Podcasting nuns spark ‘Nun Girl Summer’ movement - but it’s deeper than just a trend

We live in an era of endless optimisation. Whether that's careers, dating, or wellness, we're always told to strive for the next best thing, while asserting boundaries, and making ourselves palatable to others.

What's more, it's a breeding ground for comparison culture, burnout, and ultimately, falling out of love with ourselves. If you didn't need more proof, the average score on The Body Shop's global Self Love Index is just 53 on a scale of 0-100 - which indicates that almost 1 in 2 people live with more self-doubt than self love.

TLDR; It's exhausting.

iStock

If you've not thought it yourself, you've definitely heard friends speak of throwaway fantasies about ditching it all and joining a convent as an ironic solution to a very modern-day problem - but what if nuns really were the antidote we've been looking for?

They've remained somewhat of an enigma to those outside of their world until now, so there's little surprise that a podcast hosted by Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist has gone viral; completely rewriting everything we thought we knew about them.

In fact, the hosts of Dominican Sisters Open Mic don't want to be called nuns at all (as noted in an interview with the New York Times) - but rather, sisters - a term which has also become one of their most-copied catchphrases among their 250,000 listeners.

Sister Miriam Holzman fronts the series, and is joined by fellow sisters in each episode for heartfelt conversations about finding joy in the simple things - the type of things we forget to acknowledge when our heads are buried so deeply in proving ourselves to others.

For them, it's a love of all things ultimate frisbee, cooking, and showing everyone outside of their community that "being a sister isn't boring" (an actual topic they unpacked).

These are women who have degrees, had careers, and now, choose something simpler and more meaningful.

"I don’t like making big decisions…about seasoning", one sister laughs in their most-shared episode. It's a far-removed problem from corporate culture and friendship dramas, but one that's sparked contemplation about whether the things we care too much about were ever that deep at all.

Now their followers are drawing wisdom from the simplistic wholesomeness of their lives, and applying it to their own, unpacking if instead, perhaps, we should make choosing our seasoning the biggest problem of the day.

It's a Nun Girl Summer, if you will.

“The rise of 'Nun Girl Summer’ as a trend in 2026 is so interesting because it shows how many women are reckoning with the pressure of living in a society that values them according to external factors such as performance, appearance, romantic relationships, and marriage", says Michelle Jones, a Consecrated Virgin and the author of The Spiritual Life of Sister Wendy Beckett.

iStock

"For women to see a group of nuns, who have eschewed earthly romantic relationships and chosen a life of celibacy, laughing together in companionship and clearly expressing the joy of community life, peace and friendship, it shows them that a different vision of female flourishing - outside of what culture has always told women they need to be complete - is more than possible."

Now, women on social media are doing exactly that; trading dating apps for craft nights, walks past an ex's house for leisurely strolls with friends, and decentering other people's opinions as an indicator of their worth.

Instead, it's about sparking your own joy and surrounding yourself with a great community, without the need for grand gestures or external validation.

"Just laughing and glowing", one person noted of Sister Miriam's energy. "They sound like a healed regulated nervous system", another joked, while a third added: "This is the girlhood I was promised."

It goes some way to explaining why these women have become such unlikely internet icons. At its heart, Nun Girl Summer isn't really about nuns at all - but rather, a new-age rejection of hustle culture, relationship timelines and the belief that happiness always exists somewhere just beyond a promotion or relationship.

This time, the women with the least interest in chasing it all might have quietly figured it out first.

Why not read...

It’s the summer of yearning - but what does the internet's favourite new dating trend mean?

Is voluntary celibacy the new status symbol?

Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter