Honestly, I don’t know what I would have done without podcasts or how anxious I would have felt. I started listening to podcasts very early on and started listening religiously around 2013. I had just moved to New York City, landed my first major magazine editing job, quickly made some friends, and was excited about my new adventure, but still felt lonely and overwhelmed at times. When my brother recommended podcasts to me, That made it feel weird.I tuned in to , a casual, long-form interview show hosted by comedian Pete Holmes, and I was instantly hooked.
While commuting on the subway to work, running around the reservoir in Central Park, or just going about my daily life, hearing Holmes and her guests joking around and chatting away helped to calm my anxieties and make me feel more connected to others.
My podcast tastes and library have grown exponentially since then, but light-hearted, chatty episodes are still my go-to when I’m feeling lonely or wanting to distract myself from tough emotions. Mental health-specific podcasts are great, too, but most of the time, I just want to press play and escape into the feel-good feeling of chatting with a friend. And that’s exactly the vibe of the shows I’ve rounded up below. I hope the hosts of one or more of these shows, handpicked by me and a few of my fellow SELF staffers, will become your podcast companions.
Hosted by comedians Jessica Chaffin (playing Rona Glickman, a 50-something Jewish mom with a thick North Shore Massachusetts accent and impeccable taste, inspired by Chaffin’s own mother) and Brian Safi, the advice show is both funny and insightful. A typical episode begins with Rona and Brian chatting about current events, then hosts a celebrity guest who thoughtfully answers listeners’ questions about very real predicaments. But my favorite episodes are the intimate episodes with just Rona and Brian (known to insiders as “Carriage House Catch-Ups”), where their fun, often laugh-out-loud funny relationship shines through to the fullest and fills my heart and ears.Katherine Keller, Lifestyle Director
The format is Ask RonaMonica Padman (also co-host) Armchair Expert Dax Shepard and writer Liz Plank spend the first half of each episode talking about whatever’s on their minds, then offer their opinions on everyday issues for listeners. Their conversations and advice are generally superficial, but in a good way. Synced I listen to these eps on lazy Sunday mornings or when I want to feel like I’m hanging out with a few girlfriends at brunch.CK
Peloton fans know instructor (and author) Cody Rigsby has a lot to say, and his new podcast, which he co-hosts with his best friend, actor Andrew Chappelle, is the perfect vehicle for that. The two love chatting about all the little things I love about life: journaling, organization, setting boundaries, celebrities, the Olympics, pop culture, and homosexuality, and every episode is laugh-out-loud funny. —Rachel Wilkerson Miller, Editor in Chief
When you want to clear your mind and have a parasocial connection with a digital friend, Good children Featuring Joe Heggies and Andrew Muscarella. These social media content creators and childhood best friends have a lot to say about growing up as closeted gay kids on Long Island in the ’90s and early 2000s and how it’s influenced who they are today. They’re naturally funny, and their real-life friendship makes for a lot of comical moments that I often find myself wishing I could join in on. —Lauren Alberti, Social Creative Development Manager
You don’t have to be a Bravo fan to enjoy Hannah Berner and Paige DeSorbo’s hot podcast. These best friends and exes Summer House The cast is so relatable, funny and a real joy to listen to, each episode feels like a chat with your peers in the best possible way. —Sarah Felbin, Senior Commerce Editor
This is my go-to podcast when I want to laugh: social media personalities Brooke Averick and Connor Wood talk about current events and random trains of thought like dating Yick and how to make a smoothie that’s truly Erewhon-like. you— in a way that’s super easy to listen to. You can’t go wrong with any episode (I often listen to older episodes while I wait for the latest weekly episode to be released). -SCIENCE FICTION
