Anyone who’s been involved with raising children will tell you that parenting is hard, and almost every parent is looking for the guidance and advice to help make the job that little bit easier. This award goes to the podcasts which are helping parents navigate this life-long task with care and attention, providing support and community to their audiences.
Winner: Parentkind
Over its initial eight-episode run, Parentkind proved to be a very different kind of parenting podcast. Not only does its slick production and beautiful soundscapes set it apart from more DIY parenting projects, but it’s not afraid to cover more taboo topics such as sex work, substance abuse, post-natal depression and infant loss.
The topics are treated with enormous sensitivity, as it aims to make lonely parents feel a little less alone. The stories it tells are all thoroughly engrossing, from the Australian mum who tracked down and fell in love with her daughter’s anonymous sperm donor, to being a fly on the wall as a group of Dads muse on consent.
The finale is especially memorable, as host Maggie Kelly visits a psychiatric facility for new mums suffering from PND — a facility that she was considering checking herself into just months prior. It’s an emotional ride as Kelly interviews patients, psychologists and the hospital’s CEO, while she explores her own experiences of PND through the experiences of others.
