Delving into the self-help genre is a pursuit that requires a new vocabulary. “Healing modalities,” “self-actualization,” and “manifesting” have become commonplace terms, and self-development has gone beyond helping people overcome issues like anxiety and addiction. Self-improvement is now about productivity, discipline, even resisting the natural process of aging process. The ultimate goal? A perfect Morning Routine. And the whole thing is probably sponsored by BetterHelp.
Future generations will likely reflect on our obsession with cold showers and intermittent fasting the same way we puzzle over the practice of human sacrifice (“The wise man told me to do it”). Often, the things that truly make us feel better can become lost beneath a capitalist framework prioritizing efficiency and performance over pleasure and contentment. What if we renamed procrastination “imagination time?” What if the secret is to pause the podcast and sit, at least momentarily, in silence?
What advice will resonate varies wildly from person to person. Just because I don’t personally care for loud, middle-aged men yelling about bio-hacking doesn’t mean it won’t change your life. But these sorts of podcasts, the Tim Ferriss copycat shows, are already widely recommended. In the over-saturated genre of self-help podcasting, it can be hard to find shows that provide space for sharing opinions, rather than establishing a single ideological platform. Here are nine self-help podcasts that will inspire you to rethink how you currently live, without requiring you to drink butter or pay $1,000 to enroll in an online mentorship program.
With a no-frills formula focused only on tried and true advice, NPR’s Life Kit series is essential self-help listening. Hosted by reporter Marielle Segarra, the show’s topics are diverse. Episodes range from how to talk to kids about our turbulent news cycle, to how to find yourself a mentor or get more sleep. I stumbled across Life Kit while waiting for the right moment to tell my then-manager that I was leaving my job — and also the country — in a matter of weeks. Timing was everything: too soon and I might be passed up for useful training; too late and I wouldn’t be able to smoothly transition to my replacement. Some procrastination web-surfing brought Life Kit’s episode “Want to Quit Your Job? Here’s How to Do It Well” onto my radar, but the fact it had produced such a fitting episode shouldn’t be surprising. Much of the advice the podcast offers is obvious, far from the secrets of bio-hacking and “dopamine fasting.” But I’d argue this is part of its value.
We’re living in the information age, yet many of us are more confused than ever. Relationships, careers, health. But before you start spiraling again, consider listening to Magical Overthinkers, the latest podcast from bestselling author Amanda Montell. You may know Montell from her book, The Age of Magical Overthinking, or the hit podcast she co-hosts, Sounds Like a Cult. In all her projects, Montell is interested in the way new technology creates paranoia, hysteria, conspiracy, and belief systems that aren’t always in our best interests. You certainly don’t have to be in a cult to fall into the trap of catastrophic thinking.
On each episode of Magical Overthinkers, Montell explores a “buzzy” topic, such as adult friendships or career jealousy, to understand what it is about these phenomena that trigger our anxiety. In conversation with insightful guests, Montell uses her own experiences as the catalyst for examinations that sit somewhere between psychology and social studies. Are these conversations the most robust in the genre? No. But they don’t have to be. Magical Overthinkers functions as accessible and comforting entry points for listeners seeking an understanding of the overwhelming world around them. The Internet age is confusing; this hybrid podcast makes things a little clearer.
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The pace and consistency at which Rich Roll releases episodes of his weekly podcast, many of which are over two hours long, makes more sense when you discover he’s a long-distance runner. At nearly 60, Roll is a plant-based ultra-marathoner whose popular podcast is nearing the 1000-episode mark. His show provides a platform for scientists, athletes, and thought leaders to share their reflections in a conversational setting that is both relaxed and rigorous. While Roll is a passionate vegan and teetotaler, he never allows his worldview to sabotage an interview.
Roll is an excellent interviewer; he puts his guests at ease, yet never shies from challenging their ideas. Unlike other podcasts in the self-help genre, there are no dangerous health claims on The Rich Roll Podcast (we’re looking at you, Diary of a CEO). Speaking with the likes of recovered addicts like Amy Dresner to former Navy Seal David Goggins, Roll encounters all of his guests with a believable sense of empathy. The sun-tinted vibes of California saturate his show, which is juxtaposed with Roll’s past experiences with alcoholism and addiction. For an insight into The Rich Roll Podcast’s vast archives, start with the show’s yearly highlight episodes.
In the last few years, the amount of self-help content aimed at young women has ballooned. Balanced Black Girl is far from the only millennial podcast that grapples with self-care and wellness, but it’s certainly doing a better job than most. Hosted by Les Alfred, the show prioritizes a slower, more conscious approach to life, rejecting the “hustle culture” that has taken over the routines of so many urbanites. With a background in nutrition and personal coaching, Alfred has seamlessly transitioned her skills as a blogger into audio. Her clear, direct approach to advice is a delightful contrast to its hyper-aesthetic packaging. (The show’s website looks more like one for a spa than for a podcast.) But despite an ad for probiotics here and there, Alfred focuses on robust topics, taking on a “big sister” role as she’s aged. In addition to advising her listeners on knowing their worth as partners and professionals, Balanced Black Girl intersects wellness with race, adding a refreshing, nuanced lens that’s missing from many of its contemporaries.
