10 Best Social Work Podcasts to Listen to in 2026

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When you’re looking for a social work-related podcast, you’re probably looking for something that will help you in your own career and is actually fun to listen to. 

I know some people aren’t into listening about their job on a podcast outside of work, but social work is a different breed of work. You live your life by the values you practice on the job, and half the time the things you hear in a podcast feel just as relevant to your personal growth as they do your professional growth. 

But no one said you have to listen to social work podcasts outside of work. You could listen to these while doing administrative tasks and some of them even offer free CEs (continuing education hours). 👀

Plus, social workers need communities of other social workers to turn to for support. As you’re busy supporting everyone else in your work, you need someone to also have your back. Podcasts are a great way to find communities like these! 

Add These 10 Must-Listen Social Work Podcasts to Your Playlist

Faith said it best in a past episode of the Social Work to Wealth Podcast when she explained what she learned in her master’s program, “I learned that we work towards systemic change and overcome oppression and exploitation and we call it out when we see it, and that includes our own profession.” 

This is exactly what many of these social work podcasts do. They’ll get you fired up and motivated to take on whatever lies ahead in both your job and life. 

Here are the top podcasts for social workers we found that talk about everything from leveling up to your career to how much you can make and even how to improve your finances.

1. Social Work to Wealth Podcast

Shameless plug for the first podcast on the list! The Social Work to Wealth Podcast is hosted by Taylor and Faith, two licensed clinical social workers that want to challenge the narrative that social workers shouldn’t care about money and shouldn’t expect a high pay. That’s a ridiculous notion and they do a great way of showing that in each new episode of the podcast as they interview other social workers and share transparent salaries and experiences from the field.

What you’ll learn: Tips on how to manage your finances, handle student loans, grow in your career, and achieve financial wellness.

Why it’s worth your time: Taylor and Faith are so fun to listen to and you get a ton of real-world insight from other social work professionals they interview, including what’s happening with some of their financial situations. It’s also a great resource to see what others are making and how they navigate different career trajectories.

2. Social Workers, Rise!

Social Workers, Rise! is hosted by Catherine Moore, LCSW, who after she ran into intense burnout in her job, she realized that social workers need more relationships in the field. Her podcast is the first step to building a community where social workers can come and feel empowered through connection and specialized knowledge.

What you’ll learn: New skills and tools to help you in your career, lessons from other social workers’ stories and her own, and how to get support.

Why it’s worth your time: Catherine has a soothing voice and I love how much of her experience she shares, including things she’s done that got her higher-paying jobs in social work. It’s also great for new graduates looking for career guidance.

3. Save The Therapist – Free CEU Podcast

Save The Therapist is a totally FREE and accessible CE podcast series. It was started with the idea that you shouldn’t have to pay to continue learning and maintain your licenses. Hosted by therapist and educator Tobin Richardson, the podcast dives into topics across social work and therapy with experts in the field, with some of the most popular episode topics being the ethics of AI in counseling, ethics of venture capital in mental health, and grief counseling.

What you’ll learn: You’ll learn almost anything you want that applies to social work and therapy, including career counseling, ethics, chronic pain management, religious trauma, veteran culture, internal family systems, and more.

Why it’s worth your time: Save The Therapist is approved by NBCC and ASWB as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, offering 1 CEU per 30-minute episode and additional reading. You’ll have to register on the site and log in each time to receive your CEUs and certificates for CEUs.

4. The Social Work Bubble Podcast

The Social Work Bubble Podcast is for social workers looking for a career resource that centers experiences from all areas of the profession, including psychotherapy, child protection, private practice, nontraditional roles, and even international social work. Laura Swanson, LCSW, is a therapist who started the podcast to create conversations and community within the social work field to tackle tough topics and provide resources to help social workers thrive.

What you’ll learn: Clinical practice, intervention, ethics, case studies, MSW programs, licensing, and other career guidance for social workers.

Why it’s worth your time: It’s a great resource for social workers at any stage of their career. Students can find episodes that will help them with exams while practicing clinicians can get more insight that will also help them grow at their level.

5. Social Work Rants Podcast

Bas Moreno, LMSW, hosts the Social Work Rants Podcast to give listeners a dose of their world in social work, including personal stories and education for current and future social workers. The podcast features solo episodes and interviews with other social work and mental health professionals on anything from how what’s happening in the government might affect your work to the business side of social work and protecting your peace.

