Podcasts To Listen to Right Now

I’ve spoken many, many, many times about my love of podcasts. I’m pretty much always listening to a podcast of some sort.

I got a request to round up some podcast recommendations for this time à la my recent book and TV show round-up. I’m breaking it down into two categories:

• Podcast episodes that will make you feel less alone: These are episodes I’ve listened to recently. People talking about their own experience in quarantine, social distancing, etc. right now.
• Podcasts that will help you totally escape: These recommendations have nothing to do with COVID-19. They’re just delightful things to listen to right now.

Happy listening 🙂 and let me know what podcasts you are loving right now.

Podcast Episodes that will make you feel less alone:

🎧 Bad on Paper: The Distraction Zone. I’ve found all the recent episodes of Bad on Paper to be really comforting. Hosts Becca and Grace are both social distancing solo in their apartments in NYC, just like me. I think they’ve done a great job of talking about the current issue but without stirring up unnecessary panic.

🎧 Gal Pals: Processing Emotions During The Corona Virus Pandemic and Questions For A Quarantine: The podcast Gal Pals always has the best chats about life, but I’ve especially loved their recent episodes. The Questions For a Quarantine one is really cute and the two hosts go through a bunch of questions you can ask your friends during Zoom chats if you’re sick of talking about the pandemic.

🎧 Spiraling: Anxiety Apocalypse, Pandemic Panic: Spiraling is a podcast about anxiety, so naturally it would be a great podcast to turn to if you’re feeling anxious during this time (… which is probably all of us at some point).

🎧 From Where She Sits: [Time Capsule] – Her Anxiety: I’m a huge fan of From Where She Sits, and now know both hosts of the show personally. Right now they’re reflecting on old episodes that they recorded 2 years. I’ve enjoyed hearing their chats about life now and how they are dealing with the current situation.

Podcasts that will help you totally escape:

🎧 Armchair Expert: I find Dax Shepard’s interviews to be really interesting and love that they are long-form interviews. There are a ton of great episodes in the archives with some brilliant celebrities — some of my recent faves: Josh Gad, Keri Russell, Tony Hale and Elizabeth Banks.

🎧 Fake Doctors, Real Friends: Okay I haven’t actually listened to this Scrubs podcast with Zach Braff and Donald Faison but I’m very hyped to. Braff and Faison played besties on the TV show Scrubs and have also kept the bromance alive in real life. The podcast discusses every episode with some fun snippets about the filming process. I rewatched Scrubs ~5 years ago with Jeremy, but I feel like this might be a good excuse to dive in again.

🎧 Little Known Facts: This one is a GEM for fellow theater lovers. Ilana Levine (who I saw on Broadway in You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown almost 20 years ago!) interviews a whole slew of great theater people. She’s done interviews with so many of my favorites — Mandy Gonzalez, Tommy Kail, Marc Kudisch and Stephanie J. Block to name a few.

🎧 SPLAT: Sex and the City will FOREVER be one of my favorite TV shows. SPLAT is a podcast all about SATC through the lens of being a little bit younger than the characters and 20 years since it was filmed. It’s interesting to think about what storylines hold up and what ones feel VERY dated now.

🎧 Alright, Mary: My last podcast recommendation is a niche recommendation. If you love RuPaul’s Drag Race you MUST listen to Alright, Mary. I listen to a handful of Drag Race recap podcasts but this one is hands down my favorite. Every Monday I SO look forward to a new episode.