5 Podcasts on Messy Women

Podcast recommendations about messy women told through the lens of literature and culture

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What’s this theme about? Heather and Leah tell us:

Messy women make the world go round. In honor of our Anna Karenina Book Club, we've compiled a list of five podcast episodes that celebrate women who give even Anna a run for her money.

Heather and Leah of Limousine: A Podcast for Readers and Writers, December 2025 EarBuds curators

Podcasts Featuring Messy Women

Limousine podcast cover art

Limousine: A Podcast for Readers and Writers

After years of putting it off, we decided to tackle Tolstoy’s classic, Anna Karenina together, and thought:

Why not invite our listeners along for the ride? In this introductory episode, we talk about our own relationships to Russian lit and break down Part I with some fun pop culture parallels.

StraightioLab podcast cover art

StraightioLab

StraightioLab hosts George Civeris and Sam Taggart are anthropological scholars of straight culture — each week, they ask guests to bring a “straight topic” for dialectical discussion.

On this episode, author Torrey Peters brings “prolonged divorce,” a topic with which Anna Karenina is all too intimately familiar.

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Critics at Large

In this episode of perennial intellectual fav, Critics at Large, Vinson, Alex, and Naomi dive into the tropes of wretched love.

They explore classic examples of tragic romance in literature, from Anna Karenina to Madame Bovary to Giovanni’s Room — and unpack the timeless, satisfying thrill of a messy love affair.

Good Noticings podcast cover art

Good Noticings (formerly Celebrity Memoir Book Club)

On every episode of CMBC, Ashley and Claire break down a celebrity memoir, and the magic of the pod is in Ashley and Claire’s reception and investigation of celebrity myth.

They’ve now renamed the pod Good Noticings and pivoted to broader pop culture commentary, but you can still learn everything you need to know about Tori Spelling’s relentless messiness through their archive.

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Know Your Enemy

Calling Ayn Rand a messy woman is generous, but stay with me here. On Know Your Enemy, writers Matthew Sitman and Sam Adler-Bell investigate the prominent figures, movements, and ideas of the American political right.

In times that make it feel impossible to love my enemy, it feels like knowing them is good enough. If you ever feel like your ability to think or articulate yourself is being eroded by the media you consume, throw Know Your Enemy into your rotation.

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EarBuds Fiction Podcast Recommendations

Hey, Fiction Podcast Fans!

EarBuds is spinning off some topic-specific podcast newsletters… and our fiction one is officially here. You’ll get weekly podcast recommendations curated by audio lovers around the world, all focused on fiction and audio drama.

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Podcast Roundups

➼One of the best podcast roundup lists (according to EarBuds founder Arielle Nissenblatt) has dropped. Crime Writers On… hosts, Rebecca, Kevin, Lara, and Toby have named their top 10 shows of the year. Find your next favorite here.

💖In Podcast The Newsletter, Lauren Passell shares Tink Media’s (+ friends) Audio Delicacies — sweet podcast treats all released in 2025. Divided by genre and with submissions from listeners around the world, there’s definitely something here you’ve never heard of that’s about to blow your mind.

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ゞVoices del Valle is a youth-led podcast spotlighting powerful coming-of-age stories from California’s Imperial Valley. Told through the eyes of local teens, each episode dives into real experiences of growing up in a rural, tight-knit, and culturally rich border community.

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Podcast news from Podnews

  • In the US, there are almost twice as many men creating podcasts as women, according to The Creators 2025, a new study from Sounds Profitable into the creator ecosystem for podcasting, which became available to all yesterday. The full report is a free download.

  • The Fiction Podcast Weekly newsletter is now independent. Expect resources and news for fiction podcast makers.

  • The inductees of the 2026 Podcast Hall of Fame have been announced, recognising what the organisers call “visionary creators, innovators, and advocates whose work has shaped the modern podcasting landscape”. The Hall of Fame Ceremony is at PodFest, Jan 16 2026; the evening will be hosted by John Lee Dumas, founder and host of Entrepreneurs on Fire.

Spotlight

Why Did They Break Up? podcast cover art

Why Did They Breakup? tells true stories of wild romantic breakups. Hosted by Touré, each episode takes you through the rise and fall of a relationship from first meetings to red flags to final tears.

Have a break up story you want to share? DM us @DCPofficial on Instagram and @DCPvideo on TikTok, or email us: [email protected].

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