13 Podcasts to Further You're Understanding of Race and Racism
13 Podcasts to Further You're Understanding of Race and Racism
Although many people have learned about America’s history of enslaving, discriminating against, and disenfranchising Black people through school, there is still more learning to be done when it comes to race and racism in America. Educating yourself through movies, books, and podcasts about race and racism are just a few ways that white people can learn about the deep levels of systemic and systematic racism that minority communities face every single day.
Of course, part of that education involves listening and talking to people of color in our lives. But it’s not their job to teach. Rather, it's on white people to use the many public resources available publicly to teach themselves and, most importantly, do better.
If you’re someone who is looking to learn more about race, racism, and systematic inequality in this country, tapping into educational resources is as simple as hitting play on an informative podcast. If you’re not sure where to start, here are a few podcasts about race and racism to get you started.
1) Code Switch
If you go looking for a definitive, well-established podcast about race, this is likely the first one you’ll find. Code Switch is NPR’s podcast about “race and identity” that began in 2013, so the hosts have been discussing these topics for a while. This means you’ll have a lot of episodes to listen to.
2) The Nod
The Nod is a podcast by Gimlet Media that tells “the stories of Black life that don’t get told anywhere else.” It’s hosted by Brittany Luse and Eric Eddings and, as the site explains, talks about everything from “an explanation of purple drink's association with Black culture to the story of an interracial drag troupe that traveled the nation in the 1940s.”
3) Yo, Is This Racist?
The name probably gives it away, but this podcast is a good one if you’ve ever wondered... well, if something’s racist. Hosted by Andrew Ti (who has a blog of the same name) and Tawny Newsome, Yo, Is This Racist? takes questions from listeners and about whether something is racist or not and breaks it down.
4) No Country For Young Women
No Country For Young Women is a UK-based podcast hosted by two women of color (Sadia Azmat and Monty Onanuga) about “life, love, and work in a white man’s world.” If you are from the UK, have family in the UK, or are simply interested in hearing race discussed from a non-American point of view, this could be a great listen.
5) Come Through
Come Through focuses on race in 2020. Hosted by Rebecca Carroll, Come Through’s description says it all: “It’s an election year, and whether people want to admit it or not, race is at the center of every issue — healthcare, jobs, climate change, the media. Join host Rebecca Carroll for 15 essential conversations about race in a pivotal moment for America.”
6) About Race
Looking to get involved with activism? Don’t know where to start? Want to make sure you’re doing it in the most effective way possible? About Race is a great listen. Hosted by Renni-Eddo Lodge, the author of “Why I’m No Longer Talking To White People About Race,” this podcast features “key voices from the last few decades of anti-racism activism.”
7) Dear White Women
Described as a social justice podcast, Dear White Women is hosted by Sara and Mishasha, two half-Japanese, half-white women who created the show as a way to talk about racial identity, among other issues.
8) Counter Stories
Another NPR podcast, Counter Stories “looks at the effect of implicit bias and institutional racism on women of color's reproductive health, and at the greater historical narrative of native women and women of color being continually separated from their children."
9) Good Ancestor Podcast
Good Ancestor Podcast is hosted by Layla Saad, author of Me and White Supremacy . The podcast is an interview series featuring “change-makers and culture-shapers exploring what it means to be a good ancestor.” One positive review for the show wrote, “the way Layla talks about ancestry with her guests and the perspectives they share have shifted my thinking about the kind of legacy I want to leave as well as how I show up in the world. I'm deeply grateful.”
10) Speaking of Racism
Looking for an anti-racism podcast that discusses the various levels and history of racism within the United States? Hosted by Tina Strawn and Jen Kinney and described as “a podcast dedicated to frank, honest discussion of race within the U.S.,” Speaking of Racism is a good option.
11) Still Processing
Still Processing is hosted by Jenna Wortham and Wesley Morris, two culture writers for The New York Times. They discuss everything from books to art to movies, while explaining how that often intersects with race in America.
12) Another Round
Hosted by Heben Nigatu and Tracy Clayton, this podcast by Buzzfeed covers “everything from race, gender and pop culture to squirrels, mangoes, and bad jokes, all in one boozy show.” Another Round has been on hiatus since late 2017, so it’s not super up-to-date, but it’s still a good resource if you’re looking for a podcast that covers various aspects of the world (sometimes strictly through the lens of race).
13) The United States of Anxiety
United States of Anxiety is a podcast that talks about race and its history within the borders of the United States. “Many of the political and social arguments we are having now started in the aftermath of the Civil War, when Americans set out to do something no one had tried before: build the world’s first multiracial democracy,” the podcast’s description says. “The podcast gives voters the context to understand what’s at stake in this election.”
It's never to late to plug in and listen. ??