I have gotten into a bad habit of treating my lectures like podcasts and doing all sorts of things while pretending to focus on my professors’ voice. So to fix this, I started to find some actual podcasts to listen through while I go through my to-do lists and save all my attention for class. I can’t tell if my attention span is getting shorter or if my brain just needs constant stimulation at all times now, but either way, my brain feels happier doing mundane tasks if I have something interesting to hear in the background. Here are some of my favorites:
- Wild Til 9 (with Lauren Riihimaki & Jeremy Lewis)
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After getting bored with YouTube over and over, I finally re-stumbled upon LaurDIY who I used to watch in middle school. Now, I’m happy to see she is growing even more and posting content she likes rather than sticking to her confined family-friendly content since most of her fans have grown up like her. She recently started this podcast with her boyfriend Jeremy who has some of the best dry humor that makes me laugh every time. I’ve also linked the YouTube channel for their podcast because the video really adds to it. They delve into various topics like mental health, relationships, sex, and more. My favorite honorary episode has to be: Episode 4 “Recovering F*ckboy” because of how great the relationship and self-love advice they give is.
- Matthias J Barker Podcast
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If you don’t already know Matthias J Barker from his immensely calming and therapeutic videos on Tik Tok, you are missing out! He is a psychotherapist who is known for giving people the most enlightening advice on treating PTSD, ADHD, Anxiety, and marriage issues. His talks are honestly like free therapy; Whenever I’m going through something and see he has a video on it, it nearly always makes me feel better and gives me new insight. My favorite episode of his is actually on YouTube: “Marital Conflict.” In this video, he delves into the Gottman’s Four Horsemen styles of conflict and what to replace them with (which is extremely helpful for all relationships, not just romantic!)
- Self Care & Chill with Maui
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To be truthful, I haven’t listened to too many episodes of this podcast yet but this one episode blew me away the other day, so much so that I had to include it. I’ve also been following her Tik Tok for a while now, where she posts about her incredible self-published book, So Much to Unlearn. My favorite episode is Episode 10 “Why Do They Keep Hurting Me?” This one 30-minute talk felt like the best slap-in-the-face advice I’ve heard yet in a way that was both enlightening, empowering, and funny. My favorite line she says was “Dust settles, I don’t.”
- Big Conversations with Haley Hoffman Smith
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I started following Haley Hoffman Smith on YouTube then found out about her podcast. She focuses a lot on manifestation and achieving your “dream life.” She has such positive energy that listening to her trying to stay motivated makes me want to too. My favorite episode of hers is called “Fear of Success 2.0: Growing Pains and the REAL Reason You’re Scared.” So, this is part two of a previous episode but the second one resonated with me a little extra. Haley talks about how after achieving something big in your life, you’ll often have a comedown where you feel really bad for a few days. Her normalizing this made so much sense and reassured me a lot.
- Unf*ck Your Brain ( with Kara Loewentheil)
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Last but not least, this podcast is another good one if you want to hear advice straight up in a relatable, funny way. Kara Loewentheil is a confidence coach who aims to uplift womxn and empower them to work through anxiety, self-doubt, and impostor syndrome. These are all very applicable to me so I was excited. My sister and I listened to this one episode, “Episode 163: Loving Lightly,” in the car and I couldn’t stop taking notes on my phone to remember for later. Loewentheil distinguishes between “loving hard,” meaning over-attached, reactive, and codependent, and “loving lightly,” meaning accepting your partner, friends, or family as they are and not trying to control them to benefit you. I didn’t even know how much I needed this distinction until I heard it.
Those are some of my favorite podcasts that wrap up self-love, therapy, and comedy. Having these play in the background while I brush my teeth or take a bubble bath helps me feel a lot more present in the moment. I get to learn something and work on myself when I would otherwise be bored. Whenever you have a minute, try giving these a listen to inspire your growth!