Here Are the Top Picks for This Year’s Songs of the Summer

The Best Spotify Audiobooks For Moms

Choosing Family: A Memoir of Queer Motherhood and Black Resistance by Francesca T. Royster

Francesca T. Royster details her experience being a Black, Queer mom in Choosing Family: A Memoir of Queer Motherhood and Black Resistance in a riveting way. Along with her wife Annie, Francesca adopts a little Black girl and they begin navigating what it means to choose your family. From detailing the long adoption process to understanding what it means to be a mother, Francesca examines how her experiences have allowed her to be open to something other than the traditional nuclear family.

Narrated by Sarah Palmero.

Chouette by Claire Oshetsky

Tiny knew from the moment she was pregnant with Chouette that she'd be different. She felt it throughout her pregnancy and stands correct in her assumptions when her daughter is born. She works overtime to make sure Chouette wants for nothing, but it seems like her efforts are in vain.

Convinced that she'd rather learn how to care for a child whose nature is to be free and wild, Tiny doubles down on her stance to love her unconditionally. Confronted by the knowledge her husband is trying to find a way to make Chouette as normal as possible, Tiny's love and devotion to her daughter are relentlessly tested.

Narrated by Julia Whelan.

More: Life on the Edge of Adventure and Motherhoodby Majka Burhardt

Majka Burhardt was known for going on rock and ice climbing expeditions with her husband, but her pregnancy caused her to slow down in ways she was unwilling to. Knowing that things will be different from here on out, Majka starts the process of grieving the life she had before entering motherhood.

Although she eventually goes back to work, she constantly feels torn between being there for her twins and what she used to choose without a second thought. Also, she and her husband Peter struggle to find a sense of balance with the addition of children.

It's an honest and raw look at one mother's journey as she works to understand how to navigate being a wife, mom, and working woman. Narrated by Majka Burhardt.

Honey, Baby, Mine by Laura Dern, Diane Lad and Reese Witherspoon

Laura Dern and her mother Diane Ladd peel back the layers of life, love, and more in Honey, Baby, Mine by having honest conversations. Stemming from an illness that plagued Diane's lungs, their conversations were born on the long walks that were meant to help her focus on other things. Daring to approach their conversations with open hearts and cover things that most mothers and daughters stray away from. The more Laura and her mother Diana share, the more their already close bond strengthens.

Honey, Baby, Mine is a recollection of those conversations and memories. Narrated by Laura Dern and Diane Ladd.

Interesting Facts About Space by Emily Austin

Although Interesting Facts About Space isn't completely about motherhood, it's an excellent listen for moms who want a break from things that talk about everything that comes with it.

Enid has an obsession with anything related to space and can share many facts about it. It's part of what moves her and keeps her going. Unfortunately, other areas of her life are all over the place. She spends most of her time listening to true crime podcasts and swiping right on dating apps that end in fruitless relationships.

Her relationship with her family is shaky at best, but she decides to be more intentional about her interactions with her half-sisters after their dad dies. It's around this time she unintentionally begins an affair and becomes paranoid that someone with violent motives is following her.

She eventually beings to realize that she has to deal with the one person she hasn't been honest with — herself.

Narrated by Natalie Naudus.

Down Came The Rain by Brooke Shields

Down Came The Rain is Brooke Shields' recollection of her postpartum experience and the depression that followed. She didn't expect to feel pure love and intense sadness after having her daughter, but those feelings came anyway. What makes this audiobook special is that Brooke speaks with clarity about how postpartum can be overlooked and implies that she hopes her story will make other moms feel less alone if they're struggling.

Narrated by Brooke Shields.

The Manicurist's Daughter by Susan Lieu

Susan Lieu takes listeners behind the scenes as she works to understand her family and how her future fits into the bigger picture. She talks about their escape from the ongoing Vietnam war in the 1980s and the way her own mother helped them transition successfully in California. Things were going well until Susan's mom unexpectedly died during a cosmetic procedure and the family forbid conversations about her.

