Young grasshoppers!!
It's been many moons since I last provided guidance on my Podcast Training Plan and I realize how neglectful that is. Jesus never left his disciples to suffer alone. Shifu never gave up on Po and the Furious Five. Olivia would never abandon her Gladiators. Yoda stayed with his Jedi Masters throughout turmoil on the Cloud Walker (uh, did I use that metaphor right?). But like a Phoenix risen from the ashes, I’m here to lead you through the fire once more...to oversee you on your path to greatness. Since I released the first installment of my laboratory-proven Podcast Training Plan, I trust that now you are committed and know your podcasting style. So what's next? Let’s expand your options - get in on this podcasting buffet – take your pick, dive on in, flex those podcast muscles! Which way to the beach? Will you hide in the shadows or stand in the light with me?
News You Can Use
I find that my brain works better when things are told to me through podcast inception. Therefore, I need my news sources to be high quality and educational. These do the trick!
1) A classic really, The Diane Rehm Show takes me back to the days spent driving to school with my mom. I used to disregard listening to this via podcast because I tend to be a podcast creationist and this is a classic case of radio fit for podcast. The previous title of the show was the Kaleidoscope which accurately describes what the show ends up being. Get it while the getting’s good because Diane Rehm is leaving the show after the Election and who knows what will come in the wake of her departure! (Expert tip: listen to this show on 1.5x speed).
2) This suggestion is not novel, but Fresh Air with Terry Gross is equally enthralling and another radio turned podcast NPR classic. She's a great host who really knows the questions to ask her guests and listening transports you to the corner of the room where you can imagine yourself sitting in, sipping tea and eating cookies with them. That said, her husband is a jazz musician and occasionally she has obscure jazz artists on the show, when I see that I steer very clear because it’s a snooze fest.
3) And of course I still rely heavily on the NPR Hourly News Summary because life moves fast and people are busy, sometimes all you have is five minutes to stay in the know!
Brain Pushups/Grow Your Mind/Plant Seeds
1) Chicka chicka yeah, we’ve got ourselves a new fan favorite in the form of More Perfect by Radiolab. It’s a spinoff of Radiolab’s classic story telling format but exploring stories from, of, and affecting the Supreme Court. SCOTUS stories coming to you from experienced producers and making you wanna say, YEAH YEAH YEAH!
2) Code Switch by NPR brings you a weekly conversation about race and identity. Why are 80% of United States parks users white and what can we do about it? What is whiteness and why is it hard to talk about? If nothing else, add this one to your queue as I’ve self-declared this podcast "Most Important of 2016."
3) Slate Double X Podcast is a podcast version of the Double X blog and touted as “founded by women but not just for women.” Listen if you care about women’s issues and fortify your knowledge of what's going on in the world of feminism and female-identified things.
4) It’s quite basic, yes, but Stuff You Should Know has been hovering in the iTunes Top 10 Podcasts for years now and when advancedpodcasting takes over (see: The Weeds, Amicus, Whistlestop), it can’t hurt to come back down to Level 1 and be reminded of how informative this podcast is. It’s a brain pushup podcast in the same vain as other classics like Freakonomics and Planet Money.
Love and Laughter
Ride those waves of laughter and love folks, it does the body and mind good!
1) Listen to 2 Dope Queens and crack up to the audio from their comedy live shows with hilarious comic hosts Jessica Williams and Phoebe Robinson and their equally funny comedian friends. Starter episode: #1 Dad Bods and you’ll be hooked, trust me! As expert podcaster Zoe admitted, “It’s the podcast that I’m always up to date with!” Get ready for an actual LOL or even maybe a ROFL!
2) I admit that I am not much of a comedy buff, but You Made it Weird with Pete Holmes is quite my valuable attempt at understanding/entering the comedy world. It’s a safe choice for outsiders who want to look in. Pete Holmes himself was a religious nut, turned life explorer and seeks to find wisdom within the depths of his guests’ minds. Starter episodes: Pete Davidson; Michael Che; and Cameron Esposito.
3) Oh yeah, so you liked HuffPo Love + Sex but then you got annoyed with Carina Kolodny’s prudishness, Noah Michaelson’s voice and the fact that it only comes out every other week? I hear you; I’m there, too. I bring you the solution: New York Magazine’s Sex Lives. Sex positivity at it’s finest with casual and insightful conversations exploring diverse topics in the world of sex.
