Forget beach reads — this summer is all about beach listens.
If you’re a fan of beach reads, you know that these books tend to be easy to read, and can hold your attention for hours while you sit with your toes in the sand and soak up some much-needed vitamin D. But if you’re more the type to take a stroll along the surf and need some auditory stimulation, then allow us to introduce you to beach listens, the podcast versions of your favorite summertime entertainment genres. Whether you’re a fan of thrillers, romance, or comedy, there’s a beach listen that’ll catch anyone’s fancy.
If you’re not sure where to start, we’ve rounded up a stellar selection of fun, info-filled, gripping podcasts that are binge-worthy ways to spend a beach day. Luckily, we’ve got enough selections that if you burn through an entire season in a day, you’ll still have plenty more options to choose from. And the best part? They’re all available in one place: iHeartPodcasts.
The Girlfriends: Our Lost Sister
A true-crime podcast about a group of badass Jewish women in midlife banding together to take justice into their own hands — need we say more? The concept of the podcast’s first season sounds like a thriller novel but it’s all too real: A group meets to bond over their shared ex, Bob Bierenbaum. On the surface, Bob had seemed perfect: he was a doctor, he was wealthy, he owned his own plane. But he was also terribly abusive, and it turned out he had a host of figurative — and literal — skeletons in his closet. The group was aware that Bob’s former wife, Gail Katz, had gone missing decades earlier, and the more the group learned about the “good” doctor, the more determined they became to expose the truth about Bob’s role in her disappearance.
In season two, called The Girlfriends: Our Lost Sister, the ladies are back with another unbelievable tale: During their initial amateur investigation into Gail’s disappearance, a woman’s torso washed up on Staten Island. Although it soon became clear the body was not Gail’s, The Girlfriends never forgot about her. Now they’re determined to figure out who this unidentified woman was, and expose the truth about what really happened to the person they now refer to as Our Lost Sister.
Sixteenth Minute (of Fame)
The internet is a bizarre place, and stand-up comedian Jamie Loftus, who rose to fame as a TV writer and podcaster, knows that better than anyone. Each week, Loftus dives into the wild-but-true stories of people who’ve gone “viral” on the web…and not for the reasons you might think. With episodes like “Guy Who Ate 40 Rotisserie Chickens in Philadelphia” and “30-50 Feral Hogs,” Loftus both reports on and interviews the weird and wonderful characters who’ve been thrust into the virtual spotlight to learn what it really means to be an “internet celebrity.”
More Better with Stephanie and Melissa
If you’re looking for a good-natured listen that will leave you in stitches, this one’s for you. Former Brooklyn Nine-Nine stars and real-life BFFs Stephanie Beatriz and Melissa Fumero host this podcast, where they try to help each other make sense of their own ridiculous lives. By sharing embarrassing and often all-too-relatable stories about their careers, kids, and marriages, the pair work through both serious and lighthearted issues in an attempt to get through them even more better than they had before. But listeners, be warned: If you’re wearing headphones, you might get a few sideways glances when people catch you howling with laughter alone in your beach chair.
Bridgerton: The Official Podcast, Season 3
Is there anything better than a summer romance? Any fan of the hit Netflix series Bridgerton knows the answer to that question. So if you’ve already burned through the third season and are champing at the bit for new details on your favorite fictional hotties, co-host and executive producer Betsy Beers is the best Regency resource around. Just like Lady Whistledown herself, Beers shares some of the juiciest bits of background on ‘Ton’s most scandalous secrets. Then host Gabrielle Collins takes us on an epic episode-by-episode journey, breaking down memorable moments and sharing exclusive details about what’s really happening in those Regency ballrooms…and bedrooms.
Betrayal Season 3
“He, to me, is scarier than Jeffrey Dahmer.” That’s how Stacey Rutherford describes Jason, the man she once believed was the love of her life. Despite the title of episode one — “Storybook Romance” — Stacey and Jason’s life together turned out to be anything but. Season three of the hit true-crime podcast Betrayal introduces us to Stacey Rutherford, a single mom of two teenagers who believes she’s finally found her happy ending when she meets a medical student named Jason in 2015. The pair get married, have two children of their own, and seem to be living the American dream. But six years later, Stacey’s life is turned upside down when she learns about a secret her husband has been keeping — which involves one of her children. The twists and turns in this story play out like a soap opera, including a manhunt, a jailbreak attempt, and a family left in pieces. While this show deals with sexual assault and is not for the faint of heart, Betrayal is ultimately a story about the strength of one mother who’s faced with the ultimate tragedy, and her attempt to rise from the ashes in order to help other women avoid her family’s fate.