It leads Susan down a long path of discovering how far people will go to change themselves and how no justice was brought against the surgeon who had a negative reputation with Vietnamese immigrants. Determined to find answers to her burning questions, Susan does everything she can to uncover secrets about the past. What she finds is unlike anythign she was prepared to discover.

Narrated by Susan Lieu.

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

Little Fires Everywhere is a chilling look at two mothers who have made choices that directly affect themselves and their children. One one side of the coin, Elena Richardson lives in the picturesque Shaker Heights with her devoted husband and their three children. She's as "by the book" as anyone can be and she relishes in the life it's afforded her.

Then there's the free-spirited Mia Warren who strikes up an uneasy friendship with Elena and even becomes her tenant along with her daughter Pearl. Somehow, Elena's children are charmed by Mia and Pearl, wanting to spend as much time with them in their own ways. It sounds perfect until it's revealed that Mia has a complicated and elusive past that even Pearl isn't 100% aware of.

Things reach a head when Mia learns that Elena's friends are trying to adopt her co-workers daughter that she felt she was unable to care for. This custody battle forces those in close proximity to deal with their internal biases about race and socioeconomic status. As Elena works to bring Mia down, her own carefully coordinated life begins to unravel and it affects her family in irreversible ways.

Narrated by Jennifer Lim.

Bringing Up Bébé: One American Mother Discovers the Wisdom of French Parenting by Pamela Druckerman

Journalist Pamela Druckerman gives birth in Paris and secret wonders how French parents are able to get their children to behave so well. She can't help but notice the glaring difference between children in France compared to the children in America as if someone has drawn an invisible line that separates the two. What she learns over time surprises her like the fact no one tells French mothers who they're supposed to model their lives after in order to be 'successful mothers.'

She learns that the French actually let their children exist as if instead of expecting them to hit every single benchmark that's expected of American children. Coupled with her notebook and curiosity, Pamela begins to investigate what helps French parents rear their children the way they do. She eventually comes to term with her own feelings about raising her child and relinquishes the idea that being a mom or child are supposed to be perfect.

Narrated by Abby Craden.

Our criteria for adding songs to this playlist was fairly simple: they feature lyrics emphasizing confidence, independence, and ambition, and they make us feel empowered whenever we listen. Womanhood is a complicated and complex thing, and with songs that span decades, generations, and genres, this playlist starts to scratch at the surface of empowered female experiences. So put in your headphones and prepare to dance around your room because these 56 picks are too good to sit still!

B+C's Favorite Female Empowerment Songs

1. Single Ladies - Beyoncé
2. Wannabe - Spice Girls
3. Rare - Selena Gomez
4. Paper Planes - M.I.A.
5. Swan Song - Saweetie, NIKI
6. S.L.U.T. - Bea Miller
7. Breadwinner - Kacey Musgraves
8. You Signed Up For This - Maisie Peters
9. Sit Still, Look Pretty - Daya
10. Most Girls - Hailee Steinfeld
11. 7 Rings - Ariana Grande
12. Truth Hurts - Lizzo
13. YES MOM - Tessa Violet
14. no tears left to cry - Ariana Grande
15. Respect - Aretha Franklin
16. Infinite - Lyn Lapid
17. You Should See Me In A Crown - Billie Eilish
18. Miss Movin’ On - Fifth Harmony
19. Umbrella - Rhianna
20. Miss Independent - Kelly Clarkson
21. Run The World (Girls) - Beyoncé
22. I Will Survive - Gloria Gaynor
23. Girls Just Wanna Have Fun - Cyndi Lauper
24. Shake It Off - Taylor Swift
25. Salute - Little Mix
26. BO$ - Fifth Harmony
27. Confident - Demi Lovato
28. Sorry Not Sorry - Demi Lovato
29. Me Too - Meghan Trainor
30. Woman Like Me - Little Mix, Nicki Minaj
31. Formation - Beyoncé
32. Fancy - Iggy Azalea and Charlie XCX
33. Survivor - Destiny's Child
34. Fall In Line - Christina Aguilera and Demi Lovato
35. Good As Hell - Lizzo
36. Stronger - Britney Spears
37. Dancing On My Own - Robyn
38. Strut - The Cheetah Girls
39. Work It - Missy Elliott
40. Best Friend - Saweetie feat. Doja Cat
41. Hollaback Girl - Gwen Stefani
42. Just Dance - Lady Gaga/Born This Way
43. Midnight Sky - Miley Cyrus
44. Go! - Santigold
45. Bad Girls - M.I.A.
46. Heads Will Roll - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
47. Kill V. Maim - Grimes
48. Django Jane - Janelle Monae
49. Titanium - Sia
50. Bulletproof - La Roux
51. The Dog Days Are Over - Florence and the Machine
52. The Man - Taylor Swift
53. Fighter - Chrsitina Aguilara
54. Work B**ch - Britney Spears
55. Independent Women - Destiny's Child
56. Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You) - Kelly Clarkson

