THE BEST NEW PoDCAST OF 2020… SO FAR
“It wasn’t sexism, then”
We’ll begin with a look at how Polly Platt’s legacy was appraised when she died in 2011. Then we’ll go back in time to tell Polly’s story from the start, beginning with her Revolutionary Road-esque childhood in Europe and America as the neglected daughter of two alcoholics; to her years studying scenic design in environments in which women weren’t welcome; the secret pregnancy that halted her formal education, and the early marriage that took her West and cemented her desire to tell stories through design. Throughout, we’ll talk about how Platt’s experiences, as the product of an American military family of the 1950s—and the daughter of a mother who had been forced to abandon a career for motherhood––shaped her view of gender roles and relations, and her idea of what it meant to be the wife of a important man.
You Must Remember This is the podcast exploring the secret and/or forgotten histories of Hollywood's first century.
WIND OF CHANGE
It’s 1990. The Berlin Wall just fell. The Soviet Union is on the verge of collapse. And the soundtrack to the revolution is one of the best selling songs of all time, the metal ballad “Wind of Change,” by the Scorpions.
Decades later, journalist Patrick Radden Keefe heard a rumor: the song wasn’t written by the Scorpions. It was written by the CIA. This is his journey to find the truth.
Wind of Change is an Original Series from Pineapple Street Studios, Crooked Media and Spotify.
Rabbit Hole
What is the internet doing to us? The Times tech columnist Kevin Roose discovers what happens when our lives move online.
In the first episode, “Wonderland,” we hear from a young man named Caleb, who finds escape and direction on the internet. We follow his journey into the YouTube universe.
“Rabbit Hole,” a New York Times audio series with the tech columnist Kevin Roose, explores what happens when our lives move online.
SHADE
Conversations on anti-racism work through the lens of creativity & activism. Hosted by writer & photographer Lou Mensah
Every episode gave me something new to think about. Inspiring. Miranda Sawyer, The Guardian
Instructive and inspiring podcast. Grazia
Featured Black Lives Matter Podcast on Apple
DIG
Louisville Public Media
In the first season of Dig, a new podcast from the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting, we bring you the results of a yearlong look at how rape cases are investigated in Louisville. What we’ve learned: here, the police defer to prosecutors on rape cases -- and prosecutors reject the vast majority of cases presented to them. Due to this unusual relationship, most people accused of rape here will never face consequences. Most won’t be arrested or convicted. And the case will be closed anyway. Donate to support this and future seasons of Dig.
FLOODLINES
Some call it Hurricane Katrina. Some call it the Federal Flood. Others call it the day the levees broke. On August 29, 2005, the city of New Orleans was submerged. That story of hubris, incompetence, and nature's wrath is now etched into the national consciousness. But the people who lived through the flood and its aftermath have a different story to tell. A story of rumors, betrayal, and one of the most misunderstood events in American history. Hosted by Vann R. Newkirk II.
74 SECONDS
74 Seconds tells the story of a July 2016 traffic stop that ended with the world watching a man die, live on their phones. This is the story of that man, Philando Castile, and the officer who is about to go on trial for his death, Jeronimo Yanez. Through comprehensive reporting, MPR News examines this intersection of race, policing, justice and safety in America. A lot can happen in 74 seconds.
Slow Burn 4:
DAVID DUKE
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, a white supremacist became an American political phenomenon. David Duke’s rise to power and prominence—his election to the Louisiana legislature, and then his campaigns for the U.S. Senate and the governorship—was an existential crisis for the state and the nation. The fourth season of Slate’s Slow Burn will explore how a Nazi sympathizer and former Klansman fashioned himself into a mainstream figure, and why some voters came to embrace his message. It will also examine how activists, journalists, and ordinary citizens confronted Duke’s candidacy, and what it took to stop him.
ABOUT RACE
From the author behind the bestselling Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race (http://renieddolodge.co.uk/books/) comes a podcast that takes the conversation a step further.
Featuring key voices from the last few decades of anti-racist activism, About Race with Reni Eddo-Lodge looks at the recent history that lead to the politics of today.
Join the conversation using the hashtag #AboutRacewithReni
SOMEBODY
When Shapearl Wells's son Courtney is found outside a Chicago police station with a fatal bullet wound, Shapearl immediately distrusts the official narrative. So she launches her own investigation into her son’s murder and teams up with journalists from the Invisible Institute to confront the cops and find the truth about Courtney's death. Somebody explores the racial disparities and turbulent relationship between law enforcement and citizens in one of America’s largest cities. A co-production of Topic Studios, The Intercept, the Invisible Institute, and iHeartRadio, in association with Tenderfoot TV.