12 Female Power Podcasts To Pump You Up

If you’re feeling like you need a little badass female inspiration in your life, sometimes listening to other amazing women doing amazing things is just what you need.

I love podcasts. I can listen to them on the way to work, while doing those seemingly endless chores, or while my kids play quietly in the other room (hahaha!).

But seriously, headphones are a wondrous thing, so throw some crayons and cardboard on the ground for those little heathens, plug yourself in to some fabulous podcasts, and get some inspiration and empowerment for all those badass things you want to accomplish after you start sleeping through the night again.

1. Stuff Mom Never Told You

Why are men allowed to show their nipples? Do people have unique scent prints? How does estrogen work? How do you make friends when you’re older? They explore so many amazing questions in this podcast that I usually have a hard time choosing where to start.

2. The History Chicks

Are there women that history has gotten wrong or even left out? This a podcast of both fictional and real women in history from Anne of Green Gables and Cinderella to Molly Brown and Zelda Fitzgerald. If you love historical women and want to know all about the details of their lives, this is the podcast for you.

3. Girl on Guy With Aisha Tyler

Aisha — who is our favorite girlfriend on Friends — is a self-proclaimed “guy’s girl” and she takes on this attitude while interviewing people like Charlize Theron, Dave Navarro, Viola Davis, and Taye Diggs. She describes the topics she covers as “art, culture, booze, comedy, family, physical injuries, psychological bruises, action movies, rock music, ninjas, zombies, failure, success, sacrifice, video games, and blowing shit up.” Both girls and guys will love her hilarious take on life.

4. The Great Girlfriends Show

This podcast was started by entrepreneurs Sybil Amuti and Brandice Daniel. They cover topics including how to start your own business, but also subjects that will get you ready for that big leap: change, belief in yourself, and finding your own identity. This podcast is for women looking to make their mark on the world.

5. She Did It Her Way

This is a collection of interviews with top female entrepreneurs on how they did things their own way and became successful, covering subjects like the top 10 things no one tells you about being an entrepreneur, transforming your passion into a business, learning to trust your gut, and simply writing a business plan. If you have business goals, this podcast will help to inspire you to do badass things.

6. Women of the Hour With Lena Dunham

Lena Dunham. Buzzfeed. Candid interviews with women like Janet Mock, Emma Stone, and Camila Cabello. No, for real, this is where all of our pop culture dreams come true. SIGN. ME. UP.

7. #girlboss Radio With Sophio Amoruso

The website explains the podcast like this, in each episode, “Sophia interviews world-class girlbosses who have made their mark in creative, cultural, and business ventures to extract solid advice from the lessons they’ve learned along the way.” Some examples are Anne Fulenwider, editor-in-chief of Marie Claire; Julie Greenbaum, co-founder and chief revenue officer of Fuck Cancer; and, Amel Monsur, creative director of Vice Media.

8. Black Girl Nerds

This podcast brings a voice to nerds of color with episodes about Wonder Woman and Star Wars, to interviews with people like Mica Burton and Oprah, to discussing more serious topics like intersectionality. White guys aren’t the only nerds out there.

9. Magic Lessons With Elizabeth Gilbert

I’ve listened to every single one of these. Gilbert has a way of looking at the world that always makes me feel like she gets it. Some of the titles of her episodes are things like “Who gets to decide if you are a legitimate artist?” “Do what ignites your soul,” and “That thing you are seeking is also seeking you.” She’ll make you feel all the things, and she’ll light a fire under your butt to want to do all the things.

10. How to Be a Girl

I’ve talked about this one before in our family-friendly podcast post, but I love it so much, I thought it would fit in here as well. The episodes cover the story of a mom and her young transgender daughter as they navigate our modern world and all things “girl.” Heartwarming and beautiful.

11. Dear Sugar

If you love stories, you’ll love this podcast. Cheryl Strayed, author of Wild, wrote an advice column called “Dear Sugar” and this podcast brings it to life. You’ll hear stories about everything from why bad things happen to good people, to whether or not someone should keep a relationship with their father, to stories of infidelity and navigating love in the digital age. Life is fascinating, and this podcast covers it all.

12. Nerdette

Co-hosts Greta Johnsen and Tricia Bobeda discuss all things nerdy — extraterrestrials, avoiding armageddon, interviews with Neil deGrasse Tyson, robots, life on Mars. This podcast has you covered if you are interested in technology, history, science, and even pop culture in the land of nerds.

There are many, many more female power podcasts out there that I didn’t mention, so keep your eyes and ears open. Women have always done great things, and podcasts have become a fabulous platform for us to showcase and discuss some of those things. Enjoy!