Best podcasts to listen to when you need a pick me up

With the news of another national lockdown hitting the United Kingdom, Covid-19 not looking like it's going anywhere anytime soon, and the violent storming of Capitol Hill on Wednesday, I reckon we could all use a pick me up. And whenever I need cheering up I turn to podcasts.

You can listen to these podcasts when you're walking down the street (and get strange looks because you're chuckling loudly to yourself), or when you're in your kitchen drinking your morning coffee. These are my go-to 4 podcasts. They're feel good, funny and guaranteed to lift your spirits in these chaotic times.

If you fancy having a natter about food with celebrity guests - Table Manners with Jessie Ware

Listening to the mother daughter duo Jessie and Lennie eat delicious food and chat to amazing celebrity guests around their dinner table is guaranteed to lift your mood aaaand make you a bit hungry. The hosts lay the table, fill the glasses and spill the tea with guests from the music industry, politics and TV. With lots of oversharing you'll get more than you bargained for, but who wouldn't want to know everything when you're talking to guests like Dolly Parton, Joe Lycett and Nick Grimshaw.

For when you miss going to live comedy shows - The Guilty Feminist

"I’m a feminist but… one time I went on a women’s rights march, and I popped into a department store to use the loo, and I got distracted trying out face cream. And when I came out the march was gone."

In each podcast the host, comedian Deborah Frances-White, and guests share their hilariously relatable "I'm a feminist but" stories to talk feminism and the hypocrisies and insecurities which undermine their feminist principles in the 21st century through panels and stand up. Engaging, entertaining and informative, a brilliant combination of standup comedy and feminism.

At times when you need a reminder that everyone fails sometimes- How to Fail with Elizabeth Day

At a time when nothing seems to be going to plan, listening to a podcast that celebrates the things that haven't gone right is surprisingly soothing. Each week Elizabeth Day explores a new guests' failures and what they taught them about how to succeed better in the future. A personal favourite episode is the Bonus Episode with guest Gloria Steinem!

Listen to a son read his dad's unimaginably cringeworthy erotic novel with his 2 best friends - My Dad Wrote a Porno

If you somehow haven't listened to this podcast before you are in for a treat. It's an oldie, but a goldie. Poor Jamie Morton found out his retired builder dad wrote a porno and couldn't help but turn it into a podcast with his two best friends and I am eternally grateful for it. The three friends read a chapter each episode and you can't help but cringe with laughter throughout. Imagine reading your dad's terribly written erotic novel out-loud to the world. Here's a little teaser of the kind of mind-boggling writing of Rocky Flinstone (the dads' stage name).

"Your reputation precedes you, Ms. Blumenthal. The second I saw your tits in the wing mirror, I knew it was the queen of pots and pans."

- xo