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Like having mom friends but one-sided.
It is difficult to explain just how valuable podcasts are to parents. Especially podcasts that are made entirely for us by other funny parents who are saying the things we are thinking and sometimes don’t even realize we are thinking. They are like audio pacifiers, the thing we can switch on while driving around town doing a million and one things to remind ourselves that we are not, indeed, alone in this often very lonely role. And the very best of these podcasts manage to make us feel included while also somehow making us laugh. It’s pretty magical.
These are the podcasts you will want to listen to on your own or even with the kids if you think they can handle all the truth-telling. All the stories about kids just like them doing whacky, hilarious, often frustrating things that they themselves might be doing too. Because when you find yourself in the thick of things as a parent, what’s better than knowing you have some hilarious help in the trenches with you? Here are some of the best podcasts to put on when you need just that.
I Love My Kid, But...
Megan Gailey, Kurt Braunohler, and Chris Garcia are all comedians, friends, and parents who invite celebrity guests to get together to discuss some of the biggest issues affecting parents today on I Love My Kid, But... Things like the possibility of scarring your kid for life, grandparents, and how to handle bouncy castle fighting. Fans of podcasts like I Love A Lifetime Movie and Bananas will know they’re in the funnest hands possible with Gailey and Braunohler, while Garcia brings his hilarious world view to the universally fascinating topic of kids and why they do the things they do.
Listen to I Love My Kid, But... on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Amazon Music.
Spawned
Kristen Chase and Liz Gumbinner started Cool Mom Picks back in 2006 and sort of became the tastemakers for finding the best products for moms and their kids on the internet. They have been interviewed on TODAY and even gave renowned tastemaker Martha Stewart some tips, and now they’ve brought their expertise to Spawned, a gentle, fun podcast to “make life cooler, more meaningful, and more fun for parents of all kinds,” as they wrote on their website. They tackle subjects like keeping kids safe on social media, the emotional lives of teenagers, and raising good adults with expert guests.
You can listen to Spawned on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
One Bad Mother
Do you ever feel like motherhood, reportedly a very natural process, is kind of unnatural? Like you look at your kids one day and you think, “Cute, but when are their parents coming to pick them up” because motherhood feels so foreign to you? You are not alone. Moms and funny women Biz Ellis and Theresa Thorne debunk the whole idea that all moms are “magical vessels” on One Bad Mother, and they’ll make you laugh while doing it. The podcast is in its fourth year and has over 200 episodes under its belt, with fellow celebrity moms joining the show to help answer calls from parents struggling with all sorts of parenting problems. Because we all struggle but if we struggle together it’s kind of funny.
Listen to One Bad Mother on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
The Holderness Family
Penn and Kim Holderness have been entertaining everyone on social media since 2013, when they released a parody of Will Smith’s “Miami” called “Xmas Jammies” that went viral. Since then, the hugely talented parents of two from North Carolina have kept us laughing with their music parodies aimed at everyday parenting life, and now they’ve branched out with a podcast. The Holderness Family podcast gives a behind-the-scenes look at their life, where the couple “share the real-life ups and downs of living together, working together, raising kids together, in what we hope is a funny and entertaining way.” Listeners can call in with questions too, which is always nice when you are trying to pretend the hosts are your IRL pals.
Listen to The Holderness Family on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pandora, and wherever else you get your podcasts.
Two Funny Mamas
Before you even listen to Two Funny Mamas, you know you are going to be getting a hilarious look at motherhood based on the hosts alone. Sherri Shepherd (The View) and Kym Whitley (Raising Whitley), both comedy icons even outside the world of motherhood, have come together to share their own unique take on everything that affects them. “Nothing is off limits when these two funny ladies get together to talk about life, love, motherhood, singleness, relationships, dating, pop culture, sex (or the lack thereof!) and everything in between,” according to the award-winning podcast’s description.
Sign us up and listen to Two Funny Mamas on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
What Fresh Hell
Amy Wilson and Margaret Abies are two comedians with six kids between them, so it’s probably no surprise that their award-winning podcast What Fresh Hell has millions of (mostly female) listeners. These two overachievers “laugh in the face of motherhood” with three episodes per week. They answer listener questions on Mondays, their regular episodes drop every Wednesday, and they bring in an expert to discuss issues like rethinking ambition, introducing a new sibling, and how to remain our authentic selves as moms.
Listen to What Fresh Hell on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever else you get your podcasts.
Dads: The Podcast
While Dads: The Podcast is now defunct, it was so sweet and funny and original that it is worth a re-listen. Hosted by comedy writer Rory Scovel and his co-host Ruthie Wyatt, the two sat down with their “hilarious celebrity friends to unpack the mysteries of fatherhood, parenting and the weirdos who raised us.” Episodes covered everything from a dad who cried for two days when his daughter went to college, parenting while going through a divorce, and the fear of inheriting the “bad dad gene.” It’s fun and insightful and more moving than you might expect.
Listen to Dads: The Podcast on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Take It Or Leave It
Giving advice is a bit of a thankless business, which is why Tiffany Jenkins and Meredith Masonry were careful to say they offer “advice-ish” on their podcast Take It Or Leave It. The two moms take calls from real parents about whatever issues they might be having and do their best to offer their two cents. Because motherhood and marriage are hard, and they want to help. If you’re wondering what you can do with that advice, presumably you can heed the title of the podcast and take it or leave it. It’s entirely up to you.
Listen to Take It Or Leave It on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to your podcasts.
Where My Moms At?
Comedian and “exhausted mom of two” Christina P. has fashioned herself as “everybody’s favorite ‘cool mom’” on her popular podcast Where My Moms At? Every week she tackles big issues like mom fails, having “the talk” with your kids, and of course, “the quiet rage you feel when your toddler won’t nap.” She invites guests like Dr. Drew and Jamie Lynn Siegler on to answer listener questions as well, and the entire podcast feels like a bit of a block party where you don’t have to do any of the entertaining or talking yourself. So perfect.
Listen to Where My Moms At on Spotify, Apple, Amazon Music, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Childish
Alison Rosen and Greg Fitzsimmons have pretty much every aspect of parenting covered on Childish. Rosen (who also hosts Alison Rosen Is Your New Best Friend) and Fitzsimmons of Fitzdog Radio have four children between them, and they’re unpacking all the ways parenting has affected their lives in a sweet, funny, often irreverent podcast. They believe their podcast will “help you laugh about the struggles and joys of parenthood, grow closer to your children, learn something useful and maybe even put the spark back into your love life.” A pretty tall order but I think they can do it.
Listen to Childish on Google Play, Amazon Music, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Making friends is important and helpful to moms and all of that, but sometimes you need someone else to do all the heavy lifting. Which is, in my opinion, why funny parenting podcasts like these were invented.
Sit back, listen, and let other people be charming.
