Introducing Your New Favourite Podcast

If there is one thing I managed to stay consistent with throughout all of 2024, it’s listening to Giggly Squad. 

Hosted by Hannah Berner and Paige DeSorbo, Giggly Squad is a podcast that talks about all things pop culture, mental health, dating, and more. It first piqued my interest last January. I was looking to add some variety to my podcast rotation since I had been listening exclusively to the self-help genre; that’s when a specific soundbite of them discussing the mind-blowing physics of a multi-purpose arena (“And then they turn it into an ice skating rink” Paige muses while watching a basketball game) went viral on TikTok. I listened to the full episode where that sound bite was included, and from then on, I was hooked. It became the highlight of every Tuesday for me when a new episode would drop and I would rush to listen to it as soon as it came out. 

I love this podcast for a lot of reasons, but even more so since I deleted TikTok. One of the concerns at the front of my mind when deleting the app was experiencing FOMO. How ever would I stay up to date with all the happenings in the pop culture universe without it? Luckily, Giggly Squad has been my hero; it’s my weekly digest of the latest pop culture news (it’s where I got the lowdown on Timothée Chalamet’s controversial SAG awards speech) and what’s been trending (Hannah has a new documentary recommendation every week), that still allows me to not be too chronically online. 

It’s also, in a way, oddly comforting to listen to two women in their early 30s share their experiences that don’t necessarily follow the traditional trajectory of marriage by 25, kids by 30. As someone who is approaching my mid-20s at an alarming rate, I often worry that I am behind in life, or that I’m running out of time to make decisions for my future. I’m not in a long-term relationship, I don’t see myself having children, and I still don’t know what kind of career I want to have. Hearing about Paige’s experiences with freezing her eggs and Hannah’s anecdotes on prioritizing her career at this phase of her life, between both of them confessing that they don’t always have their lives together, both validates my fear and reassures me that there is no one set path for everyone, so I don’t have to rush. 

Of course, the unfiltered silliness of it all is the cherry on top. Between Hannah’s quick-witted jokes, Paige’s passionate rants, and their “opposites attract” dynamic, it reminds that there are pockets of joy to find in the mundane and chaos of everyday life. Whether I’m exhausted after a long day of work, overwhelmed with my responsibilities, or feeling hopeless at the state of the world, Giggy Squad is there to help lift my spirits.  
If you’re looking to take a slight pivot away from self-help podcasts, or you’re just looking for a good laugh, look no further than Giggly Squad.