7 Chronic Illness themed Podcasts to check out.

A wooden slatted table with an open box of coloured oil pastel crayons. A hand is shown holding a red crayon and drawing a love heart on a postcard sized piece of paper.I love podcasts and was a really early adopter. At the start I mainly listened to ABC Radio National programs that could be downloaded from the ABC website, our public radio network here in Australia.   I’d then transfer the episodes onto my tiny MP3 player that was built into a USB stick. Things have changed a lot and we are spoiled for choice or in my case, sometimes overwhelmed by the number of good shows available to listen too.

Listening to podcasts about chronic illness may not be something you think you are interested in but I’d encourage you to give it a go sometime. There are sure to be times when you want to escape thinking about chronic illness and that is totally fine.

There will be other times when turning to the following podcasts will make you feel less alone.  To feel that there are other people out there who know what it is like to have a chronic illness. You may not always have the same story or beliefs but hearing about people living good lives with chronic illness can be a really positive experience.  A lot of the podcasts feel like you are sitting with friends listening to them chat about their lives which can be nice.

These are podcasts I listen to, some I listen to every episode, and others I read the episode description and pick and choose episodes.

If most of the titles are new to you pick and choose which episodes to try. After one or two episodes of a podcast show you will get a feel if you want to listen to everything or try a different podcast next.

Just a Spoonful “Just A Spoonful is a monthly conversation where the guests are living with chronic illness/disability and the host is exhausted. It was going to be weekly but I’m too f***ing tired. Everyone you hear speaking on this podcast is a young person living with an impairment of some sort. Each episode, I have a longform conversation with a different guest, talking about their daily life, their interests, their illness or disability, and what keeps them going. We talk about how we live, and what we live for. Hosted by Kaitlyn Plyley in Melbourne, Australia.” Note this podcast is no longer being updated but is definitely worth listening to.

Subscribe via iTunes https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/just-a-spoonful/id927826969?mt=2

Autoimmune Hour on Life Interrupted Radio
“Empowering you to thrive after an autoimmune diagnosis with courageous success stories and expert tips and solutions. Your host, Sharon Sayler through her own experiences with a rare medical condition and the shortcomings she experienced with the medical community in understanding what it’s like to have a chronic and complicated medical condition set out to teach others how to be courageous self-advocates so they too can turn life transitions into triumphs. “ http://lifeinterruptedradio.com/

Subscribe via iTunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/autoimmune-hour-on-life-interrupted-radio-sharon-sayler/id987627269?mt=2

In Sickness + In Health
“In Sickness + In Health is an audio podcast, hosted by Cara Gael, about our relationships with our bodies, and issues at the intersections with chronic illness, disability, healthcare, and mortality. It is a show where the personal is political, and where bodily autonomy, healthcare, and disability rights are considered human rights without question.”

Subscribe via iTunes https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/in-sickness-in-health/id1050505999?mt=2

The Accessible Stall
“We’re just two people trying to untangle the giant web of disability. https://www.theaccessiblestall.com/different-disability-podcast/
The Accessible Stall is a disability podcast hosted by Kyle Khachadurian and Emily Ladau that keeps it real about issues within the disability community. Because we each have different disabilities and mobility levels, we approach everything we talk about with two unique viewpoints, offering our listeners a fresh insight into how differences in disability can color your experiences and perspectives. And we never shy away from offering our honest opinion. Even if they go against the grain of the disability community at large, we always speak our minds.
Having a podcast that talks about disability is actually pretty rare. That aside, we’re not here to amplify the status quo opinions of the greater disability community. Instead, our disability podcast challenges views and expectations. We ask tough questions that try to dig deep into the why behind the issues. Of course things like ableism and inspiration porn are bad, but why? The answers may not be so obvious to everyone – especially people who don’t identify as disabled. So, instead of just echoing the notions of the disability community, we break them down and work on making sense of difficult topics. And, as it happens, some of our most interesting episodes are the results of us confronting our own personal beliefs and biases while recording.”

Subscribe via iTunes https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/the-accessible-stall/id1105184406?mt=2

Fully Sick
“Fully Sick is a podcast sharing the individual experiences of creative people living with chronic illness or disability.” Jenny O’Keefe lives in country Victoria, Australia. Read this terrific article by Jenny about her podcast http://www.catherinedeveny.com/fully-sick-jenny-okeefe/ Note this podcast is no longer being updated but is definitely worth listening to.

Subscribe via iTunes https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/fully-sick-podcast/id1116919117?mt=2

Ouch: Disability Talk BBC
“Interviews and discussion with a personal and often humorous touch. With guest presenters plus Kate Monaghan and the Ouch blog team http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02r6yqw. Ouch is available exclusively online and goes out every week.”

Subscribe via iTunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/ouch-disability-talk/id137157388?mt=2

Sick Boy
“Sickboy Podcast is hilarious, ridiculously insightful and absolutely determined to break down the stigma associated with illness and disease! The show started with three best friends who recognized that when faced with difficult situations, illnesses and diseases, people tighten up, they get awkward, and they simply don’t know what to say. Taking the lead from Jeremie’s life long battle with Cystic Fibrosis, the boys help people understand that sometimes the best way to deal with illness, disease and life is simply to laugh. Join the conversation every Monday” http://sickboypodcast.com

Subscribe via iTunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/sickboy/id1034035933?mt=2

I’d love to hear which of the podcasts I have mentioned you enjoy too.  Please let me know of any other podcasts I should have a listen to as well.

I have several other posts about podcasts

Podcast Articles

and about ebooks and audiobooks

eBook and audiobook articles

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