Normal Gossip

[1] Created by Kelsey McKinney and Alex Sujong Laughlin and hosted since 2024 by Rachelle Hampton, the program features listener-contributed gossip stories that are anonymized and narrated alongside a guest, usually a comedian or journalist.

Named one of the best podcasts of 2022 by Vulture, Time, The Atlantic and Here & Now,[2][3][4][5] Normal Gossip has released seven seasons and garnered more than 10 million listens.

[6] McKinney, a writer and cofounder of Defector, was inspired to create the podcast during the COVID-19 pandemic, when she missed "the fizzy thrill of overhearing a good story at a bar."

[10] The host begins episodes by interviewing guests about their relationship to gossip, then tells them a story, soliciting reactions as the narrative progresses.

The new production team consisted of host Rachelle Hampton and producer Se’era Spragley Ricks, both formerly of the Slate internet culture podcast ICYMI.