In June, the first Great Podcasts for Parents & Caregivers highlighted podcasts about “Parenting & Caregiving” and “Books, Reading and KidLit.” In this entry, find recommendations in the topics of “Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, Antiracism & Social Justice,” “Health & Wellness,” and “Parenting & Caregiving,” as well as featuring the local podcast, Ground Truthing, produced by the Westchester Children’s Association. In addition, be sure to check out our other Great Podcasts recommendations for kids and teens.

Most of these podcasts should be available on any service you use to listen to podcasts, such as Apple Podcasts, Apple Music, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, etc. If you have some great podcast recommendations, leave them in the comments below!

LOCAL SPOTLIGHT:

Ground Truthing: Insights from the Ground Up
Produced by the Westchester Children’s Association, Ground Truthing dives deep into social issues while focusing on the local impact of those issues in Westchester County. These are tough and important conversations, with content experts, true stories and interviews, and a commitment to providing listeners with facts and information.. Over three seasons topics have covered such things as imprisonment, community action, homelessness, racism, advocacy, education and more

EQUITY, DIVERSITY, INCLUSION, ANTIRACISM & SOCIAL JUSTICE

Code Switch
Not necessarily a podcast for parents and caregivers, but Code Switch from NPR introduces listeners to issues related to race, and how it impacts and intersects with all aspects of life and society, and is a great way to be prepared to have conversations with, or answer questions from, your kids related to race and racism.

Nice White Parents
This five-part podcast series from New York Times and Serial Productions examines the relationship between race, parents and public school systems. Learn more about the series in this interview between NPR’s Terry Gross and the podcast’s creator: Serial reporter and This American Life producer, Channa Joffe-Walt.

My American Melting Pot
My American Melting Pot by journalist and author Lori L. Tharps “whose work lands at the intersection of race and popular culture,” is not a parenting and caregiving specific podcast, but as it does focus on how race intersects with all aspects of real life, families, parenting and caregiving naturally appear in episodes. Tharp’s discussions are frank and funny, and frequently feature an amazing list of guests.

HEALTH & WELLNESS

Healthy Children
Produced by the American Academy of Pediatrics, this podcast features doctors and experts answering questions and covering a wide range of topics related to children’s health.

Kids Health Cast
Produced by Weill Cornell Medicine, this podcast features a variety of doctors and experts covering in-depth topics and the latest in science and children’s medicine.

Kids Healthcast
Not to be confused with the above, Kids Healthcast is produced by the Riley Hospital for Children which is part of Indiana University Health. Each episode is hosted by doctors and pediatricians and is broken down into specific segments covering current news in children’s medicine and health, discussion of a topic, some parenting and caregiving tips and tricks, and usually something fun, like trivia.

Where You Are
From the Kelty Mental Health Resource Center in British Columbia, Where You Are is a podcast devoted to supporting the mental health of children and families. The podcast features experts, real life stories, and covers a wide range of topics from ADD/ADHD, substance abuse, school attendance, tech use and screen time, self-harm, social and emotional learning, and more.

PARENTING & CAREGIVING

Dope Black Dads
Winner of both the 2021 Webby Award in the Family & Kids category and the People’s Voice Webby Award, Dope Black Dads is fantastic. While some of the episodes are a bit UK specific, due to the location of the creators, the podcast provides insights and discussion on topics relevant to Black fathers and parents in particular, but parents generally, with guests from around the world. Topics cover a wide range including fatherhood, mental health, relationships, fitness, masculinity, sex, racism and social justice, and more.

Drunk Parents
A 2018 Family & Kids category Webby Award nominee, Drunk Parents is the frank, no-holds-barred, funny, emotional, real world musings of parents Rachel and Steve: “ We have two smart, beautiful daughters we love more than anything in the world. And they drive us insane.” They are honest about the trials and tribulations, the highs and lows, failures and successes of parenting, and the stress and joy that comes with it.

The Fatherly Podcast
There were only 16 episodes made of the Webby Award nominated The Fatherly Podcast which is unfortunate. The podcast, hosted by Fatherly’s Editor-At-Large Joshua David Stein followed the same approach as the website itself: a wide ranging selection of fathering and fatherhood relevant/adjacent topics. Each episode features interesting individuals, frequently well-known and/or experts in their field. So while the podcast seems to have ended with season 1 in 2019, it’s still worth listening to the episodes that are available.

The Longest Shortest Time
An award-winning podcast about “about the surprises and absurdities of raising other humans.”

The Mom Hour
Over 300 episodes and counting since 2015! What’s great about The Mom Hour is that the two moms that produce and host the show really strive to use it as a forum for creating community for, by and about mothers. While there is plenty of parenting and caregiving advice and discussion, there is also a strong focus on motherhood and being a mom. Also, with the sheer number of episodes, the podcast covers a lot of topics you might not listen to being covered elsewhere.

Motherhood in Black and White
“Hosted by Gen X moms, Kaanji Irby and Tara Campbell. These two women–one Black and one White–come from different worlds, but have become close friends through their shared experiences as suburban ‘boy moms,’ working women in male-dominated workplaces, and their love of 90s hip-hop. Listen in as they chat with each other and connect with guests about parenting and pop culture and the tragedies and triumphs of motherhood with honesty, empathy and humor.”

Not By Accident
Webby Award nominee, Not By Accident, documents a woman’s decision to be a single parent and her early years doing so, over 34 episodes.

Pregnancy Confidential
From Parents magazine, this week-by-week podcast is for expectant moms to listen to throughout their pregnancy. “Each episode walks listeners through the physical, emotional and all-round quirks of each week of pregnancy. This is real-talk, girlfriend-to-girlfriend stuff—no hard-to-understand medical information here.”