10 podcasts to kickstart your health and wellness education

The health and wellness corner of the internet can feel very overwhelming. You have to push past myths, miracle tricks, and overly technical medical jargon to get the accessible stuff. I’ve recently been down my own health rabbit hole and decided to turn to podcasts for my research. Podcasts can feel like having a personal tutor in your ear, the best ones share information in an engaging and entertaining way, making learning much more enjoyable. I’ve been looking for science-backed resources to teach me about my own health and the medical systems around me. The list I’ve pulled together are some of the most reliable, uncomplicated and enjoyable health-related podcasts I’ve found.

The Referral with Dr. Karan

Dr. Karan brings his high-energy, simplified dissections of medical conditions from TikTok to podcasts. Each episode is neatly divided into medical news updates, mythbusting interviews, and a Q&A with questions from listeners. Medical podcasts tread a fine line between being really informative and too technical. Dr. Karan’s social media experience helps him strike just the right balance in this long-form content. His engaging style encapsulates new information and his guests’ insights into an easy pill to swallow. Bonus: hearing how proud he is to provide access to medical information to millions as a working NHS doctor and social media educator (currently with a combined 7.5 million followers across all his platforms). Listen now >>

The Retrievals

This five-part investigative narrative series is about a federal crime committed at Yale Fertility Clinic (attached to Yale University) in the US. The series explores fertility, female pain, responsibility, justice, and privilege. This podcast had me feeling a lot of things. The details made me squirm, the personal accounts hurt my heart, and as the story unfolded, the residual shock stayed with me for a while. Host Susan Burton leaves so many questions on the table about female health and voice in this cutting podcast. The reality is, we hear stories of female pain being routinely dismissed in the UK too. We shouldn’t have to, but how can we better advocate for ourselves? How do we demand more from our healthcare professionals? Where do we go from here? Listen now >>

ZOE Science and Nutrition

Now, I’m someone whose signature move is unbuttoning my jeans before a meal to prepare for the post-meal bloat. (Anyone else?) The ZOE Science and Nutrition podcast was my gateway show into dietary health. Created by world-leading nutrition and gut scientists, ZOE turns our digestive systems inside out, addressing the benefits and harm, public attitude and lobbying over the food we eat. The main line of messaging is that every body is different, so everybody’s diet should be too. I appreciate that they encourage listeners to use the podcast as a springboard to empower research and investigation into your own health. Listen now >>

28ish Days Later

India Rakusen brought the menstrual cycle to life with this 28-part limited series. The bite-sized episodes take you day-by-day through the biological, emotional, historical and social aspects of a period. I don’t think I’ll ever stop recommending this podcast. With an impressive line-up of contributors, every episode made me feel surprised, confused and seen. Conversations around women’s health still feel shrouded in secrecy until things are really bad. India Rakusen artfully creates a sense of welcoming, community, and belonging in her podcast and the success of 28ish Day Later is a great example of what happens when female voices lead the way. Listen now >>

The Bias Diagnosis

Take a seat and draw back the curtain, Ivan Beckley is about to give you his diagnosis. Medical student Ivan pokes and prods the medical system to find the racial inequalities in education, access, and outcomes. Starting his investigation in the historical roots of medicine, Ivan investigates the stereotypes, misinformation and myths that are still alive in medical practice today. He looks at five dimensions of healthcare and maintains a patient-centred approach throughout. More than anything, this series pulls you out of “normality” and forces you to question how these statistics, care and outcomes have been ignored for so long. Listen on Audible now >>

Let’s talk about sex (education)

Lucy Carr’s documentary on sex education in the UK was a flash-back to the awkward and uncomfortable lessons I experienced at school. Lucy lays out how sex education is driven by political agenda, misinformation and out-dated beliefs. Access to sexual content online is easier than ever before but it doesn’t seem like sex education has caught up with that. Even if you don’t have young people close to you who are directly going through this, it’s interesting to think about the long term effects of this education on our adult perceptions, attitudes and conversations around sex. Listen now >>

Honourable mentions list:

The Neurodivergent Woman – A majorly underrepresented and under diagnosed group, this show does an amazing job of opening up the conversation about and for neurodivergent women. Find out more here or listen now >> 

A thorough examination with Drs Chris and Xand – If you’ve ever felt frustrated with a family member’s health and lifestyle choices, listen to this. An emotional story of community and family involvement in health struggles. Listen now >>

Bias Diagnosis: Season 2 – The focus of this season is gender bias in medical systems. The lens shifts but maintains the patient-centred, deep investigative approach of season 1. Listen now >>

Sex Ed with DB – If you’ve ever had a sex question, it’s likely you’ll find the answer here. An LGBTQ+ and BIPOC-centred podcast, Danielle Bezalel speaks to sexperts about an immensely wide range of topics to debunk myths about sex. Listen now >>

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Katie Stokes is a freelance writer, editor and podcast producer. Her work explores mental health, social relationships and identity. She is the host of Re:Mind the Podcast, unpacking how small behaviours have a big impact on our mental health. She is also an educator, creating audio and video resources for migrants looking to learn English.