Pulling the Thread with Elise Loehnen
You might know Elise Loehnen from The Goop Lab on Netflix, a show dedicated to alternative wellness therapies that ranged from cold water exposure (plausible) to communing with the dead (bizarre). Whatever you think of Gwyneth and, uh, seances, suspend your disbelief for a moment while we tell you about Pulling the Thread, Loehnen’s independent project. To say Loehnen discusses “wellness” would be reductive. Delving into texts on spiritualism, philosophy, and psychology, it would be more accurate to say that her podcast is about metaphysics. In each episode, Loehnen speaks to a writer or “thinker” about topics ranging from the role of “the ego” in our relationships to establishing boundaries with our own perfectionism — she even discusses decolonizing the wellness industry in a rather pointed episode with Chelsey Luger and Thosh Collins. With a thoughtful and studious approach that prioritizes ideas over personality, Pulling the Thread is unmatched in its field.
Mel Robbins — no relation to Tony — fits into a more conventional blueprint for a self-help guru. As you might expect, there are plenty of “rules,” “lessons,” and “life-changing conferences” in her podcast. Typically, we steer clear of any sort of advice that reminds us of Patrick Swayze’s character in Donnie Darko, but while many self-help podcasts suffer from espousing a goofy “fear vs love” dichotomy, Mel Robbins is compelling precisely because she tackles these emotions. Drawing heavily from her own life experience, Robbins gives her listeners tools to better connect with their families, feel more empowered at work, and find stability in the chaotic parts of their lives.
After the success of her “5 Second Rule” in 2017 — which, as advice goes, is as simplistic as telling someone to hold their breath before they jump in a pool but, By Jove, it works — Robbins became a staple of the podcast circuit. It was inevitable that she’d eventually launch her own, but it was encouraging that she waited until late 2022, and the extra time spent planning is evident in the quality of the show. Robbins has enough smart ideas about self-development that her podcast has amassed thousands of positive reviews. We can attribute this to her sounding less like a Tony Robbins wannabe, and more like a Brené Brown for Californians: emotionally intelligent, pragmatic, and likable.
You won’t find test tubes or Bunsen burners in the Huberman Lab, but you’ll certainly find a microphone. That’s because Dr. Andrew Huberman, host of Huberman Lab, is a neuroscientist turned podcaster who examines the effect of our brain function on health, behavior, and relationships. For those still interested in bio-hacking and optimization, Huberman offers a scientific grounding in neuroplasticity, otherwise understood as how we can alter our brain connections to improve our quality of life. With a focus on longevity, focus, and physical health, Huberman’s research is all about self-improvement, but unlike other podcasts that push ideology, this show prioritizes neuroscience over diet or spirituality.
This is self-help on a biological level, yet Huberman’s advice has huge implications for our social lives, from how to deal with grief to understanding and treating addiction. Though no stranger to controversy in his personal life, Huberman takes care to stick, for the most part, to science-backed assertions. Huberman Lab takes a humanistic approach, a welcome relief in a genre saturated in egotism. So if you’re going to choose a podcast to assist with your self-optimization, pick your poison wisely; at least this agent of productivity has advice grounded in science.
Do you ever tell people that you’re “just fine” even though you are absolutely not fine? There isn’t much left that we can comfortably say is universal, but perhaps this deflection is the one thing that will unite us. This is the conceit behind Terrible, Thanks for Asking, the hit podcast hosted by author Nora McInerny. Championing unapologetic honesty, the show brings on guests to talk about how they are genuinely feeling, in the hope that listeners will feel less alone. With great production and a strong narrative voice, the show treads the line between sadness and comedy without fully committing to either. McInerny’s great strength is her ability to contextualize her guests’ stories, lending insight that helps the listener recognize themselves in these interviews. This isn’t traditional self-help. There are no steps to take, no morning routines to follow. Instead, Terrible, Thanks for Asking offers advice that’s told through narrative, relying on empathy, rather than TikTok soundbites, to drive its lessons home.
After listening to too many self-improvement podcasts, you may find yourself disillusioned by the advice — because, let’s be real, not all of us feel will better after taking a cold shower. Help Me Be Me, a self-help podcast that doesn’t make unrealistic promises and knows how you feel. With over 200 episodes on topics like tackling shame and overcoming loneliness, Help Me Be Me believes that feeling overwhelmed by self-help advice can be alienating and risks driving you even further from the life changes you want to make. The show’s host, author Sarah May B., isn’t going to flatter your ego. In a recent episode on journaling, she tells us: “We all kind of know, deep down, when we’re resisting something, we’re resisting it because we already know the answer — and we don’t like it.” May B. pairs her opinions with tried and tested methods for dealing with feelings of sadness, stress, or lethargy. With talk of “accessing your truth” and cultivating “self-forgiveness,” Help Me Be Me might sound like those other self-help podcasts, but below the surface, the show is a toolkit of well-intentioned, gimmick-free advice.
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Alice Florence Orr is a staff writer and assistant editor for Podcast Review. She is based in Edinburgh. You can connect with her on LinkedIn or read her work on aliceflorenceorr.com