After a long summer, it’s hard to avoid plunging headfirst back into daily life. And when that happens, routines and priorities shift — and our summer focus on health and wellness often goes by the wayside.
To help you check in on your health, we’ve rounded up a list of five podcasts. Whether you’re looking to understand your brain and body better or untangle the politics of women’s health, there’s a podcast for you in these wmnHealth favorites.
1. Defy Dementia
Hosted by Allison Sekuler (Baycrest ) and Jay Ingram
Neuroscientist Allison Sekuler and science communicator Jay Ingram help listeners reduce their dementia risk. They interview experts, invite people with lived experiences to share their dementia stories, and offer practical advice to prepare our brains for the long haul. "Defy Dementia" also leaves listeners with additional resources for optimizing their brain health.
Episode spotlight: The most recent episode explores how loneliness affects the brain and increases the risk of dementia. It offers tips on fostering meaningful connections.
2. Therapy for Black Girls Podcast
Hosted by Harden Bradford (Therapy for Black Girls)
This podcast features a weekly conversation with licensed psychologist Harden Bradford on Black women’s health and wellness. From demystifying menopause to talking about online harassment and bullying, "Therapy for Black Girls Podcast" is dedicated to destigmatizing mental health.
Episode spotlight: In a recent episode, Harden invites trauma experts to dig deeper into the science of intergenerational trauma and how it shapes the way we act and feel.
3. Beyond the Paper Gown Podcast
Hosted by Mitzi Krockover (Beyond the Paper Gown)
Physician Mitza Krockover is passionate about helping women solve problems for other women. And this is what "Beyond the Paper Gown Podcast" aims to do — look beyond the healthcare system, untangle the politics and culture of women’s health, and teach women to be better advocates for their wellness.
Episode spotlight: In a recent episode, Mitza invites Angela Marshall, the author of "Dismissed," to highlight the problem of bias in healthcare settings and how we can address it to receive better care.
4. The Retrievals
Hosted by Susan Burton (The New York Times and Serial)
This collaboration between The New York Times and Serial Productions follows the journey of 12 women who visited the Yale Fertility Center and suffered searing pain at the hands of health professionals. Yet, their experiences were dismissed for months before the staff had a shocking revelation.
Episode spotlight: Each episode of "The Retrievals" moves the storyline forward by documenting the medical procedures these women underwent, how they made sense of their pain experiences, and the path they chose to get the staff to take them seriously.
5. Bodies
Hosted by Allison Behringer (KCRW)
Even doctors couldn’t help Allison Behringer figure out why she was in pain during sex. Then she embarked on a quest to find answers to this medical mystery and uncovered layers of sexism, racism, and other forms of oppression undermining women’s health along the way.
Episode spotlight: In a recent episode of "Bodies," she speaks to a mother with postpartum psychosis to highlight the enormous gap in knowledge among experts and parents about the condition.
Images: Erik Tanner for The New York Times (The Retrievals); Sarah Bachman (Bodies)