What you’ll learn: Insight from Bas’s 21 years of social work experience, including education from different areas of social work, entrepreneurship, private practice, balancing multiple roles, and navigating career transitions.

Why it’s worth your time: Bas doesn’t shy away from the hard truths of the field and focuses on the real challenges social workers face, like burnout, financial struggles, and holding the NASW accountable.

6. Macro Social Work Your Way

Macro Social Work Your Way is a podcast hosted by Marthea Pitts, MSW, a 3-time award-winning career coach who’s helped over 180 social workers land macro social work jobs. Her podcast helps social workers who feel stuck to reevaluate their careers, and is perfect for those who are tired of direct practice and case management to pivot into policy and other higher-level roles.

What you’ll learn: How to get into macro social work, navigate the job market, treat your career as a business, and realign your life.

Why it’s worth your time: The podcast does a great way of addressing the reality that some social workers end up in careers they never intentionally chose. Marthea has a wealth of knowledge and provides actionable steps in each episode for how to pivot toward work that aligns with how you want to live your life.

7. Why Don’t We Talk About This?

Why Don’t We Talk About This? is hosted by licensed clinical worker and psychotherapist Paula McMillian-Perez and tackles uncomfortable topics that people don’t like to talk about, but definitely should be. The podcast features honest conversations with other social workers about their lived experiences in the profession and also features self care tools like guided meditations and episodes on exploring rest.

What you’ll learn: Different social work careers and how to navigate controversial and uncomfortable topics in the field.

Why it’s worth your time: Paula reminds us that what goes unsaid is too important not to be talked about. It’s essential to ethical informed practice. Without it, we wouldn’t be able to address things like toxic work environments and emotional support.

8. The Social Work Podcast

The Social Work Podcast explores everything in social work from direct practice to policy and field work (and everything that pops up in between). The host, Jonathan Singer, Ph.D., LCSW, interviews experts and researchers about critical topics like suicide, neurobiology, and shared trauma, among many others. One of my favorite episodes was on neurobiology basics, which was just fascinating to me.

What you’ll learn: Interpersonal therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, psychodynamic theory, clinical hypnosis, and other clinical approaches.

Why it’s worth your time: It’s one of the longest-running social work podcasts with over 140 episodes and counting! The clinical approaches they teach are evidence-based and come from big names in the field.

9. Light Up The Couch – CEU Podcast Membership Available

Light Up The Couch is another CEU podcast for social workers, psychologists, therapists, clinical counselors, and addiction counselors. But they aren’t completely free. Light Up The Couch is by Clearly Clinical, a provider of CEU podcasts, and they charge $130 a year for unlimited CEUs. 

What you’ll learn: Knowledge on nuanced topics like neurodivergence, queer couples therapy, cultural narratives of pain, healing across generations, ethical AI, and many more.

Why it’s worth your time: Light Up The Couch is an approved CE provider by the APA, NBCC, ASWB, NAADAC, CCAPP, and CAMFT.

10. Therapy Chat

The Therapy Chat podcast was started back in 2015 by host Laura Reagan, LGSW-C to share what she’s gained from her 20 years of working with trauma survivors in grassroots settings, community mental health, the military, and her group psychotherapy private practice. The podcast has hundreds of episodes on psychotherapy and healing trauma, and is perfect for those looking for deeper connections. 

What you’ll learn: How to understand yourself and your relationships more deeply, how to connect with others from your highest self, and alternatives to talk therapy (like EMDR, brainspotting, and trauma-sensitive yoga).

Why it’s worth your time: Laura herself has developmental trauma and is sensitive to the challenges of healing from abuse, neglect, and loss. You’re learning from someone who truly understands the work from all angles.

Using Podcasts as Career Tools

Podcasts are great career resources that are free and convenient, but what good is all of that if you can’t remember what you learned in the episode you just listened to? For me, I have to sometimes listen to the same episode twice, or I just rewind certain parts to hear them again to take notes. That’s not exactly the easiest thing to do when you’re in the middle of a task, in your car, or even in the shower.

What works for me is anything I want to remember, I add the episode to a podcast-only playlist and find the show notes with any other external sources they link out to for me to come back to later (or I screenshot it to add to my already-overflowing screenshot folder on my phone). 

There are also a few tools out there to help you save important quotes and moments from your favorite episodes like Snipd and Scribbler. Either way, do what works best for you to retain information when listening to podcasts. 

As you dive into these podcasts, start with the Social Work to Wealth Podcast on Apple, Spotify, or YouTube, and don’t forget to join the newsletter for updates!