Five great psychology podcasts to help you get curious and feel more connected to your life: where to listen, what we love about them, and favorite episodes to help you dive in.

Whether you’re currently doing the work of therapy or not, podcasts are an excellent resource to support curiosity, growth, and reflection. The list below includes podcasts I find myself returning to time and time again to support my practice and personal growth, and episodes I’ve shared countless times with patients, friends, and family members. Often, listening to these programs leaves the listener with the same feeling of peaceful contentment that comes with a really good therapy session or talk with a trusted friend. Whether you’re feeling stuck, craving the motivation to have a difficult conversation, or need to feel a little less alone in what you are going through, this list has you covered.

Unlocking Us and Dare to Lead with Brené Brown

Available on: Spotify, brenebrown.com

Unfortunately for us all, Unlocking Us had its final episode in 2022. However, the archive of episodes for Unlocking Us and Dare to Lead are still available on Spotify and Brené’s website. And this archive is a good one. As a shame researcher, social worker, and someone devoted to her own growth and self-understanding, Brené has an incredible ability to distill the complexities of the human experience and pair them with actionable behaviors to improve our relationships with ourselves and the world around us. Her guests are some of the most impactful names in the field, and she is so skillful at honing in on the parts of their work that offer value to her audience. The Living BIG episodes linked below are without a doubt one of the top resources I share with my patients, family, and friends.

Noteworthy Episodes:

1. Living BIG, Parts 1 and 2

2. Esther Perel on Partnerships, Patterns, and Paradoxical Relationships

3. The Dangers of Toxic Positivity with Dr. Susan David

4. James Clear on Atomic Habits

5. Emily and Amelia Nagoski on How to Complete the Stress Cycle

Pulling the Thread with Elise Loehnen

Available on: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, eliseloehnen.com

Elise Loehnen is a truly gifted interviewer. She approaches conversations with intellectual inquiry and heart-centered curiosity, yielding episodes that feel equal parts memoir, research, self-help, spiritual, and poetic. Integrative in the truest sense of the word, Pulling the Thread leaves listeners feeling grounded and connected to the wholeness of our collective human experience. While I often listen to podcasts on the go, I find myself returning to episodes to jot down the sometimes poignant, sometimes humorous wisdom Elise and her guests have to offer.

Noteworthy Episodes:

1. Nedra Tawwab: Managing Unhealthy Family Relationships

2. Why do we Expect Life to be Any Other Way (Nora McInerny)

3. Conflict as a Tool for Connection (Esther Perel)

4. John Churchill, PsyD: Our Collective Psychological Development

The Happiness Lab with Dr. Laurie Santos

Available on: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Pushkin.fm

In a world where it at times feels impossible to look away from material myths around happiness on our screens, Dr. Santos integrates science, research, and expert knowledge to challenge our assumptions around what is good, right, and what makes us happy. She helps listeners shift from autopilot to conscious awareness in our beliefs and happiness-seeking behaviors. And does so in a concise, applicable, and actionable way. If you find yourself stuck in behaviors, ways of thinking/being, and feel curious about shifting these things, The Happiness Lab is an excellent resource.

Noteworthy Episodes:

1. When Guilt is Good… And When It’s Not

2. Emotions are Data… So Listen to Them

3. Happier Parents, Happier Kids: Your Child Isn’t a VIP or Fragile Vase

4. The Man Who Invented Happiness Science: Marty Seligman

We Can Do Hard Things with Glennon, Abby, and Amanda

Available on: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, wecandohardthingspodcast.com

Earnest, heartfelt, and hilarious, We Can Do Hard Things approaches difficult or taboo topics with a tenderness that makes them easy to digest. Each of the hosts brings a unique perspective, sharing her journey, illustrating her humanness, and making tough, lonely themes relatable. But the greatest gift of We Can Do Hard Things is the way in which the messaging helps listeners give themselves permission to live in a way that aligns with who they really are and what they really want. The hosts are prolific producers and it seems that there is an episode for anything and anyone. Here are a few that have resonated personally and with patients.

Noteworthy Episodes:

1. Enneagram: Why You Are The Way You Are with Suzanne Stabile

2. Codependence: How to Stop Controlling Others with Melody Beattie

3. How to Lose Half Your Guilt

4. Family Estrangement: Should We Repair or Run?

5. How to Make Betrayal Beautiful with Maggie Smith

Where Should We Begin? with Esther Perel

Available on: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, estherperel.com

There’s a reason that Esther Perel makes the list of noteworthy episodes of the other podcasts here: she is just THAT good. As a leading voice in relational psychology, Esther is adept at identifying what is getting in our way. Not only in our relationships with others, but also in the relationship we have with ourselves. She does so honestly, non-judgmentally, and playfully, enabling the featured patients (and listeners) to reflect in a way that bypasses well-established defenses. The brief therapy sessions with real couples on Where Should We Begin are just plain fascinating, and particularly helpful if you are curious about relational dynamics (romantic or otherwise) or what it looks like to go to couples therapy.

Noteworthy Episodes:

1. I Can Be Strong and Taken Care Of

2. I’ve Had 100 Conversations with You in my Head

3. It’s Very Hard to Live with a Saint

4. Friendship - My Reliable Gift