Podcasts of the Week Ending April 24

Afropop Worldwide :: Punk in Africa

Punk is not a genre typically associated with Africa but the music of rage both personal and political has found its niche in countries dealing with imperialism, apartheid, poverty, and political corruption.

Fresh Air ::  The Social Psychologist Who Works To Reduce Harm In Policing

Regulating police behavior rather than focusing on the attitudes of individual police officers is the approach advocated by one researcher.

Radio Boston :: Former Boston City Councilor Tito Jackson Reunites With Birth Mother

A heart-warming story of Tito Jackson, one of my favorite Bostonians, meeting his birth mother for the first time.

What Next :: Fear and Paranoia in American Policing

Police officers are trained to be terrified by everything around them leading to their inscrutable violent actions.

Running Tally of Podcast of the Week Awards for 2021

• Afropop Worldwide – 2
• AirSpace – 1
• Best of the Left – 2
• The Brattle Film Podcast – 1
• Code Switch – 2
• Consider This – 1
• Fresh Air – 1
• Futility Closet – 1
• Have You Heard? – 2
• Hub History – 2
• Judas and the Black Messiah – Entire series
• LeVar Burton Reads – 1
• Lost Massachusetts – 1
• The Moth – 1
• The Memory Palace – 1
• 99% Invisible – 3
• Politically Re-Active – 2
• Planet Money – 2
• Radio Boston – 3
• Radiolab – 2
• Reparations: The Big Payback – 1
• Scientific American – 1
• Seizing Freedom – 2
• Sidedoor – 1
• The Story Collider – 1
• Strong Songs – 1
• This American Life  – 2
• This Day in Esoteric Political History – 1
• Throughline – 6
• Twenty Thousand Hertz – 2
• Unf*cking the Republic – 2
• Up First – 1
• The War on Cars – 1
• What Next – 1

Podcasts of the Week Ending April 3

Fresh Air :: The High Stakes Of Amazon’s ‘One-Click America’

The vote to unionize an Amazon warehouse in Alabama and what that means for labor in America.

Planet Money ::  Socialism 101

A primer on a widely misunderstood economic theory.

Radio Boston ::  New Study Supports Suffolk DA Rollins’ Focus More On Serious, Violent Crimes

Rachael Rollins ran for and was elected as Suffolk County District Attorney promising not to prosecute many nonviolent offenses and focus on more serious crimes.  Newly released data is proving her approach to be correct.

Radiolab :: What Up, Holmes?

Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes originated a metaphor for free speech as “the marketplace of ideas,” but is there a better way to conceptualize freedom of speech?

This Day in Esoteric Political History :: Three Mile Meltdown

A partial nuclear meltdown at a nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania was apparently not as bad as it is always made out to be.

Throughline :: Our Own People

The story of a social justice activist I’ve never heard of before, Yuri Kochiyama. A Japanese-American woman who fought for Asian American equality, Kochiyama allied herself with numerous liberation movements. She was friends was Malcolm X and held him as he died.

What Next :: Can a Highway Be Racist?

There’s a long history in the United States of working class BIPOC communities being leveled to build and enlarge highways.  The freeway revolt against this practice continues in Houston.

Running Tally of Podcast of the Week Awards for 2021

• Afropop Worldwide – 1
• AirSpace – 1
• Best of the Left – 1
• The Brattle Film Podcast – 1
• Code Switch – 2
• Consider This – 1
• Fresh Air – 1
• Futility Closet – 1
• Have You Heard? – 2
• Hub History – 2
• Judas and the Black Messiah – Entire series
• LeVar Burton Reads – 1
• Lost Massachusetts – 1
• The Moth – 1
• The Memory Palace – 1
• 99% Invisible – 2
• Politically Re-Active – 2
• Planet Money – 2
• Radio Boston – 2
• Radiolab – 2
• Reparations: The Big Payback – 1
• Scientific American – 1
• Seizing Freedom – 2
• Sidedoor – 1
• Strong Songs – 1
• This American Life  – 2
• This Day in Esoteric Political History – 1
• Throughline – 5
• Twenty Thousand Hertz – 2
• Up First – 1
• The War on Cars – 1
• What Next – 1

Podcasts of the Week Ending January 30

Have You Heard? ::  Reopening a Can of Worms

A deep dive into the debate over sending children back to school during the pandemic.

