Podcasts have been a preferred form of education, news and hot topics throughout this millennium. The accessibility and ease of designing such a platform has allowed for a multitude of creators to step behind the mic and tell their stories, hold important and impactful conversations, or just have a plain ol’ good time. And Black folks have taken note.
According to Edison Research’s first-ever Black Podcast Listener Report, which was released in 2021, 26% of Black Americans average 5.2 hours per week of podcast listening, with women driving the statistic. So naturally, with a large Black woman audience, Black female podcasters are able to feel confident in creating such centered content to directly speak to this dedicated market. With topics ranging from spirituality and wellness to hot topics and politics, Black women podcasters are exploring conversations deeply personal to listeners who look like them.
Here are eight podcasts for Black women by Black women that you should check out.
1. Therapy for Black Girls
Hosted by Joy Harden Bradford, PhD, Therapy for Black Girls is a weekly podcast featuring the licensed psychologist. Its theme is talking “about all things mental health, personal development, and all the small decisions we can make to become the best possible version of ourselves,” according to the podcast‘s description.
Therapy for Black Girls often uses hot topics and even trending television shows to present discussion points, like exploring the Issa-Lawrence relationship drama on Insecure or just talking about new favorite shows like Bel-Air.
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2. Becoming Her
Becoming Her hosted by Elizabeth E. explores anxiety for people who are deemed “over thinkers.” According to the podcast description, the show is for women who want to get out of their heads and move forward.
“We’re all about having real, honest conversations to work through the strongholds in our mind that keep us from becoming the woman we envision. Together, we will take action to show up for who we are today and beat the version of who we were yesterday,” the description reads.
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3. Slay Girl Slay
Slay Girl Slay hosted by Ashley Leggs is geared toward inspiring women to pursue everything they deserve.
According to its description, Slay Girl Slay “is a space created to uplift, motivate and inspire women of color to be fearless in the pursuit of their dreams, go after what they deserve and show up as their most unapologetic, most authentic selves.”
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4. Marsha's Plate: Black Trans Podcast
Marsha’s Plate: Black Trans Podcast, named in honor of gay liberation activist Marsha P. Johnson, is hosted by three friends — Diamond Stylz, Mia Mix and Zee — who center the Black perspective on all matters relating to trans people. According to the podcast description, all of the hosts are Black trans people who work as digital strategists in Houston. The trio also identifies as feminists and civil rights advocates.
“We explore topics of gender, current events, politics and scumbags all around the world upholding systems of oppression from a Black trans feminist lens. With our funny no-holds-barred style, we introduce you to new perspectives, stories that connect you to transness and trans community leaders around the country,” the podcast description reads.
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5. A Little Juju Podcast
According to its description, A Little Juju Podcast “celebrates the rapidly growing return of Black folk reclaiming their indigenous spiritual practices, while creating a space for us to laugh, question and re-commit ourselves to liberation through the ancestral tools given to us. Because unlike f-bois, the ancestors always call us back.”
Hosted by Juju Bae, a spiritual organizer and HBCU graduate from Baltimore, show topics explore hoodoo, numerology, honoring ancestors and sexual portals, among other conversations.
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6. Oh That’s Deep! Black Women Conversations
Oh That’s Deep! Black Women Conversations is hosted by friends — Dr. Nicole Plenty, a maternal fetal medicine subspecialist, and Janine Brunson-Johnson, a sports entertainment director. The two discuss hot topics, current events, social media posts and memes and even dish on their personal journeys.
“Black women love to talk, but we as Black women aren’t often provided the space to talk about our dilemmas, current events and what affects us,” the podcast description reads. “We created this podcast as a way to laugh together, cry together and have an open conversation about life as a Black woman.”
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7. Black Girl Nerds
According to its description, Black Girl Nerds is “devoted to promoting nerdiness among Black women and people of color.” Shows include discussions about comics, film and TV programs, as well as interviews with some of nerd culture’s current or classic favorites like Yvonne Orji, Justine Bateman and Questlove.
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8. W.O.C. at Work
W.O.C. at Work is an archived two-season podcast hosted by Rai King and Blanca Ruiz, EdD, that centers stories of women of color in varying workplaces with the goal of highlighting the commonality of such experiences as a means to advocate for transformational change in the workplace.
“To be a female-identifying person of color in this country often means carrying a burden that is invisible to others. This is especially true when women of color are tasked with leading in white-dominant workspaces — particularly in the age of Black Lives Matter as organizations are grappling with their response to calls for social reform and are looking to Black women to lead this work,” the podcast description reads.
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Black women are magic, and these varying topics spread across podcasts by diverse hosts truly drive home the fact that this group of listeners is not monolithic.
