A Mental Health Podcast Directory

By Ben Williamson @ 2021-11-22T20:59 (+34)

This is a list of podcast episodes across a range of mental health topics that are hopefully useful and interesting for people to listen to. 

I’ve tried to include every EA podcast episode related to mental health that I could find, as well as any made by people who seem adjacent to EA. The post was inspired by this shortform and the idea that well-produced podcast episodes can provide an accessible form of mental health support.

 

Quick note: I have not listened to most of these podcasts and so cannot personally vouch for their quality or relevance. It is also worth making clear that podcasts and other forms of content are not an adequate replacement for getting help should you need it. 

This list is intended to be complimentary to other forms of support, not a replacement. As a starting point, the EA Mental Health Navigator has a list of EA-specific resources and recommended providers and there are lots of great, general options as well

 

How this list works

Podcast episodes have been split into ten categories. These are loosely based on the most common conditions listed in the 2018 EA Mental Health Survey, with a few extra added that I believe could be particularly relevant to the EA community. A few episodes have been that were considered particularly valuable have been included under multiple topics.

Based on this shortform discussion, an emphasis has been placed on finding podcasts produced by members of the EA community [E], Rationality community [R], and people adjacent to these communities [A]. 

The other podcasts included in the directory are an attempt to find the best general [G] podcast episodes on each topic. I trawled through a whole bunch of ‘best podcast for X’ articles to do this, as well as picking through the top search results on Spotify. I have roughly filtered these podcasts to generally only include those that had very high ratings (>4.5/5), had a large number of reviews (>100), and that seemed good quality when I briefly scanned their description/ episode titles. I also used this website to focus on the episodes that seemed most popular for a given podcast.

Each episode listing in this directory should include the following: Episode Link & Title, Podcast Title, Source Label ([E] = EA; [R] Rationalist; [A]: Adjacent; [G] General), Date, Episode Length, Episode Description, Podcast Description.

Links are mostly to Spotify podcasts with some to Apple, purely based on what was easiest for me to find. I make no claims as to where you should listen to podcasts, only a suggestion to listen to those listed below!

 

Podcasts by Topic

Depression

Having a successful career with depression, anxiety and imposter syndrome – The 80,000 Hours Podcast with Rob Wiblin [E]

 

Maria Bamford Talks Bipolar II While Her Pugs Eat Nilla Wafers – The Hilarious World of Depression [G]

 

Perfectly Hidden Depression – The SelfWork Podcast [G]

 

How to Eat to Beat Depression and Anxiety with Dr. Drew Ramsey – Feel Better, Live More with Dr. Rangan Chatterjee [G]

 

Understanding & Conquering Depression – Huberman Lab [G]

 

 

 

Anxiety

All About Exposure for Anxiety – The Hardcore Self Help Podcast with Duff the Psych

 

Having a successful career with depression, anxiety and imposter syndrome – The 80,000 Hours Podcast with Rob Wiblin [E]

 

Social Anxiety: Dr Ellen Hendriksen – Mental Illness Happy Hour [G]

 

That anxiety you’re feeling? It’s a habit you can unlearn – The Ezra Klein Show [A]

 

Unwinding Anxiety - Jud Brewer - You Are Not So Smart [R]

 

ADHD

Rethinking Adult ADHD with Dr. Russell Ramsay – ADHD rewired [G]

 

An Introduction to Self-Care and ADHD – Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast [G]

 

Understanding adult ADHD – The Psychology Sisters [G]

 

ADHD Habits – I have ADHD [G]

Distinguishing ADHD and Time Management – Translating ADHD [G]

 

Autism

Autism and Communication – Word of Mouth (BBC Radio 4) [G]

 

What are you ‘obsessed’ with? – 1800 Seconds of Autism (BBC Sounds) [G]

 

High Functioning Autism in Women – Springbrook’s Converge Autism Radio [G]

 

Myths and Stigma about Autism – Not Neurotypical Podcast w/ Laura Zdan [G]         