Lost Massachusetts :: The Lost Corner: AKA Hells Acre, The Oblong, Etc.

I’ve always been fascinated with “The Oblong” on the CT-NY border but had not known of the lawless settlement that once was in the corner of Massachusetts.

The Memory Palace :: The Stone

Long before the fears of a “9/11 Mosque” were stoked by prejudiced Americans, another fear of an outsiders’ religion manifested in protests and violence over a stone for the Washington Monument.

Radiolab :: Smile My Ass

Candid Camera created “reality television” by redefining how we viewed reality itself.

What Next :: Did the Media Fail the Trump Years?

Yes.

 

Running Tally of Podcast of the Week Awards for 2021

• The Brattle Film Podcast – 1
• Code Switch – 1
• Have You Heard? – 1
• Lost Massachusetts – 1
• The Moth – 1
• The Memory Palace – 1
• Politically Re-Active – 1
• Radio Boston – 1
• Radiolab – 1
• Scientific American – 1
• Strong Songs – 1
• This American Life  – 1

Podcasts of (Two) Weeks Ending November 21

I’ve had bloggers block lately and I’m not keeping up with my posts.  So, many apologies for having two weeks of podcasts for today.

What Next :: How Democrats Took Latino Voters for Granted

An autopsy on one of the main reasons why Democrats failed to gain seats in Congress.

99% Invisible :: You’ve Got Enron Mail!

How an archive of emails released to the public during the Enron scandal have become a resource for researchers and developers.

The Rewatchables :: Toy Story

The groundbreaking computer-animated film classic was released 25 years ago today!

The Story Collider ::  Stories of COVID-19 

A series of personal stories of the most significant scientific event in recent history

Futility Closet :: Friedrich Kellner’s Opposition

A German opponent to the Nazi regime performed resistance through documentation.

The Tomorrow Society :: Seth Porges, Writer and Co-Director of Class Action Park

The story of the most dangerous amusement park, that thrived in New Jersey in the 1980s, get the film treatment.

Best of the Left :: The Conservative Fever Swamp is Reaching Critical Mass

Trump is leaving office but the Republican party is permanently the party of racisms and conspiracy theories.

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RUNNING TALLY OF PODCAST OF THE WEEK APPEARANCES

• AirSpace – 1
• Afropop Worldwide – 3
• All Songs Considered – 3
• And Nothing Less – Entire series
• The Anthropocene Reviewed – 1
• BackStory – 4
• Brattle Film Podcast – 2
• Best of the Left – 3
• Coronavirus Daily/Consider This – 5
• Code Switch – 5
• Decoder Ring – 5
• Fresh Air – 9
• Futility Closet – 5
• Have You Heard – 3
• Here & Now – 1
• Hidden Brain – 3
• Hit Parade – 4
• Hub History – 1
• The Last Archive – 4
• LeVar Burton Reads – 1
• Memory Palace – 4
• More Than Enough – 4
• Mortified – 1
• The Moth – 1
• Nice White Parents – entire series
• 99% Invisible – 12
• 60-Second Science – 7
• Planet Money – 7
• The Politics of Everything – 2
• Radio Boston – 3
• Radiolab – 8
• Retro Disney World – 1
• The Rewatchables – 1
• Risk! – 1
• Science Talk – 2
• Smithsonian Sidedoor – 4
• Snap Judgment – 1
• Sound Opinions – 1
• The Story Collider – 1
• The Thirty20Eight – 2
• This American Life – 2
• This Day in Esoteric Public History – 1
• Throughline – 12
• The Tomorrow Society – 2
• The Truth – 1
• Twenty Thousand Hertz – 8
• The War on Cars – 1
• Wedway Radio – 1
• What Next – 13

Podcasts of the Week Ending October 24

Code Switch :: Is Trump Really That Racist?

Trump says the quiet part out loud, but a panel of experts evaluates US Presidents over the past 50 years and finds that many of them enabled racism through policy and laws.

Planet Money :: Frame Canada

A whistleblower exposes the propaganda campaign he created to (succesfully) make Americans believe that medical care in Canada is inferior to that of the United States.

The Thirty20Eight :: Disney Princess Non-Princesses & Non-Princess Princesses

What is a Disney Princess and who makes the cut? A surprisingly fascinating discussion of a cultural phenomenon.