If you enjoy analyzing pop culture with your friends, we highly recommend this show hosted by TV writer and comedian Chelsea Devantes. Celebrity Book ClubThe podcast’s website states well: “The Glamorous Trash podcast recaps celebrity memoirs, book clubs, pop culture analysis, and sometimes weeping!” I laughed out loud many times while listening. The conversations between Chelsea and her guests (who are often personal friends) can also be heavy, but are always thoughtful and ultimately hopeful. —CK
New GirlJake Johnson of The Morning Show and his real-life best friend, comedian Gareth Reynolds, host this incredibly silly advice podcast. The problems they address with their listeners are wonderful The show’s low stakes (dealing with a shoe-less coworker or a partner who doesn’t believe in window blinds) and the banter and teasing between Jake and Gareth remind me of my older brother and his friends when I was growing up. This is my feel-good show to watch when I want to completely turn my brain off and feel like I’m lounging in my mom’s basement circa 2004. (Just kidding, like my brother actually let me hang out with his friends!) —CK
Comedian and roastmaster Nikki Glaser calls her listeners her best friends, and as you listen to her fast-paced, laid-back show, you get the sense they’re so close that she’s equally comfortable obsessing over Taylor Swift as she is revealing her deepest insecurities. That’s what best friends do. —CK
Actors Sean Hayes, Jason Bateman, and Will Arnett welcome and interview a new celebrity guest each week (invited by one of the three, a complete surprise for the other three), but most listeners would agree that the podcast’s best draw is the friendship and banter between the hosts. Each episode feels like a feel-good buddy comedy with a distinctive fun-dad vibe. The three longtime Hollywood pals treat listeners to inside jokes and a behind-the-scenes glimpse into their lives in show business. Their friendship is both relatable and healthy. —Grace McCarty, Editorial Assistant
Comedians Nicole Bayer and Sasheer Zamanda are, well, best friends, and that’s the vibe of the show: two super close friends chatting and goofing around. The conversations range from current events to historical issues (their childhood stories often make me laugh), and they sometimes bring in guests to answer readers’ questions about their friendship. If you’re looking for stand-in best friends, these two are your best friends. —CK
These two girls have great conversations and genuine laughs. Emily Wilson is a New York-based comedian and her co-star Chloe Richman is a longtime friend. They talk a lot about being New Yorkers, but no matter where you live, you’ll be able to relate to their trials and tribulations of navigating adulthood in your late 20s. —LA
Hosted by comedians Joe Firestone and Manolo Moreno, listeners submit games and play them live with call-in guests and, in pre-pandemic episodes, studio guests. The atmosphere is light-hearted, funny, and top-notch, with a ton of episodes that I basically remember. Some of my favorite episodes that I recommend for newcomers are “Yuck! Yauck! Hazelnuts w/Karen Chee,” “Victory for Transgender Rights w/Chloe Causer,” “Cowabunga Bunga w/Rachel Pegram,” and “Be Your Host, Whitney w/Dan McCoy.” The show has been on the air for nearly a decade, and it’s well worth digging up old episodes on WFMU or Earwolf’s website. —Amanda Bailey, Associate Art Director
As the title suggests, the show is always deep, but the topics can go either way. Grace and Frankie) and Jessica St. Clair (comedy writer, co-star and co-creator) Play house) understands grief and motherhood as deeply as she understands the importance of motherhood. Long and dangerous gel nailsThe structure is loose (in the intro, June and Jessica say, “We promise you one thing: we won’t Google anything”), their friendship is genuine and relatable, and while they do have guests, my favorite episodes are just the two of them chatting about whatever’s on their minds and in their hearts. —CK
While I’ve grown away from the OG pod after listening religiously for several years, I still stand by some of the early episodes (circa 2011-2014), especially if you’re a comedy fan. Many of Pete’s first guests were fellow professional comedians or off-air friends (Kumail Nanjiani and John Mulaney’s first episode was amazing), so there are plenty of laughs to be had (my brother and I still send each other random ones). Exciting There are quotes too: And so do the running times, with most episodes clocking in at over two hours, making them perfect as entertaining (and often profound) background noise between work breaks. —CK
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