Listen To Our Female Empowerment Playlist Here

Is Joseph Quinn joining Narnia?

We haven't gotten an official confirmation that Joseph Quinn is joining the Narnia movies, but near the end of a Vanity Fair game with his Gladiator 2 costars, Fred Hechinger guesses Joe's favorite movie franchise is Narnia — and everyone immediately starts acting suspicious. Making faces at each other, getting quiet, and being super awkward is not the way to act inconspicuous, you guys. It definitely reminds me of the Outer Banks cast trying not to spoil the OBX 4 ending, which doesn't help the situation.

Who else could be in Greta Gerwig's Narnia cast?

After a reunion with Brie Larson at the 2024 Golden Globes (they starred in 2010's Greenberg together), X users are hoping the Oscar winner will make an appearance! "She need to get in Narnia somehow," one user said when they retweeted a video of the reunion. The reunion in question features Brie hopping like a bunny over to Greta, who squeals as they hug. That's exactly how I greet my friends IRL.

"When [Brie Larson] gets the Best Supporting Actress nomination for playing the White Witch, wait," one user added.

Saoirse Ronan told The Wrap at the Sundance Film Festival that she's already asked to be in Greta Gerwig's Narnia movies! The actress played the lead in two of Greta's films: Jo March in Little Women and the titular character in Ladybird. "We have that kind of relationship where I’m like 'So I’ll be in the next one!,'" she says. The actress also told The LA Times that "if [Greta] asks me, I’ll be in it."

However, it looks like we do have an idea of who we won't see in the cast. OG Narnia cast member William Moseley (Peter Pevensie) told Bleeding Cool he doesn't expect a call from Greta Gerwig: "I’m not part of that world anymore, which sometimes makes me sad because I love the world of Narnia and becoming a part of it."

"In terms of what I think about Greta Gerwig directing, I think she’s incredible," he continues. "Barbie was an amazing movie, and Little Woman was brilliant. Everything she touches turns gold, so I think Netflix is lucky to have her, and I’m sure she will embrace the challenge. I hope she enjoys it because it’s an incredible world to create, and I can’t wait to see what she produces."

Which Narnia story is Greta Gerwig adapting?

The specific Narnia movies the writer-director's making haven't been named, but a TIME interview claims Greta's adapting "the first book" in the series. The only hiccup is that they don't confirm whether they mean the first book chronologically (The Magician's Nephew) or the first book C.S. Lewis published (The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe). I'm thinking it'll be The Magician's Nephew since we've never seen that story onscreen.

“[The films] won’t be counter to how the audience may have imagined those worlds,” Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos tells TIME, “but it will be bigger and bolder than they thought.”