Twenty Thousand Hertz :: Dies Irae

From medieval chants to symphonic compositions to the soundtracks of blockbuster films, a pattern of four notes has served to represent death.

What Next :: First Timers: Out of Prison and Finally Able to Vote

Incarceration strips American citizens of their right to vote, sometimes even after they are released. This podcast focuses on one formerly incarcerated person who will be participating in voting for the first time this year.

RUNNING TALLY OF PODCAST OF THE WEEK APPEARANCES

• AirSpace – 1
• Afropop Worldwide – 3
• All Songs Considered – 3
• And Nothing Less – Entire series
• The Anthropocene Reviewed – 1
• BackStory – 4
• Brattle Film Podcast – 2
• Best of the Left – 2
• Coronavirus Daily/Consider This – 5
• Code Switch – 5
• Decoder Ring – 5
• Fresh Air – 9
• Futility Closet – 3
• Have You Heard – 3
• Here & Now – 1
• Hidden Brain – 3
• Hit Parade – 3
• Hub History – 1
• The Last Archive – 4
• LeVar Burton Reads – 1
• Memory Palace – 4
• More Than Enough – 4
• Mortified – 1
• The Moth – 1
• Nice White Parents – entire series
• 99% Invisible – 10
• 60-Second Science – 4
• Planet Money – 7
• The Politics of Everything – 2
• Radio Boston – 3
• Radiolab – 8
• Retro Disney World – 1
• Risk! – 1
• Science Talk – 2
• Smithsonian Sidedoor – 4
• Snap Judgment – 1
• Sound Opinions – 1
• The Thirty20Eight – 2
• This American Life – 2
• This Day in Esoteric Public History – 1
• Throughline – 12
• The Tomorrow Society – 1
• The Truth – 1
• Twenty Thousand Hertz – 8
• The War on Cars – 1
• Wedway Radio – 1
• What Next – 12

Podcasts of the Week Ending October 3

99% Invisible :: The Address Book

A new back traces the history of street addresses, how different addresses have contributed to divisions in social class, and how the government assigning addresses can be seen as an imposition on individual liberties.

:: Goodnight Nobody

The story of Anne Carroll Moore, the New York Public Library librarian who invented and popularized the children’s library. She also used her position of influence what types of books would be purchased by children’s libraries, favoring escapist tales of imaginary worlds.  This is also the story of Margaret Wise Brown, who wrote a book rooted in ordinary childhood experiences that Moore absolutely detested, Goodnight Moon. 

Smithsonian Sidedoor :: Dress Coded

School dress codes have been a standard of educational experiences for over a century, and through all that time have particularly been used to police girls’ bodies, especially Black girls’ bodies.

Throughline :: The Everlasting Problem

The history of why the United States has eschewed single payer healthcare and how healthcare became associated with employment instead.

What Next :: The Bottom Line on Trump’s Taxes

Not only is Trump’s failure to pay much in taxes indicative of corruption and hypocrisy, but his desire to be reelected is partially because it will help him avoid paying his many debts.

RUNNING TALLY OF PODCAST OF THE WEEK APPEARANCES

• AirSpace – 1
• Afropop Worldwide – 3
• All Songs Considered – 3
• And Nothing Less – Entire series
• The Anthropocene Reviewed – 1
• BackStory – 4
• Brattle Film Podcast – 2
• Best of the Left – 2
• Coronavirus Daily/Consider This – 5
• Code Switch – 3
• Decoder Ring – 5
• Fresh Air – 9
• Futility Closet – 3
• Have You Heard – 3
• Here & Now – 1
• Hidden Brain – 3
• Hit Parade – 2
• Hub History – 1
• The Last Archive – 4
• LeVar Burton Reads – 1
• Memory Palace – 4
• More Than Enough – 4
• Mortified – 1
• The Moth – 1
• Nice White Parents – entire series
• 99% Invisible – 10
• 60-Second Science – 4
• Planet Money – 4
• The Politics of Everything – 2
• Radio Boston – 3
• Radiolab – 7
• Retro Disney World – 1
• Risk! – 1
• Science Talk – 2
• Smithsonian Sidedoor – 4
• Snap Judgment – 1
• Sound Opinions – 1
• The Thirty20Eight – 1
• This American Life – 2
• This Day in Esoteric Public History – 1
• Throughline – 11
• The Tomorrow Society – 1
• Twenty Thousand Hertz – 7
• Wedway Radio – 1
• What Next – 11

Podcasts of the Week Ending July 18

Afropop Worldwide :: Africa and the Blues

In this podcast, we learn about how African music is more than just “the roots” and the ties between Africa and American blues traditions.

