It’s no secret, podcasts are booming! With topics ranging from sports, to music, to true crime, to health and wellness, there is truly a podcast for everyone. And women across the Washington region have been leading the charge in launching some of the most fascinating podcasts that exist today. PodcastDC takes a look at five must-listen-to DC area podcasts, hosted exclusively by women.
Squats and Margaritas
Podcaster Erin Washington used her own struggles and successes with a decades-long eating disorder to catapult herself to a platform that offers stories of hope to everyday women by everyday women. Many of her guests have struggled through their own dark period in life and made it through to the other side. Washington’s weekly podcast features guests who have suffered from life-crippling challenges, like depression, divorce, homelessness, masogny, poverty, sexual assault, miscarriages and more. Many of the guests, like Washington, have gone on to tell their own stories of success. Washington offers hope and gives her listeners a sense of dignity as she hones in on balance, wellness and most importantly female empowerment.
Collared Chicks
Collared Chicks by Rev. Monica Reynolds, a wife and mother of five, features female leaders in the church, and beyond, who challenge female ideologies, contemplate breaking the mold on stereotypes and stretching the limits on structured belief systems for women.
Reynolds, along with her guests, ponder whether a woman can be pro life and a feminist, they celebrate individuality and take listeners outside comfort zones to show how women can become leaders in multiple roles while affecting societal outcomes. Discussions cover a variety of topics from experiencing life’s biggest sucker punches as mothers, surviving in male-dominated industries, dealing with conditions that affect scores of women and mothers – like drug abuse, teenage pregnancy and even being a mother with children on the U.S. border – while learning how to keep the faith, have hope and create resiliency.
Canary: The Washington Post Investigates
“Canary: The Washington Post Investigates” is a seven-part podcast series told by investigative reporter Amy Brittain who tells the stories of two female sexual assault survivors, separated by decades, whose lives intertwine based on experiences surrounding the same D.C. judge.
The podcast also takes listeners into the inner workings of an investigative reporter and documents Brittain’s nearly three-year journey as she travels to Alabama to speak to one survivor. A meeting, which leads to a face-to-face between the two survivors.
The podcast reveals the harrowing details of sexual assault, the trauma survivors experience, and the inspiration created by one brave voice to bring another forward.
The Women Owned Wednesday Podcast
Elly Rowe started Women Owned Wednesday as a podcast crafted for women who share and celebrate their experiences as they successfully pivoted into becoming business owners. Rowe creates a community that supports and empowers female entrepreneurs who speak on a range of topics from mental health and wellness, finding your inner power, social change, business models and start ups, keeping your business afloat during COVID-19 and male-dominated industries. Many of the podcast’s guests are business owners in the D.C. Metro area.
The Fem Word
“Welcome to The Fem Word, where we broadcast stories of bold women in creative spaces.”
That’s how The Fem Word podcast starts and it stays true to that message as mother-daughter pair Monika and Natasha Samtani interview entrepreneurial and driven women from around the country. Monika Samtani is known for being the first South Asian TV News Anchor in Washington D.C., while her daughter works in the music industry advocating for artists and creators. Together, they bring the listener on a journey to understand the unique challenges the women they interview overcome to get to where they are today.
Wondering where you can listen? Download the PodcastDC app today to listen to all the amazing podcasts we listed and tons of other local podcasts from podcasters in and around the D.C. region.