4) What’s that you say? You’re looking for even more sex positivity in your life? Well, I’d venture to guess that the majority are already hooked and listening, but if not, give Savage Lovecast a try my comrades. Dan Savage is a brilliant advice columnist who preaches non-monogamy, celebrates all sexualities and guides listeners through the discourse of crazy politicians trying to take away human/body rights in 2016 (like the nutso North Carolina transgender discrimination bathroom bill, don’t even get me started).
5) Because I feel like it’s important to support smart female hosts, try Another Round and enter the happy hour with friends you want to know. The show is smart on gender issues and racial politics but not pretentious or another boringly attempt to do that type of podcast. The ladies didn’t pump the brakes when they landed an interview with Hillz and asked her if she thought Bill Clinton “fucked things up for black people” during his presidency. It’s tough to find another show that does a better job balancing intellectual convos with laugh-out-loud humor. Starter episodes: Madam Secretary, Whats Good (with Hillary Clinton); and To Be Young, Gifted, and Black (with Hannibal Buress)
Bulekri – Big Belly
Everyone eats, let’s talk about it!
1) The Sporkful is “not for foodies, it’s for eaters.” Host Dan (a Tufts alum!) goes on amazing explorations of the diverse sides and stories surrounding food, the obsession of food, and the histories of people who eat food. Starter episodes: A Priest Walks Into A Bar (this one is about a bar I used to frequent in Somerville); Is Michael Pollan Misunderstood?; and Other People’s Food Pt. 1: White Chef, Mexican Food.
2) It’s pure masochism, but there are food podcasts about everything (and one day I’ll get to eat all the good foods, too)! Cutting the Curd is about cheese, enough said! Beer Sessions Radio is about beer, get in on it! Want to know about food policy, check out Eating Matters and/or What Doesn’t Kill You to better understand the business of food production. All of these podcasts are brought to you by Heritage Radio Network and also the producer of my guilty and embarrassing favorite new podcast Ask a Clean Person, which is exactly what you’d imagine - a witty cleaning expert talking about her cleaning tips and regimes. Favorite tips so far: Armpit stains will not come out with bleach because they are protein stains and therefore will only come out by letting said shirts soak overnight in a product like OxiClean or any other enzymatic cleaner. Curious about which dryer setting to use? Host Jolie suggests perm press because it’s a nice medium heat meant to reduce wrinkles. And a final tip: Make your bed everyday; it will make you feel and be more organized.
Series for your Ears!
Everyone loves a series (à la Serial). So check out these podcast series that will blow your mind and scratch that itch while Sarah Koenig is in hibernation mode. There are to be invested in when you have the time, they’ll be interesting forever!
1) Because I have only listened (and am hooked) to the first episode, I recruited Master Podcaster Jessie to help for this one. She says, “The Charles Manson 12-part series from the You Must Remember This podcast is so, SO much better than the other long-formpodcast I know everyone has already listened to (ahem: Serial). This fascinating Hollywood story covers the whoooole Manson "family" arc, from Charles' weird, poverty-stricken beginnings, to his relationships with Hollywood bigwigs, obsessions with The Beatles' Helter Skelter, and sexually-charged (and sexist) world-views. The series not only covers the Manson murders, but also discusses, in length, 60s-70s west coast culture, racism, sexism and the hidden realities of 20th century Hollywood. CHECK OUT THE CHARLES MANSON SERIES FIRST. IT WILL BLOW YOUR MIND.
2) You love Lena Dunham? You love Girls? You love women? You love life? Well, check out Lena Dunham’s five-part podcast with bonus episodes, which I suggest you don’t skip because in it I learned that Lena and Jemima Kirke are best childhood friends and that Jemima (aka Jess) has two kids and is married to a man she met in rehab (what up, Gawker, who’s leaking celeb gossip now)! Check out Lena Dunham’s Women of the Hour.
3) And another “Most Important of 2016” is the 9-part series about gentrification on There Goes the Neighborhood. This podcasts is a noble exploration of the rising phenomenon/problem of gentrification in many major American cities (not the least of being a city close to my own heart and the gentrification I saw with my very eyes where I went to college in Somerville, MA).
