As my due date (and belly) loom larger in my third trimester, I have been spending more and more time on activities that can be done from the comfort of my couch. While I regularly rotate through NPR, the NY Times, and This American Life for news and entertainment, during this sedentary time I have been enjoying more content created by – and for – women. Below are a links to some of my favorites, I encourage you to check them out:
- Stuff Mom Never Told You: I cannot gush enough about Stuff Mom Never Told You, which manages to be informational, sassy, feminist, and on-point on a vast array of topics from pop culture to politics to bodies to books. Want to learn more about the lesbian wage bump? Why menstrual cups are a lady scientist’s best friend? Why you can blame the “bleeps” in TV on birth control (and the First Amendment)? They have you covered on this, and so much more. I normally consume them in podcast form (where hosts Cristen and Caroline “unravel the history, science and sociology of ladies and gents”), but you can also check out their blog with even more good stuff, including a regular series rounding up badass women with birthdays that month.
- How Did She Get There: This blog features an interview one woman each week who is killing it in the field of media, communications or the arts. With lengthier interviews than you might find in a roundup like I mentioned above, this blog provides a space to celebrate – and learn from – successful women about their career paths and approach to work (and life) more broadly. The diversity of ages, careers, and experiences of those women is refreshing and keeps the blog from feeling repetitive. I quite enjoyed this one about Brek Taylor, Executive Producer at Film London.
- Nerdette: Nerdette, produced by WBEZ Chicago, features self-proclaimed nerds Greta Johnsen and Tricia Bobeda geeking out with their weekly guest about whatever he or she is passionate about, “because everyone is a little nerdy.” According to an interview with the Guardian, this includes “a wide variety of topics from ‘lady spies of the civil war’ to computer programming to Doctor Who to feminism to space travel and every corner of pop culture.” If you want to hear them chat with author Jenny Lawson about living a furiously happy life with raccoons or get Margarate Atwood’s take on feminism, science fiction, and the future of books, be sure to check out this podcast.
- Motherhood Around the World: Despite having more focused content than the other blogs or podcasts in this post, Motherhood Around the World, a feature on the popular blog A Cup of Jo, is no less interesting. In this series of interviews, Joanna Goddard offers up a glimpse into the lives of mothers living in countries such as Norway, India, and the Congo. Each thoughtful piece begs the reader to stop and consider not only how we plan to (or do) mother, but how our own experience of having been mothered was distinctly (or not) American.
- The Skimm: While not technically being about or for women, this daily news update is certainly a gem for busy ladies. With the motto of making it easier to be smarter, the Skimm comes to your inbox each morning with a round-up of digestible vignettes about that day’s top stories. Making it possible to be well-informed in the amount of time it takes to drink your morning coffee, the Skimm is a great resource for getting up to date before heading out the door. Because what’s cooler than always having the scoop on the news?