The clue’s in the name: it’s a podcast about grief. But with comedians, so it’s less depressing than it sounds.

For all its laugh out loud moments of black humour (and there are many), Griefcast is unapologetically, unflinchingly raw. In a society that refuses to confront the pain of grief, or indeed the reality of our mortality, Griefcast is a lifeline for those of us without the luxury of ignorance.

Host Cariad Lloyd, a comedian herself, was just 15 when her dad died from pancreatic cancer. She knows how it feels to be marooned on the alien planet ‘Grief’, which is why she closes every episode with four words every bereaved person needs to hear: “You are not alone”. 

If you’re missing spending time with your friends during lockdown, then this is the podcast for you. No topic is off limits for friends Audrey, Tolly and Milena, who will keep you company with their debates on everything from money to relationships.

BBC 5 Live presenter Rachael Bland’s answer to why she started a podcast about cancer was simple: “Because when you talk about it, you normalise it”.

Rachael died from breast cancer last September but her inimitable co-hosts, Deborah James (aka Bowel Babe) and Lauren Mahon (aka Girl Vs Cancer), are sailing their award-winning ship onwards, as per their friend’s request. Rachael’s husband Steve Bland has joined them, sharing his perspective on grief and life as a single dad to four-year-old Freddie.

Whether you have cancer, love somebody who does, or are looking for an insight into what life with this cruel disease is really like, give You, Me and the Big C a spin. It’s the club that nobody wants to join, but it will welcome you with open arms, hand you a glass of Champagne and rant, cry, laugh and dance along with you, every step of the way. 

Poetry that encapsulates what it means to be human can be a lifeline, especially when we’re struggling to connect with those in our social circle. The Poetry Exchange invites ordinary people, and the odd high-profile guest, to talk about the poem that has been a friend to them. In return, they are gifted a bespoke recording of their chosen poem, inspired by the thoughts and feelings they have shared about it.

Each episode is 20-minutes long, so perfect if you’re short on time but need a little pick-me-up. The most recent episode features Rachel Eliza Griffiths talking about Remember by Joy Harjo, and previously discussed poems have included Love by George Herbert, The Guest House by Rumi and Prayer by Carol Ann Duffy.

Elizabeth Day’s famous guests (Jess Phillips, Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Dame Kelly Holmes among them) may be looking back on failure from the dizzy heights of public achievement, but there’s still something reassuring about hearing how, just like us, life hasn’t always gone their way. 

Each episode, Elizabeth gently explores how her interviewee’s failures – some light, others much heavier – have shaped both themselves and their subsequent success.

If you’re already a fan of How To Fail, you’ll be as excited as we were to learn that BBC Radio 5 Live presenters Elis James and John Robins recently launched a podcast called How Do You Cope?, in which they ask household names about the hurdles they have faced in their lives. Listen here.

No Country For Young Women, run by Sadia Azmat and Monty Onanuga, is a podcast that tackles “life, love and work in a white man’s world”. It offers friendly discussion and debate as the pair “work out how we balance our identities as British women of colour”.

Primary school teachers and mental health nurses aren’t the kinds of people who end up in rehab. Or are they? New BBC podcast, Hooked, follows “two women of substance”, Melissa Rice and Jade Wye, as they go to war with stereotypes in a bid to show that anyone can be a drug addict or an alcoholic – and recover. Richard Bacon (he who got sacked from Blue Peter for cocaine use in the 90s) was their first celebrity guest and they’re speaking to a host of psychological experts, too.

“I can’t advise, suggest or diagnose. I thought knitting would keep me from drinking, so clearly I’m not qualified,” says Melissa, 31. “I’m simply a person who spectacularly swan-dived from ‘grace’ and hit every shameful branch along the way. Someone willing to talk about recovery without clichés and self-indulgent waffle.”

Melissa and Jade are on a mission to inspire anybody concerned about addictive behaviour to seek help. If that’s you, or somebody you care about, this podcast makes for supportive – and maybe even life-saving – listening. 

IVF is a grueling process physically and emotionally, yet still the exhausting trials of trying for a baby you really want, and might not be able to have, are largely hidden behind closed doors. Co-hosted by journalist pals Emma and Gabby, Big Fat Negative throws those doors open, covering everything from early menopause and miscarriage, to egg collection and adoption.

Kat Brown, a writer and a former guest on the podcast, told us that it’s one of few to “really acknowledge and own the frustration and misery” of the “absolutely rubbish” IVF process.

“The hosts are honest, sympathetic, and thoughtful,” she says. “Their guests run the gamut of the infertility experience, so you have episodes from almost every cultural and parenting perspective, which helps hammer home the fact that it isn’t only you having a tough time trying to get pregnant.”

One in six UK couples experience fertility problems. That’s a lot of people in need of this podcast.

Insomniacs, unite. This podcast isn’t here to entertain; it’s here to send you to sleep. Creator Drew ‘Scooter’ Ackerman, himself an insomniac, tells weird stories – “the good type of weird” – that are rambling enough to distract anxious listeners from their racing thoughts, and help them nod off.

Drew doesn’t claim to be a psychologist or sleep science expert, but he’s racked up over 70 million downloads across 650 episodes, so he must be doing something right. Indeed, a huge online community has been built around Sleep With Me, with many insomniacs taking comfort in the knowledge that they aren’t the only ones tossing and turning.

“I listen to it religiously to get to sleep every night,” says insomniac Taylor Heyman. “It’s reassuring to know there’s a crowd of other insomniacs listening too.”

Sometimes the best antidote to feeling alone is something so relatable and funny it makes you belly laugh (and, ahem, splurt your drink all over yourself). Newish comedy podcast On Our Plates does that, and then some, serving up wry observational commentary that’s sure to have 20-somethings smiling in recognition.

“We love the idea of people feeling like they’re having a chat with their pals when listening, no matter where they’re at in life,” say hosts Laura Scott and Sonia Aguado.

They cover everything from getting over a break-up and quarter-life crises, to body image, breadcrumbing and the hilarity of reading your teenage diaries.