Do all challenges in mental health need quick answers? Or do we need bolder questions?
Those questions gave rise to Stories for Impact’s podcast “Mis mõttes?” (“What do you mean?”) in 2023. The podcast’s episodes are in Estonian. Its aim was not to offer easy solutions or inspirational slogans, but to explore issues that people working in mental health often think about yet rarely discuss in public.
“I hoped that by raising some of the critical issues in mental health publicly and examining them with experts, we could increase awareness and encourage more people to tackle these problems systematically,” recalls the podcast’s founder, Jaan Aps, who leads Stories for Impact.
At the time, Jaan was an avid podcast listener himself and discovered how flexible and creative the format could be. “Many podcasts release a new episode every week. Yet one very popular podcast I always enjoy listening to releases an episode only once or twice a year. I realised there are no fixed rules or limits when making a podcast: you can approach it in many different ways and cover all sorts of subjects,” he says.
After three seasons, 49 episodes and more than 160,000 plays and views, “Mis mõttes?” has become one of Estonia’s leading mental health podcasts. It has helped make complex issues clearer and raised awareness of both Estonia’s mental health system and ways people can look after their own wellbeing more consciously.
More questions that move us forward fewer superficial answers
Stories for Impact’s mission is to help organisations increase their positive impact on people’s wellbeing and development. The podcast pursues that same goal in mental health. It bridges education and entertainment, offering useful mental health information in a lively, engaging format.
“There is a saying: measure twice, cut once. Much of the communication around social change focuses on urging people to act: when a crisis hits, there is no time to think; you have to do something. Mental health has been in crisis for a long time too. But instead of rushing to the next proposed solution, I think we should first look more deeply at why these problems arise and why some solutions we have already tried have not worked well enough,” Aps says.
Looking back on the three seasons, he believes that is exactly what the podcast has done. “There are still many questions in mental health whose more complex and uncomfortable aspects need to be explored. But we have already brought greater clarity to many subjects, and the audience figures show a real appetite for more in-depth discussion of mental health,” he says.
“Mis mõttes” podcast in numbers
- 49 episodes
- Average episode length: 68 minutes
- More than 160 000 plays and views
- Listeners in 123 countries, most notably Estonia, Finland and Australia; episodes have also been played in Iran, Colombia, South Korea and Israel, among other countries.
- Listeners stay with the episodes for a long time. Even those who do not finish an episode listen for at least 35 minutes, more than half its length.
- On Spotify, women account for approximately 80% of listeners, and the largest age group is 35–44.
- On YouTube, the podcast has received more than 53 000 views. Women also make up the majority of its audience there, with the largest age group being 45–54.
How has the podcast evolved?
Although its core idea has remained the same, the format has changed considerably over the three seasons.
In the first season, each episode focused on a single subject.
- #07 Laughter Through Tears: Humour and Mental Health | Kariina Laas and Märt Avandi was the most popular episode of season one.
- Other widely listened-to episodes included #22 New Breakthroughs in Understanding Personality Disorders | Kaia Kastepõld-Tõrs and Maarja-Liisa Oitsalu and #05 Sleep and Mental Health: Why Don’t Estonians Sleep Well? | Kene Vernik.
It soon became clear, however, that not every important question could fit into a single conversation. From the second season onwards, the team began exploring some subjects across several episodes.
- #30 How Can Therapy Harm a Client? | Marika Paaver was the most listened-to episode of season two.
- #38 Weight, Body and Control: What Causes Eating and Feeding Disorders? | Kirsti Akkermann also attracted a large audience.
In the third season, listeners began sharing their own experiences in the episodes, complementing the expert interviews with a more personal perspective. At first, Stories for Impact drew mainly on its experience working with mental health organisations when choosing subjects. Later, the team increasingly asked listeners what they wanted to hear about. Listeners were particularly interested in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and those episodes have become some of the most popular in the history of “Mis mõttes?”.
- #48 A Closer Look at ADHD: How Does It Affect Self-Esteem, Work and Relationships? | Kersten Kõrge was the most listened-to episode of season three.
- Other ADHD episodes were also widely listened to: #47 A Closer Look at ADHD: What Do We Actually Know About It? | Inga Grinberg and #49 A Closer Look at ADHD: How Should It Actually Be Diagnosed? | Katrin Orav.
Bold experiments in involving listeners
“Mis mõttes?” has never been limited to studio conversations. In its first year, the team took part in Arvamusfestival, Estonia’s Opinion Festival, and set up a large wall for public contributions in the mental health area. Over two days, visitors wrote down more than 200 thoughts about the prejudices and stigmas around mental health that they wanted to leave behind.
Those contributions later inspired two episodes on mental health myths and prejudices: #12 Prejudices and Myths About Mental Health and #13 Prejudices and Myths About Mental Health.
Stories for Impact has since organised its own discussions at the festival, which have also become podcast episodes. In 2024, it held a discussion about the mental health of senior politicians, #37 How Lonely Is It at the Top?. In 2025, it discussed the role of artificial intelligence in the mental health system in #43 Artificial Intelligence in the Service of Mental Health?!.
What has making the podcast taught us?
The podcast has brought Stories for Impact closer to others working in mental health and helped it build new partnerships. It has also provided an opportunity to learn directly from experts in the field.
“I have been pleasantly surprised by how many people are willing to share their thoughts and experiences on the show. The guests we have interviewed are highly respected experts in their fields, with truly busy schedules, yet they have made time to join us. Listening to them has repeatedly shown me where my own blind spots are on mental health issues,” Aps says.
He believes that impact comes from consistency, rather than individual episodes. “One episode will not change the world, although it may mean a great deal to particular listeners. But if you keep raising important questions and exploring them in depth, you can have a broader impact over time,” he says.
At the same time, he points out that making a high-quality podcast takes considerable resources. “Although creating content is technically easier than ever, producing a high-quality podcast over the long term requires a substantial investment of time and money. That is why we are grateful to all the partners who have worked with us so far, including the Mental Health and Wellbeing Coalition VATEK, the NGO Peaasjad, Lux Express, the Opinion Festival and many others. We are especially grateful to the Erasmus+ adult education programme, whose support made it possible to launch the podcast in the first place,” Aps says.
What next?
Three seasons have shown that there is an audience in Estonia that wants more from discussions of mental health than quick tips and seemingly simple answers. Interest in thorough, well-reasoned conversations that bring together different perspectives has continued to grow.
Stories for Impact is currently working with Peaasi.ee on a project to strengthen cooperation between primary healthcare professionals and parents, and to support the prevention and early identification of children’s mental health concerns. Listeners will soon hear more about it in the podcast’s fourth season.
Meanwhile, Stories for Impact continues its core work: helping organisations increase their positive impact on people’s wellbeing and development through consultancy, analysis and research.
