I listen to podcasts while working. But I had noticed a thing. I had podcasts with male and female hosts. I had podcasts with male only hosts. But I had pretty much no podcasts with only female hosts. And there were some days where about four I reached a point where my ears craved diversity and I was skipping around to find a podcast where the voices didn't all land in that lower register. So, I looked around. I googled podcasts with female hosts. And well, a lot of this is a lot of my own proclivities (I tend to not be into political or crafty podcasts and so far most podcasts by people famous for being funny have not been for me) but I have found some things. So, I thought I would share. It is terribly NPR heavy. It is also writer and pop culture heavy. Since I brought up gender, I will note it for each of these.
I no longer listen to all of these, but yeah, I know, it's a lot.
Writing:
-88 Cups of Tea with Yin Chang - Discussions of books and writing. (Female host.)
-The Business of Writing in Romance - Writing from a more business side. (Two female hosts, varying guests.) Now defunct, but some great interviews.
-Grammar Girl - Self-titled Grammar Girls discusses some quick grammar questions. (Female host)
-How Do You Write - A look at writing process. (Female host, varying guests.)
-Scriptnotes - Two screenwriters talk writing and movie news (Male hosts)
-The Writers Panel - discussions with writers about writing, usually Comics and TV writers. (Male host, varying interviewees)
-Minorities in Publishing - Interviews with Minority folks in publishing. (Female host.)
-Writing Excuses - A panel of writers (mostly book, some comic) discuss writing (Three males and a female are the main hosts.)
Current Events:
-Freakonomics Radio - The folks behind Freakonomics look at things through, well, a Freakonomics lens. (Main hosts male)-On the Media - a weekly review of the news media (Female and male hosts, varying contributors)
-Serial - You may have heard of this one, from the This American Life people, stories that take place over multiple episodes. The first season took a look at a murder case. (Main host female)
-TWIBPrime aka This Week in Blackness- Three (to four or five) panelists discuss the weeks news with an emphasis on things that affect people of color. (Main hosts one male, and two females)
-Planet Money - Stories told through an economic/financial lens
Pop Culture:
-Another Round - Discussions of race, gender and pop culture. Also squirrels. (Two female hosts.)
-Extra Hot Great - discussions and quizzes about TV. (Currently two female hosts, a male host, and regular guests.)
-Literary Disco - Three bookish folk discuss books. (Two males and a female host.) I confess, this one I have fallen out of interest with, they are pretty judgey about genre fic and I reached my limit on that.
-Pop Culture Happy Hour - Four panelists discuss pop culture. (Main contributors contain a female, and two males)-Talking TV with Ryan and Ryan - Two TV critics discuss TV. (A male host and a female host.)
-West Wing Weekly - Discussion of "The West Wing". (Two male hosts)
-His and Hers - Sports (Male and female host)
Trivia, Knowledge, and other Minutiae:
-Ask Me Another - Humorous quiz show from NPR with weekly guests. (Female host, male house musician.)
-Good Job, Brain! - A trivia team quizzes each other on different manner of trivia. (Two female members, two male members.)
-Hidden Brain - The science behind decision-making and behavior. (Male host.) *
-Invisibilia - A look a the things behind human behavior (Two female hosts)
-Nerdette - Two self-described Nerdette's discuss stories of interest to those of us with a nerdy bent. (Female hosts, although for the TV recaps they are regularly joined by a male.)
-Song Exploder - the history behind a song. (Male host)
-Stuff You Should Know- Two, um, know-it-alls do a deep dive into a subject. (Male hosts.)Real Life Stories:
-Criminal - Deep dive into a particular crime. (Female host, varying contributors.)
-Judge John Hodgeman - Real people bring their real issues to fake internet court. (Male host.)
-Love and Radio - One interview about an unusual story. (Varying interview subjects.) Some of these are NSFW, so use headphones.
-Radio Diaries - is a pretty accurate title really. (Varying contributors)
-Snap Judgement - Stories about life, again usually with a common theme. (Male host, varying contributors.)
-This American Life - Stories about life, usually with a common theme. (Main host male, contributors vary weekly.)
-Tiny Spark - A look at philanthropic efforts and other attempts at making good. (Female host)
-Storycorps- Selected stories from the Storycorp project collecting stories of everyday people.(Varying interview subjects.)
Other podcasts:
-2 Dope Queens - Comedy and comic bits talking about sex, romance, race, and hair. (Two female hosts, varying guests).
-Code Switch - Discussions of race and news (Male and female main hosts, varying contributors).
-News in Slow Spanish - News in slow Spanish for those of us trying to maintain or relearn our Spanish (male and female host).
-Fortification - Interviews with social justice organizers about the intersection of faith and justice (Female host, varying guests.)
-Sporkful - A look at food traditions. (Male host.)
Now Defunct or on Hiatus
-Black Girl Nerds - Note: Does not podcast enough - A look at nerd news from some black girls. (Female hosts.)
-Firewall and Iceberg - Two TV Critics discuss TV. (Male hosts) This podcast is now defunct.
-How to Do Everything - Instructional tips on a variety of topics, (Male hosts.) This podcast has now ended.
-PostBourgie - Discussions of race and news. (Multiple hosts, male and female). Podcast intermittent these days.
-Rendered - Stories and interviews with creative folks. (Female host, varying interviewees.) This podcast is now defunct.
-This Creative Life with Sara Zarr - Discussions with authors about writing.(Female host, varying interviewees). Currently on hiatus
-The Year of Tea - It's about tea. Short casts. (Male Host). This podcast is now defunct.
-How to Do Everything - Two guys look into various questions about how best to do things. (Two male hosts.) Now ended.
*Enjoyed but moved out of the rotation.