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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UC Irvine chapter.

Sometimes watching Netflix, Hulu or other forms of TV during a work or study break can get kind of boring or seem like a waste of time and so you might want to switch it up with something new like a podcast. Whether you’re stuck in traffic on your way home from somewhere, need to clean your room, or just need an overall release from everything going on, podcasts help you pass the time and make everything so much more fun. So, to make your search easier, I’ve compiled a list of podcasts from different genres that I’ve been obsessed with and some that I recently discovered. Grab your tea or coffee, sit back and relax, and listen to some of the podcasts as a productive means of procrastination, or alternatively to get your day started. 

Crime Junkie 

“Crime Junkie is a weekly true crime podcast dedicated to giving you a fix. Every Monday, Ashley Flowers will tell you about whatever crime she’s been obsessing over that week in a way that sounds like you’re sitting around talking crime with your best friends. The storytelling is straightforward and free of rabbit holes so the cases stay suspenseful and are easy to follow. If you can never get enough true crime…” Okay, so I’ll admit Crime Junkie isn’t a podcast you can relax while listening to, but also in a weird way it kinda is. Does that make me weird? This is hands down my favorite podcast to listen to on the daily, since it covers cases ranging from murder to conspiracy to missing individuals, all of which keep you in suspense throughout the entirety of the podcast. I could honestly ramble on forever about my love for this podcast, but no one wants that so I’ll let you go ahead and listen to it yourself. 

Lore 

“Lore is an award-winning, critically-acclaimed podcast about true life scary stories. Lore exposes the darker side of history, exploring the creatures, people, and places of our wildest nightmares.” The host and producer is Aaron Mahnke, who is also the author of multiple supernatural thrillers. This podcast explores different topics on the side of history, but with a twist making it more suspenseful and more intriguing which is why it’s one of my favorite podcasts. If you’re into relatively scary stories with some history, I would for sure recommend this podcast for you. I’m someone who will for sure have nightmares after watching a horror movie, but I will say this won’t give you those nightmares, so for sure check it out. 

Courtesy: Burst

Self Love Fix 

“The Self Love Fix podcast is a podcast dedicated to helping young women delve deeper into their inner child to help them cultivate within themselves self-love, self-worth, and high self-esteem. Join Host and Inner Child Healing coach, Beatrice Kamau as you laugh, cry, grow, and learn the truth of who you are and what you deserve.” You already know amongst all the spooky podcasts I recommended I had to give at least one mental health/lifestyle-related podcast recommendation. I recently discovered this podcast, and when I tell you it’s pretty life-changing, I mean it. To start off, it’s such a great podcast to listen to when you wake up in the morning and make your breakfast, and the fact that each episode is like 20 minutes is so nice because it gets right to the point rather than elongating it and losing your attention. It really helps that the podcast isn’t formal at all; it’s like a friend is talking to you about important topics and simultaneously helping you through life.

Anything Goes with Emma Chamberlain

“Appropriately named, anything really does go on this podcast. Thoughts, conversations, and advice on topics from relationships and dealing with failure, to the trials and tribulations of being a cat mom, and ridiculous stories with friends we can all relate to. It’s raw, intimate, and nothing is off-limits (seriously, Anything Goes). It may be serious, it’ll mostly be funny, and it’ll always be entertaining.” I recently started watching this podcast, after giving into its “hype”, and I found is that it’s actually pretty decent. What’s so refreshing about this podcast is that most of the episodes are so casual and relatable you find yourself being like “yes, you get me” in the middle of listening to it…or maybe that’s just me. 

Office Ladies 

“The Office co-stars and best friends, Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey, are doing the ultimate The Office rewatch podcast for you. Each week, Jenna and Angela will break down an episode of The Office and give exclusive behind-the-scenes stories that only two people who were there, can tell you.” For all my fellow The Office enthusiasts, this podcast is an essential you need to listen to. Instead of rewatching the show for the 5th time and losing all that precious time, the podcast allows you to experience it in a more intimate way, with more knowledge on the cast and the production. The hosts bring the comedy of the show into each episode, making the experience feel like you’re watching the show for the first time again.

Fizza Rizvi

UC Irvine '23

Fizza Rizvi is a coffee enthusiast who enjoys spending her free time reading, finding new places to eat with friends, and watching crime tv shows. She is currently pursuing her bachelors in both Psychology and Criminology, Law and Society, with the goal of raising more awareness in society about issues that heavily impact people’s lives.