 

 

Disordered Eating

Eating disorders and other health conditions – Butterfly: Let’s Talk [G]

 

Disordered Eating: 9 Signs of an Unhealthy Relationship with Food – The Savvy Psychologists’ Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Mental Health [G]

 

Why Recovery is Worth It with Dr. Michael Berrett – The Recovery Warrior Show [G]

 

 

Burnout

Clearer Paths and Sharper Ideas (with Lynette Bye) – Clearer Thinking with Spencer Greenberg [E]

 

Burnout (Classic) – Planet Money (NPR) [G]

 

7 Early Signs of Burnout – On Purpose with Jay Shetty [G]

 

Burnout and How to Complete the Stress Cycle (with Emily and Amelia Nagoski) – Unlocking Us with Brené Brown [G]

 

 

Stress

Arden & Rob on demandingness, work-life balance and injustice – The 80,000 Hours Podcast with Rob Wiblin [E]

 

How to Overcome Anxiety and Stress – The Tim Ferriss Show [A]

 

The Emergency Kit for Anxiety, Worry, and Stress – Happier with Gretchen Rubin [G]

 

Reduce Stress, Increase Resiliency – Radio Headspace [G]

 

Imposter Syndrome

All About Imposter Syndrome – The Hardcore Self Help Podcast with Duff the Psych [G]

 

Imposter Syndrome: True Tales, Tricks, and Tactics for When You’re Feeling Fraudulent – The Hilarious World of Depression [G]

 

Reduce Stress, Increase Resiliency – Radio Headspace [G]

 

 

Getting Support

Why does psychotherapy work (when it works at all)? (with Scott Miller) – Clearer Thinking with Spencer Greenberg [E]

 

Maybe You Should Talk to Someone - You Are Not So Smart [R]

 

You Can’t Fail At Therapy – Tell Me What You’re Proud Of with Dr. Maggie Perry [G]

 

Kati Morton: How to Care For Your Mental Health [G] – The Psychology Podcast with Scott Barry Kaufman [G]

 

Misc.

Creatures of Habit  – Making Sense with Sam Harris [A]

 

Negotiating with your future selves – Rationally Speaking Podcast with Julia Galef [A]

 

This Conversation Will Change How You Feel About Trauma – The Ezra Klein Show [A]

 

Willpower – Rationally Speaking Podcast with Julia Galef [A]

 

Final note

I hope some of these podcasts prove useful and interesting to people. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list so if you have recommendations, please let me know in the comments below and I can add them in! 


Andres Jimenez @ 2022-01-20T11:08 (+2)

Ben, this is super helpful! Thank you very much for publishing. Any chance you have come across something related to managing/coping with work addiction? 

Ben Williamson @ 2022-01-21T09:29 (+3)

Thanks! I haven't come across anything specific to work addiction I'm afraid. Just had a quick search though and this looks relevant and likely a high quality discussion: https://hbr.org/podcast/2018/04/you-may-be-a-workaholic-if 

Also personally found the LessWrong articles about taking a Sabbath very useful as motivation to protect time for rest and recovery.

Andres Jimenez @ 2022-01-21T12:37 (+1)

Thanks a lot for taking the time to reply so thoughtfully!  will definitely look into these resources. 

ChanaMessinger @ 2021-11-28T17:10 (+2)

Not a big deal, but Howie's 80k podcast also talks about ADHD, fwiw.

So great of you to put together a compilation! Any chance you would be willing to indicate which you have listened to yourself and found to be good? I'm happy to vouch for the 80k one and the Ezra Klein on anxiety.

Ben Williamson @ 2022-01-21T09:36 (+1)

Edited! And thanks, most of these I haven't listened to but I can personally recommend
'Clearer paths and sharper ideas' (Spencer Greenberg) and 'Creatures of Habit' (Making Sense with Sam Harris), as well as the 80k, Ezra Klein show, The Tim Ferriss Show, and Planet Money more generally.