It’s ironic that dating can be a lonely experience. For anyone who has to balance a demanding career, a busy social life, and any number of other passions, finding someone else on your level can be a thankless solo journey leading you to reenter your relationship with Netflix.
Connecting with the stories of others is a great way to motivate yourself to keep looking, and dating podcasts can provide a wealth of information and inspiration.
With true love stories, real talk about intimacy, or advice from the LGBTQ community, here are 14 dating podcasts that will hopefully keep you from a series of mind-numbing first date conversations and deliver you the One you seek.
Modern Love
The Modern Love podcast, a spinoff of the Modern Love column in The New York Times, is a favorite among the New York elite. Following a unique format, the podcast invites actors, authors, and influencers in the arts to read essays and stories submitted by everyday users.
Dear Sugar
In every episode of Dear Sugar, best-selling author Cheryl Strayed and her co-host, Steve Almond, read and answer letters from people from all walks of life. They’re not afraid to tackle difficult issues, answering questions on loneliness, dating as a single parent, overcoming jealousy and finding your sense of worth.
While Dear Sugar ended in 2018, the advice is timeless and universal. Since there’s no sequential order, you can browse the episodes and find a topic that speaks to you.
Savage Lovecast
If you get easily embarrassed talking about sex and intimacy, Savage Lovecast will desensitize you — and quickly. Answering a handful of calls on each episode, Dan Savage is ready to cover any topic, including many NSFW.
Whether it’s having a sex addiction, reconciling with a partner after cheating or navigating LGBTQ dating, this podcast opens up real conversations and shares endless nuggets of wisdom on love and modern relationships.
This Is Why You’re Single
Ready for a straightforward and hilarious conversation about modern dating? This Is Why You’re Single is hosted by comedy writers Laura Lane and Angela Spera, who began collaborating on sketch comedy after meeting at an improv theater.
The podcast confronts the hard truths about dating in the digital age, using real-world dating stories as launchpads for practical conversations. Laura and Spera’s advice is real, practical and relatable. There’s also an eponymous book that tackles many of the same topics.
Nancy
Nancy is one of today’s leading podcasts documenting the modern queer experience. Tackling topics like coming out, sex toys, growing up trans, and finding love by speaking up, Nancy somehow manages to be sad, funny and uplifting – and all at the same time!
We also like Nancy for its no-frills approach to politics and society. The LGBTQ community, with its civil rights constantly under attack, needs more unification and support than ever and Nancy blazes the trail with wit, ferocity, and class.
Date/able
This podcast is specifically geared toward the young professional dater, for whom dating can get frustrating and lonely. Date/able shows its listeners that there are others facing these same issues.
Better yet, listeners can submit their stories, questions, and experiences (anonymously or publicly) for discussion on the air. If you’re ready for stories that are honest, heartbreaking, and hilarious, don’t miss Date/able.
I Do Podcast
Despite its title, the I Do Podcast covers much more than marriage. In fact, it offers incredible advice that can be applicable to people seeking or entering new relationships too. It helps its listeners tap into their own issues and consider what might be keeping them from healthy, happy relationships.
Past episodes have included how to deal with rejection in romantic relationships, how to identify whether you have narcissistic habits, and how to address honesty and conflict resolution.
Dating While Black
Taking aim at the often uncomfortable discussion of race in the context of dating, Dating While Black offers a realistic look at the challenges faced by many people in their 20s and 30s. Recent episodes of Dating While Black have discussed topics like limiting yourself to a type, how to date effectively and what it means to have (or encounter) emotional baggage. If you need something uplifting and funny to accompany you on your commute, give this podcast a listen.
LOVE SEX DESIRE
Speaker, writer, and personal coach Susana Frioni discusses all things driving and halting desire in our daily lives. LOVE SEX DESIRE takes a gentler, more sophisticated approach to topics like intimacy, consent, attraction, and sexual pleasure.
Fironi interviews life coaches, bestselling authors, psychotherapists, and other experts for a well-rounded perspective on dating today. Her ultimate goal is to find out what it really takes to create a thriving partnership — and she invites her listeners along for the journey.
Why Won’t You Date Me?
Hosted by comedian, actress and writer Nicole Byer, Why Won’t You Date Me? offers comedic relief for those feeling lonely. Byer invites her exes and past flings to the show, asking them about why the relationship ended. She also invites on guests to talk about their dating life and, without hesitation, asks them whether or not they’d date her. The result is a fresh and hilarious approach to singledom that will have you laughing till the very end.
Where Should We Begin?
Psychotherapist and bestselling author Esther Perel hosts Where Should We Begin? an intimate podcast on relationships. Perel interviews real couples about their relationship issues, successes, and heartbreaks throughout the years.
By examining the love lives of a varied range of people, this podcast sheds light on issues considered too taboo or impolite to talk about in everyday life.
Making Gay History
Making Gay History sheds light on the most influential gay activists of the current era. Each episode documents the seldom recognized life efforts of courageous and devoted LGBTQ civil rights leaders. While not directly about relationships, this podcast offers endless inspiration.
U Up?
Betches Media presents the U Up? podcast, hosted by Betches founder Jordana Abraham and comedian Jared Freid. This podcast does a great job of investigating male and female perspectives on modern dating. It sheds light on what it means to use today’s dating apps, how hookups make us feel, and why relationships come to an end.
The Heart
Although no longer in production, The Heart podcast has years of episodes on life, love, relationships, and becoming your best self. It is one of the foremost podcasts discussing these topics, and we love.
With its artistic and off-beat approach to love, The Heart’s archives are organized by category and listeners can sort through topics like sexual abuse, breaking up, body positivity, and being queer in a Christian family.
May your listening lead you swiftly to love.