While we don't have official confirmation on which movie Greta Gerwig is adapting, we know she wants it to have even more of an impact than Barbie. "I want to make it feel like magic," she says. “C.S. Lewis said that the goal of writing fantasy — you know, something from his imagination — he’d say, let’s say you wrote about an enchanted forest. The goal would be that then every time you walk into a forest after you read it, you’d say to yourself, ‘maybe this is an enchanted forest.’ So that’s a tall order, but I guess re-enchantment of the world [is my goal].”

It looks like we can expect to come away from Greta Gerwig's The Chronicles of Narnia movies with even more love for the world, more childlike wonder, and more courage and kindness towards each other — and I am totally here for it.

How long has Greta Gerwig wanted to make a Chronicles of Narnia movie?

Like the intentional planner she is, Greta Gerwig actually thought about directing a Narnia movie way before her involvement was ever confirmed. "I would say the land of Narnia is equally exciting and terrifying," she says on The Empire Film Podcast. "I have nothing really to report on it other than it’s something I was actually talking about before I made Barbie. So, that’s been sort of in my unconscious working its way through. But that has been a pattern. I wrote a draft of Little Women before I made Lady Bird."

Narnia, Little Women, Barbie — Greta Gerwig has a knack for turning our beloved childhood stories into something complex and emotional that resonates with us even more as adults!

“I’m slightly in the place of terror because I really do have such reverence for Narnia,” Greta tells BBC Radio 4. “I loved Narnia so much as a child. As an adult, C.S. Lewis is a thinker and a writer. I’m intimidated by doing this. It’s something that feels like a worthy thing to be intimidated by."

"As a non-British person, I feel a particular sense of wanting to do it correctly," she continues. "It’s like when Americans do Shakespeare, there’s a slight feeling of reverence and as if maybe we should treat it with extra care. It is not our countryman.”

Are these new The Chronicles of Narnia movies a continuation or a reboot?

We don't have any info yet on whether this adaptation will pick up where The Voyage of the Dawn Treader left off, whether it will be a remake of The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, or if it will be a totally new story within the Narnia universe (similar to Prime Video's The Rings of Power).

I'm personally anticipating that it will be the first option because I would love to see Greta bring something like The Magician's Nephew (which has never been adapted) to life onscreen.

What is The Chronicles of Narnia about?

The Chronicles of Narnia revolves around the fictional land of Narnia, and the children in our world who find it. Time passes differently in Narnia than it does on earth, which means that even though around 50 years pass for the characters, they find themselves in a different decade or century every time they reenter the magical land.

Each book has themes like good vs. evil, family, and identity as the characters face different challenges and adventures. The coolest thing about these books is how open-ended C.S. Lewis wrote them — because your own personal experiences, life lessons, and worldview impact your imagination, you have a different experience every time you read them.

“It’s connected to the folklore and fairy stories of England, but it’s a combination of different traditions,” Greta Gerwig tells TIME. “As a child, you accept the whole thing—that you’re in this land of Narnia, there’s fauns, and then Father Christmas shows up. It doesn’t even occur to you that it’s not schematic. I’m interested in embracing the paradox of the worlds that Lewis created, because that’s what’s so compelling about them.”

Are these new The Chronicles Of Narnia movies for Netflix?

Yes! Netflix acquired the rights to The Chronicles of Narnia (which were previously held by Walden Media) in 2018, but there wasn't much news for the next few years. The New Yorker confirmed that Greta is attached to write and direct these Narnia Netflix films in the near future.

Why did Disney stop making Narnia movies?

The final Chronicles of Narnia adaptation for Disney was 2010's The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Even though the film set up a sequel, issues with the rights ended the film series early.

The Chronicles Of Narnia Adaptations To Watch

Animated Film:

• The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe — on YouTube

BBC Miniseries:

• The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe — on YouTube
• Prince Caspian — on YouTube
• The Voyage of the Dawn Treader — on YouTube
• The Silver Chair — on YouTube

Disney Feature Films:

• The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe — on Disney+
• Prince Caspian — on Disney+
• The Voyage of the Dawn Treader— on Max