Brattle Film Podcast :: Boston on Film, Part 1

Boston is the setting for many movies, and the crime movie – also known as the Three Decker Movie or Boston No-r – is one of the most common genres.  Here’s a discussion of some of the best.

Decoder Ring :: The Karen

The history of how an archetype of the entitled, middle-class white women became known as The Karen.

The Last Archive :: Tomorrowland

The final episode of the series on “Who Killed Truth” travels from time capsules to Disneyland to Mark Zuckerberg’s dorm room to find answers.

Twenty Thousand Hertz :: Hamilton Remix

A breakdown of the remarkable sound design that goes into the stage production of Hamilton: An American Musical.

What Next :: The First Federal Execution in 17 Years

The United States takes another step into a neo-fascist state by resuming capital punishment at the federal level.

   :: Sweden Screwed Up

While we may be focused on how the United States totally bungled the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we can learn from Sweden of a complete different way to mess things up.

 

 

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• Anthropocene Reviewed – 3
• Afropop Worldwide – 3
• All Songs Considered – 3
• BackStory – 4
• Brattle Film Podcast – 1
• Best of the Left – 2
• Coronavirus Daily – 3
• Code Switch – 3
• Decoder Ring – 4
• Fresh Air – 8
• Futility Closet – 3
• Have You Heard – 2
• Here & Now – 1
• Hidden Brain – 3
• Hit Parade – 2
• Hub History – 1
• The Last Archive – 4
• LeVar Burton Reads – 1
• Memory Palace – 3
• More Than Enough – 4
• 99% Invisible – 5
• 60-Second Science – 3
• Planet Money – 3
• The Politics of Everything – 2
• Radio Boston – 2
• Radiolab – 4
• Risk! – 1
• Science Talk – 2
• Smithsonian Sidedoor – 3
• Snap Judgment – 1
• The Thirty20Eight – 1
• This American Life – 1
• This Day in Esoteric Public History – 1
• Throughline – 8
• The Tomorrow Society – 1
• Twenty Thousand Hertz – 7
• Wedway Radio – 1
• What Next – 10

Podcasts of the Week Ending June 27

The Politics of Everything :: The Political Power of Protests

Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw talks on police killings and the effect of COVID-19 on Black Americans, Osita Nwanevu talks about how protests affect public policy, and Patrick Blanchfield explains how the police use language to obscure police violence.

What Next :: How the NYPD Gets Away With It

The story of what happened when a police car hit a Black child on Halloween in New York.  Read more in this Pro Publica article by Eric Umansky.

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• Anthropocene Reviewed – 3
• Afropop Worldwide – 1
• All Songs Considered – 3
• BackStory – 3
• Best of the Left – 2
• Coronavirus Daily – 3
• Code Switch – 3
• Decoder Ring – 3
• Fresh Air – 8
• Futility Closet – 3
• Have You Heard – 2
• Here & Now – 1
• Hidden Brain – 2
• Hit Parade – 2
• Hub History – 1
• The Last Archive – 2
• LeVar Burton Reads – 1
• Memory Palace – 3
• More Than Enough – 4
• 99% Invisible – 4
• 60-Second Science – 2
• Planet Money – 3
• The Politics of Everything – 2
• Radio Boston – 2
• Radiolab – 4
• Risk! – 1
• Science Talk – 2
• Smithsonian Sidedoor – 2
• Snap Judgment – 1
• The Thirty20Eight – 1
• This American Life – 1
• This Day in Esoteric Public History – 1
• Throughline – 7
• The Tomorrow Society – 1
• Twenty Thousand Hertz – 6
• Wedway Radio – 1
• What Next – 8

Podcasts of the Week Ending June 20

My favorite podcasts are increasingly becoming so focused on current events that I wonder if they’ll still be relevant on Saturday, but I’m pretty sure that all of these podcasts are still “fresh.”

