Speaking from our own experiences, motherhood sometimes, occasionally, every once in awhile makes us feel like we are losing our minds. In the beginning, it might have been the long hours without proper sleep, the hard work of caretaking the need monsters, or the long stretches of time without talking to anyone who could talk back. Now, it’s the endless laundry, the carpool schedules, and the daily balancing of school, activities, family time, and us time that sometimes brings out the crazy in the everyday.

So how to tether ourselves back to the world of the sane and savvy?  Music, exercise, chocolate and Sour Patch Kids are viable options for sure, and of course, blogs aren’t too shabby for finding a community of hands to hold. But sensible moms know that podcasts are a great way to regain some semblance of connection and balance by letting us know we are not alone . . . and by entertaining us too.

With that in mind, here are ten podcasts we really, really like and we hope you will too.

1. Manic Mommies

Length: About an hour

Erin Kane and Kristin Brandt are all kinds of fun, and we feel like they would have totally been our BFFs on the playground. Luckily for all of us, these working moms and best buddies have taken their friendship online and we can all check in on what these two witty, wonderful gals are talking about. What they are usually talking about with honesty and candor isn’t just modern motherhood or balancing work and life, but they dose their podcasts heavily with pop culture stuff too which we absolutely love.

We know you’ll love their banter as much as we do. Their latest post about Irreverent Parenting made us laugh out loud. Their podcast has been downloaded over 2 million times and if you decide to add them to your week, you’ll see why.

2. Mom and Dad Are Fighting

Length: 45 minutes to an hour

Slade has tons of great content so it’s no big surprise that this parenting podcast is produced with such style and humor. We love the great conversations that Alison Benedikt and Dan Kois create. Debating everything from peewee football to the merits of the family dinner, their chemistry and smart talk keep the podcast rolling. You’ll have lots to think about as they are usually able to pack in three or four topics per hour.

3. Power Down Podcast by SITS Girls

Length: An hour

Looking for balance? Some quiet in the midst of all the social media and life noise? Us too. The SITS Girls responded to this universal need for some moments of grace in the midst of the daily grind with this great podcast. The SITS Girls themselves — Tiffany Romero and Francesca Banducci, as well as Heather King of The Extraordinary Ordinary and Amy Whitley of Never-True Tales and Pit Stops for Kids lead these great weekly conversations. Usually you can tune in to the podcasts every other Wednesday at 2:00pm ET but the podcast is currently being revamped. Use this time to catch up on older podcasts as you wait for the great talks to start again.

4. Longest Shortest Time

Length: About a Half Hour

Created by a professional, this one is well-edited, paced, and perfect for new and nearly new parents. This is the voice we would have loved to find soothing us in the middle of the night. At the end of every episode, the host asks the listener to share their own struggles in parenthood. You will appreciate the hand to hold as well as the rock solid advice. Your pediatrician will appreciate you having somebody you can turn to with all of those middle-of-the-night questions.

5. Stuff You Should Know

Length: A little less than an hour

Josh and Chuck are the likeable hosts of this very likeable show. Feel like motherhood has taken some brain cells?  Let them give you some fun and interesting things to mull over. From discussing the ins and outs of the paleo diet to how blimps work to the mechanics of rogue waves, there seems to be nothing these two won’t look at a little closer. The big bonus for you is learning things you didn’t even know you were dying to know.

6. NPR TED Talks

Length: About an hour

Co-produced by NPR and TED talks, this show has the best of both worlds. Want to learn about some interesting new technology, mull over some ground-breaking ideas, or need some inspirational words to color your world? This podcast is for you. Centered around a unifying theme, each podcast culls the best of the TED talks and packages them together in one delightful little hour of great talks. Your mom brain will thank you.

7. Making It with Riki Lindhome

Length: An hour

Full disclosure: Erin is a huge Gilmore Girls fan and remembers the host from her time as an extra on the show. This MAY have influenced her decision to start listening to this podcast, but not her decision to keep listening to it. In any case, Riki interviews a different guest each week about how they “made it.” The stories of how these familiar faces in the entertainment industry became SO familiar is fascinating every time. The overall charm of the show and the power of the stories ultimately win over Riki’s sometimes distracting habit of saying “yeah” a lot.

8. The Broad Experience

Length: 20 minutes

We love the nearly bite-sized feel of this one. The good news is that it means that you can probably fit it into your busy schedule. Trust us, you’ll want to carve out a few minutes for the great storytelling and smart dialogue in every episode. Picked by The Guardian as one of the year’s “10 Best Lesser-Known Podcasts” and Gawker as one of the “8 Smart Podcasts You Should Hear”, there is a good reason why you should start downloading these podcasts as soon as you finish reading this. They describe it as a show that talks about “the things we think about, but don’t necessarily talk about”. We love the uplifting, woman-centered focus. Sometimes you just want to talk about what it feels like for a girl or, in this case, a woman in the world today. This is that space and these are the conversations you have been missing.

9. Everything Stay At Home Mom

Length: About a half hour

Marisela Morales and her friend Claudia describe themselves as “two sassy moms who are recovering corporate professionals and now rocking the mom profession.” We couldn’t agree more. From tips for traveling with young kids to finding your hidden mom superpower, their podcasts alternate between practical advice and interesting conversations about the nature of motherhood itself. You’ll enjoy every minute you spend with these two.

10. The Sarah Bagley Podcast

Length: Half hour to an hour

We were lucky enough to meet Sarah when we were part of the Baltimore cast of Listen To Your Mother. In person, she is warm, funny, smart, and a total sweetheart. All of that comes through in her podcasts too which is why we had no reservations about letting her interview us.  We were pretty excited that she wanted to include us in one of her weekly podcasts which are all about people embracing their best lives and moving beyond fear to their best selves. A self-described recovering perfectionist, Sarah likes to talk with her guests about how they embrace their imperfections and live their lives with meaning.  We were more than happy to share our stories of our good, bad, and B+ moments. You can listen to our interview with Sarah here.

We love all of these podcasts and more we didn’t mention (Hello, Stars Wars Minute! Sometimes a girl just has to let her geek flag fly!).  Each of them share comfortable, chatty hosts who create instant chemistry with their audiences and a loose, friendly, hanging-out-with-my-buds-next-door vibe. We hope these ten podcasts for moms do for you what they did for us: help you find your way back to you.

Hey, come to think of it, each and every one of these hosts sounds like they are having a great time. Maybe we’ll have to get into this too. Hmmmmm.

 

You can follow us on Google+, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.

Check out our books, “I Just Want to Be Alone” and “You Have Lipstick on Your Teeth.”

Have every post delivered to your inbox! You can opt out at any time, but you won’t want to.

Enter your email address: