Podcast Playlist

7 Stylish podcasts on beauty

Learn the fake science behind anti-aging products, secrets from Marilyn Monroe and how to avoid body shamers in this week's episode on beauty.
(The Associated Press)

Seven podcasts that focus on more than just the superficial.

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Seven podcasts that focus on more than just the superficial. Featuring: Stuff Mom Never Told You, The Rotunda, Sawbones, Science For The People, Black Girls Talking, PBS American Masters Podcast, Fugitive Waves.

1. Stuff Mom Never Told You

"Apparently I've been washing my face all wrong. I just, like, do it all at once and swish my hands all around my face. I think I have a problem now that I say it out loud." — Cristen Conger on Stuff Mom Never Told You

The fascinating and frequently gross history of women fighting wrinkles. Like Cleopatra bathing in the milk of a thousand donkeys. 

2. The Rotunda

"As soon as I saw that you can [compete] and still have a bold voice, even against the person who owns the pageant I was like, 'man this is the real deal.'" — Miss Tallahassee on Politics and Beauty Pageants

Recently crowned Lauren Calmet speaks out against Donald Trump's past role as owner of beauty pageants. Plus, she addresses the growing trend of beauty queens becoming politicians.

3. Sawbones

"The Egyptians felt like in the afterlife you look exactly as you look on earth... they didn't want you to be mistaken for someone else." — Dr. Sydnee McElroy on Sawbones

Cosmetic surgery during ancient Egypt was never intended for those trying feel alive. Rather, it was arranged for those who were already dead.

4. Science For The People

"What a company will do is take their regular moisturizer and put in some anti-aging sounding ingredients... and call it an anti-aging product." — Perry Romanowski on the cosmetics industry

A chemist debunks the marketing and fake science behind beauty and personal care products.

5. Black Girls Talking

"I think I look good. I really don't care what anybody else thinks about it. Everybody else seems to be fine with me. So that's it!" — Aurelia Belfield on body image

Three friends talk intimately about the differences in body image between white and black culture and why we should all be talking about our bodies all the time.

6. PBS American Masters Podcast

"[Marilyn Monroe] had always said, 'I feel like I'm a creation of men, and women don't like me'." — Gloria Steinem on beauty icon Marilyn Monroe.

Filmmaker Gail Levin interviews activist Gloria Steinem on the surprisingly important role Marilyn Monroe played during the feminist revolution.

7. Fugitive Waves

"When I asked how she came to be Shirley, she told the most harrowing story of her passage to America as a young girl." — The Kitchen Sisters on their Vietnamese manicurist

Vietnamese immigrants who train to be manicurists not only acquire a new set of professional skills but a new identity as well.


What beauty podcasts do you recommend? We'd especially love to hear your recommendations on male beauty. Send us an e-mail, tweet us @PodcastPlaylist, or find us on Facebook.

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