When my sister told me to listen to the podcast ‘Gurls talk’ a few months ago I was a bit sceptical. I usually find my mind drifts when I’m listening to a podcast and I find it hard to concentrate on it no matter how interesting the topic. It’s almost white noise. However, having now listened to Gurls Talk I’ve had a complete change of heart and can’t get enough.
The first thing that grabs you about this podcast is the host’s completely unique voice; it’s very deep and soothing but doesn’t send you to sleep. The host is Adwoa Aboah, a model and activist who I hadn’t heard much about but when I looked her up I knew exactly who she was – I’d just never put a name to a face.
The podcast is aimed at women of any age and talks about everything from feminism, sexuality to drug misuse. The first one I listened to remains my favourite. Adwoa talks to Emma Mackey and Aimee Lou Wood from Sex Education. (In a shocking turn of events) they discuss sex and their teenage years. They chatted about the pressures of sex when you’re a girl and gave advice they wish they had had as a teen. The resonating message was not to let anyone make you feel bad for your choices and that it’s ok to take your own pace. It was also interesting to see Emma and Aimee’s personalities in contrast to their onscreen characters. Emma seems practically the opposite of Maeve coming across as very sweet and low-key whereas let’s just say you can really tell why they cast Aimee for Amy on the show (in a good way of course). Their experiences were a great example of how different their path with sex and relationships was with one being more of a late bloomer and the other having started at a younger age. I felt this really helped to validate the female experience no matter what that looked like.
Another highlight would have to be episode 32 where she talks with a friend about both their experiences with drug abuse. This episode sheds light on the fact that addiction does not discriminate. Unfortunately, in our society we would perhaps associate addiction with homelessness or the unemployment. Adwoa shatters this illusion as she is privately educated and from a relatively wealthy background. She gives us an insight into something the media rarely portrays. It also really opened my eyes to how difficult living with addiction can be, especially if being around your closest friends is one of the many roots of a very big problem.
What I enjoy most about this podcast is how natural it feels, you can tell Adwoa puts her guests completely at ease because they feel so comfortable chatting about such taboo topics. It does just feel like you’re a fly on the wall in someone else’s conversation which for me is what a podcast should be. The main tell-tale sign that it’s a great podcast is the fact that my sister and I both love the podcast despite the fact that we’re five years apart. It’s accessible for everyone and the themes will resonate regardless of where you are in life because it’s a podcast made by women for women. Of course, that’s not to say that people of any gender won’t enjoy it! It’s a podcast that has both reassured me in many aspects of my life and helps raise awareness on topics that people are not talking enough about.