All Songs Considered :: New Music Friday: Run The Jewels

A deep dive into the terrific new album, RTJF, and album that speaks to a current moment of reckoning with racial discrimination and policing.

Fresh Air :: Poet Eve Ewing Connects 1919 Chicago Riots To Today

Eve Ewing found poetry in the report analyzing Chicago’s “Red Summer” and uses it to draw parallels to systemic racism that persists 100 years later.

Have You Heard :: Arrested Development: How Police Ended Up in Schools

One of the worst aspects of overpolicing in the USA is the use of police to address school discipline issues and the perpetuation of a school-to-prison pipeline. The podcast traces the history of police in schools back to the 1960s and includes some commentary from some brilliant Boston Public School students

Here & Now :: #SayHerName Campaign; The State Of The Coronavirus Pandemic

The #SayHerName Campaign brings awareness to Black women who have suffered from police killings and police brutality, who are overlooked even as the world is focused on Black Lives Matters issues.

Planet Money :: Police Unions And Police Violence

Police unions are not like other unions, as police already have powers that other workers do not, and the existence of police unions helps perpetuate police killings and police violence.

Radiolab :: Nina

The music of Nina Simone and why it resonates with our times.

What Next :: A Politician’s Brush with NYPD Abuse

New York state senator Zellnor Myrie offers his first-hand experience with police violence during protests in Brooklyn, and how it’s translating into dramatic legislative action.

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• Anthropocene Reviewed – 3
• Afropop Worldwide – 1
• All Songs Considered – 3
• BackStory – 3
• Best of the Left – 2
• Coronavirus Daily – 3
• Code Switch – 3
• Decoder Ring – 3
• Fresh Air – 8
• Futility Closet – 3
• Have You Heard – 2
• Here & Now – 1
• Hidden Brain – 2
• Hit Parade – 2
• Hub History – 1
• The Last Archive – 2
• LeVar Burton Reads – 1
• Memory Palace – 3
• More Than Enough – 4
• 99% Invisible – 4
• 60-Second Science – 2
• Planet Money – 3
• The Politics of Everything – 1
• Radio Boston – 2
• Radiolab – 4
• Risk! – 1
• Science Talk – 2
• Smithsonian Sidedoor – 2
• Snap Judgment – 1
• The Thirty20Eight – 1
• This American Life – 1
• This Day in Esoteric Public History – 1
• Throughline – 7
• The Tomorrow Society – 1
• Twenty Thousand Hertz – 6
• Wedway Radio – 1
• What Next – 8

Podcasts of the Week Ending June 13

Coronavirus Daily :: Masks Are Even More Important Than We Thought

Wear a mask.  Keep your distance.  Wash your hands.  Repeat.

The Last Archive :: Unheard

The story of Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man, and the erasure of Black voices in history.

Throughline :: American Police

The history of policing in the United States from its origins in slave patrols to the present, with control of Black Americans as its central purpose.

Twenty Thousand Hertz :: Copyrights & Wrongs

The curious and convoluted cases of copyright in popular music: are musicians stealing from other musicians or just drawing inspiration?

What Next :: The Antifa Myth

The Antifa Bus is coming / And everybody’s rioting / New York to San Fransisco / An antifacist disco.

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• Anthropocene Reviewed – 3
• Afropop Worldwide – 1
• All Songs Considered – 2
• BackStory – 3
• Best of the Left – 2
• Coronavirus Daily – 3
• Code Switch – 3
• Decoder Ring – 3
• Fresh Air – 7
• Futility Closet – 3
• Have You Heard – 1
• Hidden Brain – 2
• Hit Parade – 2
• Hub History – 1
• The Last Archive – 2
• LeVar Burton Reads – 1
• Memory Palace – 3
• More Than Enough – 4
• 99% Invisible – 4
• 60-Second Science – 2
• Planet Money – 2
• The Politics of Everything – 1
• Radio Boston – 2
• Radiolab – 3
• Risk! – 1
• Science Talk – 2
• Smithsonian Sidedoor – 2
• Snap Judgment – 1
• The Thirty20Eight – 1
• This American Life – 1
• This Day in Esoteric Public History – 1
• Throughline – 7
• The Tomorrow Society – 1
• Twenty Thousand Hertz – 6
• Wedway Radio – 1
• What Next – 7