If you are looking for podcasts that will challenge you to become better versions of yourselves, this week's picks will do just that. From sustainability to motherhood, these shows offer fresh perspectives.
1. Ethically Questionable
Streaming platform: All streaming platforms and YouTube
Genre: Environment
Ethically Questionable is a new podcast exploring how we can have everything we want in our lives without destroying the planet. Each week, former global head of sustainability and social impact at Soho House, Jamila Brown, talks with leading figures known for activism, innovation, and shaping culture. In the debut episode, Brown explains why she started the podcast and highlights common misconceptions about sustainability. She discusses carbon footprints, the industrial complex that makes people feel solely responsible for environmental issues, and why it is important to keep in mind the companies that extract fossil fuels. If you are trying to figure out what is worth keeping in the pursuit of the good life, tune in.
2. Hormones & Heroines with Sarah-Jane Crawford
Streaming platform: All streaming platforms and YouTube
Genre: Health and wellbeing
Motherhood, a career, and caring for family can make women feel like they are burning the candle from both ends. Add hormones, and it can be a disaster. But there is hope. In this podcast, high-achieving women share how they manage it all, offering pointers on navigating life while dealing with fertility, period pain, perimenopause, miscarriage, and more. Host Sarah-Jane Crawford, a broadcaster and mum-trepreneur, is joined in the first episode by rapper and actress Eve, who discusses her rise to fame alongside her battle with fibroids and four rounds of IVF. Next is Henrietta Rix of RIXO fashion, who talks about living with PCOS, fertility fears, and the difficulties of being a working mother. Crawford balances humour, gravity, and fact in these 40-minute episodes.
3. To Be A Boy
Streaming platform: All streaming platforms and YouTube
Genre: Wellbeing, family and society
To Be A Boy unpacks the chaos of raising boys in the 2020s and beyond. In the latest episode, hosts Joeli Brearley and Elliott Rae are joined by men's health advocate George Bell, who discusses the harm of terms like “man up” or “boys don't cry.” Bell, author of Be A Man About It, opens up about struggling with his mental health 10 years ago, why he could not speak about it, and how his sense of masculinity contributed. The trio explore how parents can better support children. Bell suggests speaking to a support network and seeking professional advice, emphasising persistence. This podcast debunks toxic masculinity myths and provides a safe space for honest conversations about the future of boys.
4. Between Mothers and Daughters
Streaming platform: All streaming platforms and YouTube
Genre: Family and wellbeing
Between Mothers and Daughters offers cross-generational conversations with mothers, daughters, and powerful women. Each episode, mother-daughter duo Patti Roberts and Kamaria Roberts discuss life lessons, identity shifts, creative journeys, and entrepreneurship. This week, single mother Kiana Leroux joins for a candid chat about changes in female friendships, being raised by narcissistic parents, and enforcing new boundaries. They discuss why it is important to be in a relationship that supports your children, the luxury of being a single parent, and why it is okay to be a villain in someone else's story. If you are looking for a podcast that builds bridges between mothers and daughters, this is for you.
Spotlight on... 5. Why Do I...?
Streaming platform: All streaming platforms and YouTube
Genre: Wellbeing and relationships
Why Do I...? is hosted by Tom Stroud and explores behaviours across different relationships. This week, journalist Poorna Bell joins Stroud to discuss why many fear ageing and why it does not need to be villainised. Bell, author of She Wanted More, charts what ageing looks like, especially for women, and opens up about why she took up competitive weightlifting at 38 to confront negativity about growing old. The pair explore how capitalism feeds off fears, why we struggle with physical changes, and how dissatisfaction shows up differently in men versus women. Bell discusses the language used to describe middle-aged women and why it becomes more pronounced with age. This podcast is for people figuring out how to become their best selves without judgement.
