10 Women Podcasters You Should Know

Hey honeys and hustlers,

Chicken soup for the soul, podcasts for your earbuds. Today is the first of a 3-part series for Women’s History Month where I shine a light on incredible women creators. I took a little break last week as I was preparing for my session at Podcast Movement Evolutions, changing my entire approach to YouTube (those midnight thoughts are something serious), and spending some much-needed time in virtual community with other creators.

According to Edison Research's The Infinite Dial 2024, women now make up 47% of monthly podcast listeners in the United States, a significant increase from just 36% in 2019. Despite this growing listenership, women creators still face representation challenges - with only 27% of top-charting podcasts hosted by women, according to a 2023 study by Chartable. Here are a few recommendations to get more women's voices into your earbuds.

1. Inside Marketing Design. High-level design system breakdowns with designers from Webflow, Zapier, Figma, and more. The host, Charli Marie Prangley, is the lead brand designer at Kit so she brings her professional experience to the mix as well.

2. Louder Than a Riot. This was a podcast on the NPR podcast network created by a team led by Gabrielle Bulgarelli. Hip Hop fans, this one is for you. There are 2 incredible seasons for you to binge, but unfortunately, there won’t be a 3rd.

3. Get to Know Your Favorite Producers. Elsie not Elise is an indie podcast host who’s really reimagining what an interview-based podcast show can be on her own dime. This show is an extension of her brand in music commentary and is a perfect example of how music and audio storytelling go hand in hand.

4. It’s Good Over Here. This show is produced by Honey Chile, led by Felicia Pride. This isn’t her first rodeo with a podcast but she is getting better with every foray into the audio medium which doesn’t surprise me at all. She’s an incredible film producer, so I expect her podcast production arm to be no different. Women over 40 (which isn’t technically me but still), you’ll be in for a treat.

5. Our Ancestors Were Messy. Whenever I get a little sad about the state of journalism and Black journalism specifically, I just turn on this show. Nichole Hill of Coco Hill Productions does an incredible job at audio storytelling and I got to hear a few snippets in person at Resonate Podcast Festival last year.

6. The Podcast Space. YouTubers go to YouTube for advice on how to grow on YouTube. Podcasters listen to podcasts for advice on how to grow their podcasts. If you’re looking for advice on all things podcasting, Ana Xavier’s show is the one I recommend.

7. Homoground. I couldn’t make this list without someone from North Carolina, and Lynn Casper has built an incredible ecosystem around this show. Queer music, queer coworking, queer everything. If you’re looking for a little queer joy in these trying times, I highly recommend this show.

8. The Head Nod. Anna Deshawn (the Qube) and Adell Coleman (DCP Entertainment) teamed up to create a podcast power duo if there ever was one. At Afros & Audio 2023 they shared how this partnership works, how the show’s premise came together, how they worked with a designer on the cover art, and how they split responsibilities. As I experiment more with crossover episodes with other podcasters, their relationship has definitely informed how I approach these. College graduates, this one is for you.

9. The Financial Confessions. Their YouTube channel is bigger than their podcast, but their podcast is still an incredible space for women looking to have real conversations about money (with a side of humor). Created by the Financial Diet and hosted by Chelsea Fagan, this show discusses everything from budgeting to pop culture.

10. The Running Show, Post Run High, and The Treadmill Show. Basically, if you like running and podcasts, you’ll like these shows created by Kate Mackz. She started with The Running Show, which was a sub-15 minute show created exclusively for social media (TikTok and Instagram specifically), then she added The Treadmill Show and Post Run High to her podcast storytelling formats for longer episodes. If you’re looking for something to listen to you on your next run, these might be a good fit.

I tried to find a variety of shows for a variety of interests across movement, music, creativity, and lifestyle. Some of these women I’ve met in person, some of them I haven’t. All recommendations are ones I sincerely believe would be a great addition to your podcast listening rotation.

In the next article, I’ll be sharing some newsletters written by women, because we all need more writing by women in our lives. I’ll also be live on Substack on Thursday evening at 7PM to talk newsletter monetization, so I guess Thursday is the day for all things newsletters.