2016 - Rock ‘em Sock ‘em
I would be remiss to exclude all my intense election podcasting. This election season has been interminable, but I don’t mind because my faith is placed in podcasts that will entertain us all the way to November.
1) Off Message with Glenn Thrush provides entertaining and informative interviews with leading political figures analyzing and predicting the 2016 election. More than being simply a 2016 Election podcast, each episode has critical morsels of political thought and knowledge to chew on (this is definitely the least biased one, equal parts pro-Trump (uh, do those exist) and pro-Clinton interviewees)
2) Follow along with Obama camp gurus Jon Favreau and Dan Pfeiffer (former Obama advisers) on their Election show Keeping it 1600. They bro-out every week with special guests to explain the craziness of the 2016 Election. Probably meant for the 20-something-millenial-man-
3) You want more nerds talking politics to you? Hosts of Politico’s 2016 Nerdcast will keep you in the loop, give you the skinny, the 411, the lowdown.
The Best of Round 1
My top ten favorite individual episodes on previously recommended podcasts
1) It’ll Make Sense When You’re Older on This American Life (I cried in the Third Act)
2) What Can Men and Women Do to Achieve a Better Orgasm by HuffPo Love + Sex (required listening for all humans)
3) Afro-Latino on Latino USA (my Dominican people!)
4) Episode 28: #AirbnbWhileBlack on The Hidden Brain (the sharing economy is racist!)
5) Ep. 11 – Jon Favreau on The Axe Files (great interview with Obama’s former speechwriter)
6) Danielle Brooks is Ready to Talk About Sex on Death, Sex & Money (fabulous interview with Tastee from OITNB)
7) #702: Nigeria, You Win! on Planet Money (does giving away heaps of money actually help businesses?)
8) Ep. 52 – Katie Couric on The Axe Files (really powerful and moving interview)
9) Episode 32: The Scientific Process on Hidden Brain (Yaaaaas, all the feelings!)
10) #205 – Flying Food on 99% Invisible (explains crazy contraptions that people invent and use to film food for advertisements)
For Those Interested in Podcast Justice
Dear podcasters, now it’s time for the cold hard truth of podcasting. We are faced with injustice. Because The Axe Files is one of my favorite, mostly closely followed podcast, I fixate on the guests David Axelrod interviews. Well, I discovered an unfortunate and glaring problem. Of the 57 interviews on the podcast, a whole 11 of them have been with women. That statistic is worse than a pathetic reality of only having 20 women in the US Senate. And he has no excuse. Twice, TWICE, he ran 11 interviews in a row without featuring ONE woman! And, don’t tell me there is a lack of smart, interesting women that he could have on the show. Bullshit. So I wrote an email.
Hello,
I really love and have thoroughly enjoyed The Axe Files! I only have one comment/suggestion and that would be to interview more women. The podcast regularly produces 5-10 episodes without including the voices of women and as someone who understands how important diverse thoughts are, I find it surprisingly that David Axelrod has had surprisingly few women on the show. Sadly, the fact that only 8/42 [at the time of my email] episodes have been with women accurately represents the number of women in politics, but I hope that number changes soon and that women listeners can hear from role models at a higher frequency than 19%. As a young woman interested in politics and running for office, I would love to hear David Axelrod interview more of the wonderful/inspiring/diverse/
Looking forward to hearing more!
And their response:
Thanks, Bronwen. Appreciate the feedback. We have some episodes coming up in the next two weeks that feature some really interesting women. Hope you enjoy them, and that you continue listening and giving us your feedback.
