Specific.”
HerMoney
Finances are scary. Sometimes, it’s difficult to gather the proper information around budgeting, investment, and mutual funds without feeling overwhelmed. Talking about money can still be taboo, but one way to start having important conversations is to arm yourself with knowledge. If this sounds like where you’re at, then HerMoney should be your next podcast listen.
Created by Jean Chatzky, the financial editor of NBC’s TODAY show, the podcast talks to women about everything from financial independence, to smart investment, 401(k)s, and even Money Diaries.
Must-listen episodes include: “Episode 1: Gretchen Rubin on Happiness” and “Episode 125: HerMoney Diary Entry №1.”
Originally published at https://www.refinery29.com.
