NPR’s Code Switch
I have patiently been waiting for the NPR Code Switch podcast to drop since I heard rumors last fall. Like a mid-summer gift arriving every Wednesday, it has been a small bit of auditory delight. The first episode, “Can We Talk About Whiteness?,” made me call up my friends from college to reminisce about reading “What’s in your Knapsack” by Peggy McIntosh. Her voice has a lovely lilt. The podcast was created by a team of talented POCs working at the epicenter of whiteness -- public radio (NPR diversity stats can be seen here, KQED is yet to release theirs). The Code Switch doesn't shy away from these stats, they've spoken candidly about the whiteness of public media. While there are moments that sound a bit scripted (and one moment comes to mind in which Gene Demby sounded like he was trying to slow his excitement), this podcast is sure to keep me looking forward to Wednesdays for a while.
Politically Re-Active
Hari Kondabolu and W.Kamau Bell are two of my favorite comedians, so it only makes sense that I would appreciate this POC-cast. Politically Re-Active is, as Kondabolu describes it in the first episode, “basically what we do over the phone, except recorded and in front of white people.” It succeeds because these dudes are funny, smart and they are tackling relevant issues. The second episode features an interview with Mother Jones' Shane Bauer, who discusses his experience working as a guard in a private prison.
Another Round
https://soundcloud.com/anotherroundwithhebenandtracy/28-hillary-clinton-for-pos
Admittedly, I am a newcomer to Buzzfeed’s Another Round podcast -- but thus far it’s like smart lady power meets cackling girlfriends (in the best way possible). It's hosted by Tracy Clayton and Heben Nigatu; if you're looking for a starting point, the episode in which they interview Secretary Hillary Clinton is particularly on point. “Madam Secretary, What’s Good?” placed at No. 8 of The Atlantic’s 50 best Podcast Episodes of 2015. As that article states, “You’d be hard-pressed to find another show that does a better job balancing scholarship with laugh-out-loud humor.”
There Goes the Neighborhood
“Black folks are disappearing… What we don’t talk about is race...Racism and systemic racism...” these are just some of the opening lines in “There Goes the Neighborhood.” Hosted by editor of The Nation, Kai Wright and in partnership with WNYC Studios, this is a close-up examination of gentrification in Brooklyn and the integral role that race plays in the process. Oakland even gets a shoutout as the fifth most expensive rental market in the country (yeah — ugh), but it’s not just about real estate. It’s about humanizing information that is overwhelming. How do you really understand the exponential increase in real estate transactions? What is gentrification and how does it persist? The nine-episode series finished in May, so you can binge-listen at your leisure.
A Few More to Keep an Ear Out For
Sooo Many White Guys
Hosted by Phoebe Robinson (one part of Two Dope Queens), this podcast will soon be available every Tuesday. Tired of being the token black woman, Sooo Many White Guys will feature interviews people who aren’t white dudes. However, Robinson plans to have one token white guy at the end of the season: “He will have to speak for the entire white race,” she says in the teaser.
Sarcasmic
The best part of the “Speaking up and speaking out” episode is when host Dhaya Lakshminarayanan and Karinda Dobbins talk about macaroni and cheese and the absurdity of fancy versions.
Shout-Outs
Shout outs to Truth Be Told hosted by Joshua Johnson, Reveal hosted by Al Letson, The Cooler and Call Your Girlfriend.
What did I miss? Comment below or tweet me with your favorite POC-cast.
