Massachusetts Is Home to One of the World’s Most Popular Podcasts

A friendly woman in Boston loves you and believes in your ability to change your life.

Her name is Mel Robbins, and she's the host of one of the world's most popular shows. The Mel Robbins Podcast regularly tops the charts, connecting with millions who want to build confidence and be happier. As of this writing, it's ranked No. 10 on Apple Podcasts, sandwiched between Morbid at No. 9 and Wiser Than Me With Julia Louis-Dreyfus at No. 11.

Robbins gives compassionate but no-nonsense advice, interviews leading self-help experts and shares real, unfiltered, teachable moments from her life for a loyal audience twice weekly. An expert on motivation and habits in her own right, she produces the show from a studio in Boston.

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That's right. One of the most listened-to podcasts on the planet is a Massachusetts original.

The Journey to The Mel Robbins Podcast

Robbins, a Michigan native, worked as a lawyer and TV commentator before landing success in life coaching. Offering science-backed, actionable takeaways for people who are stuck or struggling, she reframes obstacles as opportunities, challenges as gifts. That's because she has mastered the art.

She frequently refers to 2008 as a turning point in her life. She and her husband, Chris, were hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt. She was drinking to numb the stress. One night, she saw a rocket launch on TV and had an epiphany. "Tomorrow, I'm going to launch myself out of bed like a rocket." Rather than wake up and allow misery to paralyze her, she'd beat her Debbie Downer brain by counting from 5 to 1 and taking action. The decision changed her life, prompting her to write The 5 Second Rule.

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A syndicated daytime talk show followed, with Robbins commuting weekly from her suburban Boston home to New York City to film it — the Mel Robbins Show wrapped in early 2020 after one season. The High 5 Habit, a New York Times bestseller, followed. The mother of three launched the podcast, a longtime dream, in 2022.

Mel Robbins Podcast at Home in Boston

Since then, Robbins has done deep-dive interviews with some of the world's leading authorities on what it takes to be happier and more successful. IT Cosmetics founder and self-made billionaire Jamie Kern Lima, former monk Jay Shetty and Tal Ben-Shahar, who taught the most popular class in Harvard University history (Positive Psychology), are among the guests in her library of 200-plus episodes.

The show is produced largely out of a new studio Robbins had built in the heart of Boston. She also records episodes from her home and wherever she ends up in her travels. The result is a casual closeness with her audience that not every podcast can match.

"In case no one else tells you, I love you and believe in your ability to change your life," she tells listeners at the end of each episode.

The consistently strong podcast rankings she gets show millions love her right back.