In today’s fast-paced world, as glaring screens and blaring social media notification demand our attention, the allure of a cozy podcast offers a soothing respite. Picture yourself nestled under a warm blanket, a steaming cup of your favorite drink in hand, and the gentle voice of a host guiding you through a world of stories, reflections, and tranquil musings.
Podcasts have emerged as the ideal companions for those moments when you’re in need of solace and comfort, and I’ve picked 12 of them that will wrap you in warmth and provide a refuge from the chaos of the day—whether you are in search of captivating fiction, poetic serenity, a dive into an engaging hobby, or nourishment for your body and soul.
Phoebe Reads a Mystery
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Cozy mysteries are a genre until themselves, and they’re all the better when filtered through Phoebe Judge’s (Criminal and This Is Love) soothing, melodic voice. I’d listen to Phoebe read anything, which is lucky for me, because on Phoebe Reads a Mystery, she does just that. On the show, she’d read classics like Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, all of Moby Dick, and more, chapter by chapter. No other show makes you feel more like curling up into a ball under a blanket.
You Are Good
You Are Good bills itself as a “feelings podcast about movies.” It’s not really film criticism (although it does go there) as much as it is an opportunity for hosts Sarah Marshall (of You’re Wrong About) and Alex Steed to gush about their favorite movies with guests, and get to the bottom of why these films hit us so hard. Sarah and Alex go back into the archives—most of the movies are at least a decade old—to wade through all the emotions of nostalgia, joy, and occasionally discomfort that titles like Top Gun, High Fidelity, Steel Magnolias, and Amadeus bring up. This is a kind and empathetic show, more about human nature than film history.
Poetry Unbound
Reading poetry boosts your retention and encourages self-reflection, and listening to it performed can make you feel like you’re snuggled up in a cocoon. Twice a week on On Being Studios’ Poetry Unbound, Pádraig Ó Tuama guides us through a single poem. His lulling Irish accent is basically ASMR, and if you failed poetry in high school, never fear—he spends a few minutes unpacking the poem. Featured poets run the gamut from Richard Blanco, to Yusef Komunyakaa, to Emily Dickinson, and each episode is about 15 minutes long. Let a few pile up, and settle in.
Drifting Off With Joe Pera
The stakes are low on Drifting Off With Joe Pera, a show that pairs comedian Joe Pera with guests to tell jokes and have relaxing conversations (set to lulling compositions from Ryan Dann) . You never know what you’re going to get, and it almost doesn’t matter, because Joe’s soft and gentle voice. with lower your stress levels no matter waht. The content isn’t laugh-out-loud hilarious, it’s a serving of deadpan humor delivered with Joe’s signature sincerity and earnestness. Drifting Off releases the first Sunday of every month, and it’s a great way to combat the Sunday Scaries.
This Is Good For You
On This Is Good For You, poet Nichole Perkins celebrates things that make people feel good and things people do to make themselves happy, in hopes you’ll find something in your life that makes you happy too—and with zero impact on your income. Nichole’s lyrical way with words and soft voice ease you into a warm aural bath, sharing stories from people who love honky tonk, bird watching, reading romance novels, and more. It’s a reminder that you don’t have to feel bad about making time for your hobbies—on This Is Good For You, “guilty pleasure” is a bad word.
The Blindboy Podcast
Hosted by Blindboy, The Blindboy Podcast is a mixture of short fiction, interviews, and comedy. Some of the conversations feel like intellectual deep dives into things everything from the link between heavy metal and futurism to matters of mental health, and some sound like pages ripped from Blindboy’s diary. He is thoughtful and funny, and will make you feel like a friend. He has gained notoriety for making prank calls to radio call-in shows, and his comedy hip-hop duo the Rubberbandits had a viral hit in 2010, and he wears a plastic bag on his head for anonymity, but the show is chiller than all that might imply—it feels like a private conversation with someone who understands the human experience.
The Secrets Hotline
The funny thing about podcasts is that all of them feel pretty intimate, even if the hosts are screaming about sports scores or the latest girls trip on The Real Housewives of Potomac. But when the voices are telling secrets? It’s like you’re adrift at sea, being rocked by the waves. Nick van der Kolk started The Secrets Hotline as a segment on his podcast Love and Radio; it was such a hit he spun it into its own feed. The podcast is a place for people to leave anonymous messages about addiction, masturbation, tricky childhoods, salacious mom snafus, and other scenarios you can’t even imagine. Like many of these spilled secrets, these voicemails are voyeuristic and affirming—whatever dark truth you’re harboring, you are not alone, and isn’t that a comforting thought?
Home Cooking
What’s cozier than a home cooked meal? Home Cooking started as a mini-series to help people cook their way through the pandemic, but has continued somewhat sporadically, hoping to inspire people in the kitchen. Samin Nosrat (chef and author of the cookbook Salt Fat Acid Heat) and Hrishikesh Hirway (creator and host of the podcast Song Exploder) interview people like Jason Mantzoukas and Antoni Porowski about the meals they love, and help listeners deal with specific problems about family recipes and what to do with kohlrabi. Home Cooking contains everything that is good for your soul—food, humor, and personal anecdotes from the hosts, infectious laughter from Samin, and lots of food puns for Hrishikesh.
Night Call
Listening to Night Call feels like driving on a deserted road in the middle of the night and picking up a strange radio station. Hosts Molly Lambert, Tess Lynch, and Emily Yoshida talk pop culture, movies, and conspiracy theories. They’re three sharp friends who have fascinating takes on the things taking over the culture. Their chemistry is akin to what you might find at a sleepover with your best friends. They frequently integrate callers and listeners into the discussions, which makes the sleepover feel even bigger. (Night Call hasn’t had a new episode in years, but I find myself returning to old ones all the time.)
Remember Reading?
Remember Reading?, from publisher HarperCollins, is a triumphant ode to the best books from our childhoods. If they have an episode about a book you loved when you were young, listen to it, and you will love that book even more. But if there’s an episode about a book you specifically did not love when you were young, listen anyway—I never managed to finish The Secret Garden, but this sweet conversation between Bridge to Terabithia author Katherine Paterson and Sara Pennypacker (Pax and Here in the Real World) about hidden places and quiet prose providing comfort to shy kids made me want to pick it up and give it another try.
Deck the Halls (with Matrimony!)
Watching holiday romantic comedies reminds me of being snuggled up during the winter months with homemade cookies and in comfy pajamas. Fiction podcast Deck the Halls (with Matrimony!) is a holiday movie for your ears, all about everything that goes down at the wedding business Regal Bride. The writing is fast-paced and witty; the production, sound design, and acting are top notch; and the charming characters will warm your heart, just like that cocoa you should be drinking alongside those cookies. It’s just so…cute.
Community Cat News
As I type this, my cat Monty Hermann lies next to me in a near catatonic state, soaking up the sun flooding into my apartment. He recommends Community Cat News, a show reporting local news from a feline perspective, covering all the news that’s fit to print…for cats, from humans unexpectedly opening the fridge to suspicious squirrel behavior in the neighborhood. Community Cat News is fun for thoe cat lovers who are always wondering what’s going on in the heads of their furry friends. (Monty just smacked me. He says this show is serious stuff, hard-hitting news. I’ll let you decide.)