From learning more about American rapper and songwriter Eve, to listening to the former First Lady of the United States Michelle Obama chat to her brother Craig Robinson about their working-class upbringing, there are a lot of insightful conversations in this week’s podcast picks.

1. IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson

Streaming platform: All streaming platforms

Genre: Relationships

Would you ever start a podcast with your sibling? Well, it’s what the former First Lady of the United States Michelle Obama has done with her big brother Craig Robinson.

IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson is a new podcast, produced by Higher Ground Productions – a media company founded by the 44th US President Barack Obama and his wife in 2018 – is where the brother and sister duo will use their unique experiences and candid perspectives to help listeners work through their dilemmas about anything from relationships and parenting to financial planning.

Each week they will have these honest conversations with a special guest or expert, who will help them share some practical advice through their personal anecdotes.

To launch the podcast series, Obama and Robinson released two impactful episodes, one with just themselves and the second featuring American actress, writer and entrepreneur Issa Rae.

At the start of the first episode, Michelle stresses that they aren’t experts on anything other than the lives they have lived, but what they do have is a lot of opinions, hence the podcast name IMO (short for In My Opinion).

The pair go on to speak about their unique dynamic as brother and sister, the realities of their working-class upbringing and so much more.

(By Yolanthe Fawehinmi)

2. Loose Women: The Podcast

Streaming platform: All streaming platforms

Genre: Wellbeing and life

Before getting into why young people are buying anti-ageing products, Scottish television presenter Kaye Adams and English singer and presenter Frankie Bridge address the underlying tension in their relationship dynamic.

After clearing that up, Bridge talks about why she worries about ageing all the time, even though she is grateful for life. She talks about how being in the public eye from such a young age – she was part of pop group S Club Juniors and then girl band The Saturdays – has impacted how she views getting older.

She goes on to talk about British actress Millie Bobby Brown – who recently shared a video on Instagram, asking people to stop commenting on how she looks and dresses – facing scrutiny as a young woman in her early 20s.

Bridge also shares how she felt receiving attention whilst being pregnant when she was in The Saturdays, the pressure for women to “snap back” and why it made her so self-conscious.

The pair speak about the moment in their lives when getting older became a big issue for them and what has helped them navigate this stage of their anxiety as women.

(By Yolanthe Fawehinmi)

3. I’m So Not Over ItStreaming platform: All streaming platforms

Genre: Comedy and history

I’m So Not Over It is a comedy history podcast about the history you might actually remember.

Every week, comedy writers Gareth Gwynn and Esyllt Sears talk about a different month in history, that could be anywhere between the mid-Seventies to the present day.

Episodes include interviews with case studies who lived through the specific period they are discussing, to see how it has impacted the way they live their lives today.

But in this week’s episode – March 1995 (Ooh, Aargh! Cantona!) – Gwynn and Sears talk about when French actor and former footballer Eric Cantona was sentenced to community service, after assaulting a Crystal Palace fan earlier that year in January with a fly-kick.

Considering what a listener’s attention span could be like, the pair ran through the details of what became massive news at the time – even for those who had never seen a football match – within 20 minutes.

(By Yolanthe Fawehinmi)

4. Balanced Black Girl

Streaming platform: All streaming platforms

Genre: Wellbeing

When personal trainer and nutrition coach Les Alfred met author and political advisor Alencia Johnson at the AfroTech Conference, a digital hub for Black S.T.E.M professionals and entrepreneurs at the end of 2024, she was keen to have Johnson come on her podcast, Balanced Black Girl.

In 2018, Alfred was frustrated about feeling isolated and founded the podcast and blog with the same name. Since then, the podcast has become a place where black women can learn from experts and people in their community about everything from wellness, health and personal development.

In this week’s episode, Alfred talks to Johnson about how to create change without burning out; Johnson’s new book Flip the Tables: The Everyday Disruptor’s Guide to Finding Courage and Making Change – which is out now – and how 2025 has been so far.

They went on to talk about decision fatigue – which is when you feel tired of making more decisions – what is bringing Johnson joy at the moment, and why she mentioned American singer-songwriter Beyoncé in her new book.

(By Yolanthe Fawehinmi)

Spotlight on…

5. Mad, Sad & Bad with Paloma Faith

Streaming platform: All streaming platforms

Genre: Entertainment and wellbeing

Each week, British singer and songwriter Paloma Faith welcomes a guest into her home, based in London’s Hackney, to talk about what makes them mad, sad and bad and what they’ve learnt from those experiences.

Before launching Mad, Sad & Bad with Paloma Faith, produced by JamPot Productions, Faith had been called all of these things. But instead of letting it define her, she decided to own it and make a podcast where she can talk to her favourite actors, comedians, musicians, and thinkers about how they’ve handled having these emotions at pivotal moments in their lives.

Up next is American rapper, actress and singer-songwriter Eve – which was a bit of a “pinch me” moment for the host – who talks about the genesis of her music career, her relationship with her brothers, why she still hates being called crazy or aggressive – especially as a black woman.

Eve went on to talk about when she found herself in a “black hole” in her career and battling depression. As a result, she developed a drinking problem and got a DUI (driving under the influence offence).

Mad, Sad & Bad with Paloma Faith invites listeners into her world, while her guests open up in her home.

(By Yolanthe Fawehinmi)