Giving Grief a Voice: How Grief Focused Podcasts Help Us Heal

We often learn to navigate life after loss in hushed tones, which can make it feel like you’re going through a pain that no one around you really gets. It becomes a solitary journey with no end in sight. In a world adamant on pushing through and hiding your emotions, grief focused podcasts feel like a breath of fresh air. They give the experience of having your pain acknowledged by someone who has walked a similar path. They foster something unexpected, communities of belonging for people who often feel like strangers in their own lives.

The Power of Grief-Focused Podcasts

Grief focused podcasts have normalised conversations about loss and healing. They are not just entertainment, but a form of companionship, a source of validation, and a catalyst for changing the narrative around grief. Giving Grief a Voice highlighted the importance of talking about grief and how these conversations are creating vital communities of understanding and fostering a sense of belonging for those who thought they were alone. When hosts open up about their real, unfiltered experiences, the sleepless nights, the sudden triggers, the moments when grief sneaks up in everyday activities, it reminds us that grief has never been a linear process. It's messy, unpredictable, and deeply personal. 

Creating a Safe Space

Unlike a conversation where you might feel the pressure to perform or hide your true feelings, a podcast offers an intimate, non-judgmental space. When everything feels uncertain, even hearing someone else’s story can bring a strange kind of calmness. Listening to people share the unfiltered truth about grief reminds us we don’t always have to bottle up our feelings. It gives people permission to feel their own emotions without beating themselves up. 

Normalizing Conversations About Grief

One of the speakers, Nina Rodriguez, spoke beautifully about the role of grief-focused podcasts, calling them ‘a platform for all forms of grief and loss’ and ‘a place for people thirsty for places like this where they could share their honest lived experience of loss.’ Similarly Lisa Keefauver mentioned that the purpose of her podcast has been to ‘change the narratives of grief one conversation at a time’. Lisa’s podcast has helped people realize that grief is ‘hard’ but not a ‘problem to be fixed’. She put into words what so many listeners have felt, the huge sense of relief that comes with realizing your grief isn’t wrong. 

The panelists challenged the common belief that grief only comes with death. They reminded us that grief can take many forms like losing a pet, going through a major life transition, or the end of a relationship among many others. Healing through grief isn’t about moving step by step through the five stages. It’s more about acknowledging the pain and emotions as they come. Everyone’s experience with grief is different, and it’s important to recognize that grieving is a deeply personal process. Some people may pull away, others may find themselves laughing and both are valid responses. Matt Gilhooly affirmed this by sharing his own experience of grieving. He said he often had to remind himself that it’s okay to laugh while grieving, and that doing doesn’t make him any less of a person. 

In the same vein, Nina Rodgrieuz talked about the difference between grief and grieving. Grief is a universal constant experience. It’s something we all carry and stays with us throughout. While grief is something everybody has to face one way or another, grieving is the process of moving through the pain. It’s ever evolving and a unique process to all. Nina described grieving as a process over which we have agency meaning we can choose to act how we feel and process what we are feeling. This perspective means we can choose how to process our grief and emotions by taking steps which we find are beneficial for us. Leaning into support systems, finding and sticking to new rituals and discovering moments of joy and gratitude amongst the sadness are just some of the ways one can choose to act. Nina’s words helped people understand that they can move forward and live a life filled with joyous moments not despite the grief but with grieving in a way that feels authentic to them. 

Understanding and processing grief is not a one size fit all approach and neither are the grief focused podcasts. These podcasts talk about the duality of grief, the different ways to cope with it and the various experiences that the hosts and guests bring about when talking about grief in general and about their own experiences. These podcasts for the panelists have served as their own personal journal to document and process their own grief journey. Tara Accardo explained that as a grief and soul purpose coach she coaches people on how to process their grief but it's also much more than that. She talks about how her podcast touches on many different types of loss, beyond death, such as moving to a new place or the end of a friendship or relationship. 

The Purpose Behind Grief Podcasts

Creating a podcast about grief is never about business or chasing recognition. It’s about opening up honest conversations around loss and breaking the silence that so often surrounds it. Grief naturally stirs up questions like, “Why is this happening?” or “Why do I feel this way?” That's exactly what came through when these podcast hosts shared their stories. Each of them had found themselves in that awful place where you feel completely alone. Whether they were dealing with losing parents, siblings, spouses, or facing life-changing diagnoses and traumatic experiences, the speakers put their everything in speaking to their audience and breaking the stigma around grief narratives. One lesson that stood out at the event was the importance of integrity when tackling sensitive topics in a podcast. The conversation moved beyond the practical side of launching a podcast to the greater responsibility of creating a safe space for healing. Authenticity and consistency matter more than a perfectly polished script. 

Carrying Grief with Compassion

Grief-focused podcasts do more than tell stories, they create communities, normalize emotions, and offer guidance for navigating loss. By embracing honesty and authenticity, they allow the listeners to process grief in ways that feel personal and real. These grief focused podcasts serve as reminders that processing grief has never been linear. It's a messy and unpredictable journey. There should be no rush or a set deadline when it comes to grieving. Grieving authentically with moments of joy is what matters the most. 

About the speakers

Grant Garry is an award-winning filmmaker, actor, singer, and Certified Grief Educator. He is the director of the documentary Meet Me Where I Am - available on Amazon Prime, Tubi, and Apple TV.  He currently hosts the podcast Where I Am on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Amazon Music. 

Lisa Keefauver is a social worker, widow, cancer survivor, TEDx and keynote speaker, grief guide, top-rated podcast host and author of Grief is a Sneaky Bitch. 

Nina Rodriguez is creator of Grief and Light, a grief guide, and host of the Grief and Light podcast born after the sudden loss of her only sibling, Yosef, as an authentic exploration of grief and life after loss. Beyond the podcast, Nina extends her heart-centered support through The Community, monthly circles, 1:1 grief tending, speaking engagements, active presence on social media, and events. 

Tara Accardo is a Grief and Soul Purpose Coach and host of the Life With Grief Podcast. After losing her parents to cancer within six months of each other and navigating a traumatic birth experience, her journey of grieving led her to create Losses Become Gains—a community for fellow grievers that serves tools, resources, inspiration, and guidance on how to navigate grief, loss, and moving forward in life with both in tow. 

Matt Gilhooly (he/him) is the creator, host, and producer of The Life Shift Podcast, a storytelling series that explores the pivotal moments that shape who we become.Through weekly conversations with guests from all walks of life, he invites honest, vulnerable storytelling about grief, identity, resilience, and transformation.