After that sorry excuse of a response was received, there was an influx of episodes with women – a whole three to be exact, victory! But those three interviews were followed with four by men. The number of interviews Axelrod does with women still hovers around 19%. And what’s more, I was listening to another favorite podcast, The Big Listen, recently had a podcast about diversity in the podcasting world. Did you know that (as of May 15) only 24 on the iTunes Top 100 Podcasts are hosted by women, just 10 by people of color and only three by women of color (although, to be fair, it’s a better statistic than women appearing on Axelrod’s show or in the US Senate)? God damnit, really, its 2016. As a new medium for news and entertainment, it doesn’t make sense that white men are already dominating this field, what gives? Could be the fact that most “early adopters” of podcasts according to an article I found are, “More likely to be male, young, have higher incomes, be college graduates, live in an urban area.” Significantly, as many women as men now listen. The article postures, “Unsurprisingly, the growing popularity of podcasts among young, well-educated, affluent listeners prompts more shows catering to them. The hosts mirror the audience—or perhaps it’s a vicious circle. While they represent a variety of interests, the producers and personalities on these shows are still monolithically white and male.”
Ah, the inequality. So while not a long-term fix, here are the diverse podcasts hosted by women and people of color that you should check out and follow if you care about podcasting justice:
1) Loudness - A podcast collective for women, people of color, and queer identified folks)
2) Serendipity – A woman revolutionizing audio fiction
3) How to Be a Girl - Marlo Mack lets us in on the challenges of being a transgender girl
4) Presidential - A fierce and intelligent woman takes a stab at explaining the 44 white (minus one) men who’ve governed our lands for hundreds of years
5) Nerdette - Love me some ladies talking about smart things!
6) Baltimore: The Rise of Charm City - Yes, yes, yes Stacia Brown!
7) Otherhood - Stories from people who came to the US as children or are the children of immigrants
8) Embedded - Fiercely strong investigative journalism, get it girl!
9) #GoodMuslimBadMuslim – A comedic exploration of the good and the bad of the American Muslim female experience
10) The Pollsters - Off with Nate Silver’s head – listen to a bipartisan duo of wise ladies do it better
11) And finally! Subscribe/troll through the podcasts from the Loud Speaker Network, which prides itself on cultivating a brand around diverse voices, which in turn prompts new podcast ideas from a diverse community.
I am enraged, but fear not, do not follow me down this rabbit hole, too, I’m mad enough for the both of us. I will continue to fight this battle (I even sent another email to HuffPo Love + Sex asking if they could please include more gay female voices). My only plea to you is to follow and consciously subscribe to podcasts with diverse/female hosts. Those make ratings go up and with it, the idea that diverse and female voices are important.
Enough Podcasts, Let’s Read!
And not that you asked, but if you are looking for book suggestions, here's my favorites that I’ve book-munched lately and come highly recommended by yours truly.
1) Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - I love the way she writes and brings you into the harsh reality that is the Nigeria-Biafra War in 1960s Nigeria. Told from the vantage point of three characters, it elegantly expresses the beauty and tragedy of themes like close relationships, war, peace, and education.
2) A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra - It took a while for me to get into this book because off the complexity of all the characters involved in the story but as I got used to the storyline and used to Marra's prose, I feel deeply in love. Set in Chechnya during wartime, it's a beautiful story of the complexities of life and love.
3) Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth and Happiness by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein – I’d had enough of the tragic war/conflict books and took my stab at this non-fiction book. I'd heard Sunstein explaining many concepts brought up in Nudge on a favorite podcast, Freakonomics, and thought I'd give it a go. An approachable way to understand the way humans make decisions and the ways in which we can nudge humans to make better decisions in all areas. Be a nudge, not a noodge.
That’s all I’ve got for Round 2! Keep vibrating at this frequency!
AFTERWORD: I recognize that in my aggressive quest to convert everyone to avid podcasters, I forgot the most basic of basics – answering the first question: how do you even get podcasts? It sounds insane (for those in the Advanced categories) but there are some out there for which this will be helpful. 1) Open the podcast app on your iPhone, iPad or in iTunes. 2) Search for the podcasts in the "search" category. 3) Push subscribe on the podcast channel. 4) Go back to the tab called "My Podcasts" and click on the icon of thepodcast you wish to listen to 5) Search for individual episodes under the "Feed" or wait for them to get into your "Unplayed" section every time a new one comes out. The best news is that your podcasts will sync between all portals and you'll know the last point you listened to. You can also download a bagillian podcasts apps if you don't have Apple electronics and most other brand phones come with their very own podcast app pre-downloaded. Also, keep in mind that streaming podcasts while not in wifi uses data – so download your favorites before leaving the house and them be sure to delete as you go.
No comments:
Post a Comment