Feminist Podcasts You Should Listen to in 2023

Let’s talk about podcasts…

My relationship with podcasts had a bit of a rocky start. At first, I didn’t understand the buzz surrounding them and why everyone was talking about podcasts so much. Then, once I decided to give it a try, I was so overwhelmed by the amount of podcasts out there that I gave up again. It wasn’t until about two years ago that I started to really get into it. I began listening to podcasts about books I like, mostly while on long train or bus journeys. Then more and more at home, until I discovered that podcasts are amazing companions for boring tasks like cleaning my room or doing dishes. And finally, once my studies steered me into the world of feminist academia, I began looking for more podcasts about feminism, and here I am, a podcast fanatic!

So, whether you’re already an avid podcast listener in search of recommendations, or an overwhelmed beginner, here is a short list of some of my favourite feminist podcasts that might inspire you in 2023:

Bitter Brown Femmes

Bitter Brown Femmes is hosted by Ruben and Cassandra, two Chicanx* queer femmes who meet on a monthly basis and discuss cultural/social/political matters and their impact on marginalised communities. Their discussions are prompted by one specific thing – which could be a news story, a movie, an artist, a tweet, pretty much anything – which then gets put into a bigger context of contemporary socio-political debate. Their motto pretty much explains it all: “Dismantling Shit While Talking Shit!” 

Some of the topics they discuss are very sensitive and some people might find them triggering, so Ruben and Cassandra always mention a trigger warning in advance and encourage people to skip the episode if they find it uncomfortable. This kind of sensitivity from their side is one of the things that makes me enjoy their podcast so much – that and the fact that you can tell that their friendship goes beyond co-hosting a podcast! Overall, Ruben and Cassandra have, in my opinion, mastered the art of podcast hosting: they know when to be funny and when to be serious, and more importantly they know that culture is political, and they make sure their listeners know this too.

Unfortunately, their last episode aired last year, but regardless I still think it is worth listening to. It’s funny, it’s interesting, it’s educational, what more could we ask for?

Bitter Brown Femmes is available on their website, Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Soundcloud.

*Chicanx is the gender-neutral term referring to people of Mexican American descent. 

Love, Sex And Situationships

If you’re looking for a podcast with a young and relaxed energy, this might be the one for you! 

Created and hosted by two Amsterdam-based students, Love, Sex And Situationships can be described as an informal chat between two friends – and the occasional guests – with the goal of destigmatising and breaking taboos on matters ranging from dating apps, to being single, to casual sex. In short, the hosts Maya Devincenzi and Phoebe Spence, discuss all things related to love, sex and everything in-between. 

They both began working for Slim Radio as content writers, and in January 2022, after lots of positive feedback on their articles about sex, love, and dating, they released the first episode of their podcast series on Slim Radio. Having been close friends since long before the podcast began, Maya and Phoebe have a great dynamic together, which is definitely felt in every episode and makes the episodes easy and fun to listen to – and who doesn’t love a podcast with a good host dynamic?

While chatting to Maya about the podcast, she told me that they have big plans for future episodes. As the series grows, they plan to make some episodes more educational, by inviting guests who have expert knowledge on the chosen topics. 

You can listen to Love, Sex And Situationships on the Slim Radio website, Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Soundcloud.

Feminist Survival Podcast (& Come As You Are)

The Feminist Survival Project (FSP2020) was first released at the end of 2019 and the hosts, sisters Emily and Amelia Nagoski describe it as “[a] podcast for feminists who feel overwhelmed and exhausted by everything we need to get done in 2020, and still worry that we’re not doing enough”. They discuss everyday-life situations that can be stressful and/or overwhelming for women living in a patriarchal society. They do not claim to have the right answer or the right method to deal with these situations – they merely share their own experiences, and what they’ve learned from them. 

Their “how to” episodes each tackle a different challenging topic for feminists. Some examples are “How to Bystander” in which Emily and Amelia discuss the uncomfortable and confronting situation of noticing something bad happening and trying to figure out what to do next, or “How to Rage” where they explore the feeling of rage and its origins, often felt by feminists. As these titles suggest, Emily and Amelia share with us a very loose guide on how to deal with confronting situations as feminists. 

The last episode of this podcast was released in July 2021 but since then Emily has been working on another podcast called Come As You Are which carries the same name as her bestselling book and revolves around debunking myths about sex and sexuality. 

Feminist Survival Podcast can be found on the FSP2020 website, Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and Come As You Are is available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Backtalk (Bitch Media)

Backtalk was born as a result of the expansion of the alternative magazine Bitch: Feminist Response to Pop Culture. Renamed to Bitch Media in 2009, the organisation began to include new forms of media other than the original printed magazine. Backtalk was one of the podcasts produced by Bitch Media. From 2017 until 2020, the hosts Amy Lam and Dahlia Balcazar reviewed and discussed the week’s pop culture happenings from a feminist lens. 

Propaganda, Backtalk’s sister podcast, offers a more in-depth analysis of relevant issues in feminism while Backtalk is a lighter and more chit-chatty talk between friends. The episodes, usually between 30 minutes to an hour, cover topics ranging from veganism, to blackface, to Trump’s impeachment and memes, and I would categorise each episode as a “coffee time with friends” kind of talk. 

Unfortunately, due to lack of funding the magazine announced their closure in April 2022, but lucky for us, all the articles and podcasts can still be found on the Bitch Media website. Backtalk can also be found on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Some honourable mentions

Here are some other podcasts that didn’t make my list but are definitely worth mentioning:

• Intersectionality Matters! – hosted by critical race scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw who coined the term “intersectionality” in 1989, and produced by the African American Policy Forum 
• Secret Feminist Agenda – hosted by scholar and author Hannah McGregor and produced by Amplify Podcast Network 
• Your Angry Neighborhood Feminist – hosted and produced by Madigan