Podcasts of the Week Ending October 5th

99% Invisible :: The Help-Yourself City

A discussion of “Informal Urbanism,” the practice of ordinary people making changes to the city outside the legal and regulatory framework, either for needed improvements to the community or for self-interest.

Code Switch :: Political Prisoners

One of the many injustices of mass incarceration is “prison gerrymandering,” which results from prison being counted by the census and districting as part of the population where they’re incarcerated rather than their prior permanent address.  The non-prison population of the districts, often a small minority, are able to elect representatives who have no interest in representing the prisoners in their constituency.

Sound Opinions :: Fugazi’s Repeater

A breakdown of the Washington hardcore punk band’s seminal 1990 album, including interviews with the great Ian MacKaye.

The War on Cars :: The Problem with Public Meetings

Are public meetings the most democratic and effective way of finding common ground on the use of shared urban spaces?  Probably not.  This episode breaks down the problems of public meetings through the lens of a town hall forum in Brooklyn.

Running tally of 2019 Podcast of the Week appearances:

• • Afropop Worldwide – 1
  • AirSpace – 1
  • The Anthropocene Reviewed – 1
  • BackStory – 5
  • Best of the Left– 3
  • Code Switch – 5
  • Decoder Ring  – 3
  • Fresh Air – 8
  • Futility Closet – 1
  • Have You Heard? – 1
  • Hidden Brain – 2
  • Hit Parade – 4
  • Household Name – 1
  • Hub History – 6
  • Lost Notes – 1
  • Memory Palace – 5
  • More or Less – 3
  • More Perfect – 2
  • The Moth – 1
  • 99% Invisible – 11
  • The New Yorker Radio Hour – 1
  • Next Left – 1
  • On the Media – 4
  • Planet Money – 3
  • Planet Money: The Indicator – 1
  • Re:Sound – 1
  • Radiolab  – 2
  • Radio Boston – 2
  • Science Talk – 1
  • 1619 Project – 4
  • 60 Second Science – 1
  • Smithsonian Sidedoor – 3
  • Sound Opinions – 4
  • StoryCorps – 2
  • 30 for 30 Podcasts – 2
  • This American Life – 2
  • Tiny Desk Concert – 1
  • Throughline – 7
  • To the Best of Our Knowledge – 1
  • Tomorrow Society – 1
  • Travel with Rick Steves – 1
  • The Truth – 3
  • Twenty Thousand Hertz  – 3
  • The War on Cars – 3
  • WBUR News – 5
  • We Need Some Milk – 1
  • What Next – 1