What I'm Listening To
Podcasting has become my new favorite medium to consume. The variety of content feels endless and it’s free and easy to stream from almost anywhere with a signal. I also love that I can listen to shows while multi-tasking, giving my eyes a much-needed break from digital screens.
One of the best parts about podcasts is discovering engaging hosts that offer different perspectives on relatable situations or current events. Lately, I feel like I’ve been experiencing a collective trauma but don’t always want to discuss it. Protesting, posting thoughts on social and engaging in private conversations has helped a little, but I’ve been able to find joy in the art of listening.
I recently shared a list of 12 Black History And Culture Podcasts To Know and now I’m sharing 9 Black culture podcasts I have in rotation from hosts I enjoy listening to. Some episodes have me laughing out loud in public and others catch me off guard, stirring up emotional feels but most offer new learnings and interesting ideas to contemplate.
If you are here to broaden your knowledge and understanding of Black culture, please be mindful not to impose your personal values or interject yourself into conversations found on these podcasts. If anything you hear makes you feel uncomfortable, ask yourself where that reaction is coming from and explore why it bothers you. If you are non-Black, try not to only “consume” the content but think about how you can help challenge the status quo and help make real change with what you learn. We all have to be in this fight to end injustice and fight white supremacy by actively being antiracist.
As always, if you have more suggestions on need-to-know shows with Black voices, please drop a comment below. Happy listening!
1. The Nod
The Nod tells the stories of Black life that don’t get told anywhere else, from an explanation of how purple drink became associated with Black culture to the story of how an interracial drag troupe traveled the nation in the 1940s. The Nod celebrates the genius, the innovation, and the resilience that is so particular to being Black — in America, and around the world.
2. While Black
While Black is a podcast on Black excellence with two seriously opinionated hosts bringing you the real and the sometimes raw on anything happening while black.
3. The Stoop
The Stoop podcast digs into stories that are not always shared out in the open. Hosts Leila Day and Hana Baba start conversations about what it means to be black and how we talk about blackness. It’s a celebration of black joy with a mission to dig deeper into stories that we don’t hear enough about.
4. Red Table Talk
Jada Pinkett-Smith, her daughter Willow Smith and mother Adrienne Banfield-Norris opens their home for a series of groundbreaking and healing conversations. Red Table Talk, a Facebook Watch Original, brings together three generations of women to tackle the most provocative topics of today, from race and sexuality to infidelity and addiction. No topic is off limits.
5. The Read
Bloggers Kid Fury and Crissle’s weekly podcast covers hip-hop and pop culture’s most trying stars. Throwing shade and spilling tea with a flippant and humorous attitude, no star is safe from Fury and Crissle unless their name is Beyoncé. (Or Blue Ivy.)
As transplants to New York City (Kid Fury from Miami and Crissle from Oklahoma City), The Read also serves as an on-air therapy session for two friends trying to adjust to life (and rats) in the big city.
6. In Black America
In Black America profiles a diverse selection of current and historically significant figures whose stories help illuminate life in Black America.
7. Still Processing
Step inside the confession booth of Wesley Morris and Jenna Wortham, two culture writers for The New York Times. They devour TV, movies, art, music and the internet to find the things that move them — to tears, awe and anger. Still Processing is where they try to understand the pleasures and pathologies of America in 2020.
8. Gettin’ Grown
Keia and Jade are two happy and hard working (Blackity) Black Women who are just trying to learn how to adult, for real. Join them each week for Kitchen TableTalk, Petty Peeves and Lessons in Black Women Self Care, as they try to figure out life as 30-somethings.
9. Stakes Is High
Stakes is High is a social commentary podcast that discusses everything from being Black in America, to guest-driven topics, to current events and entertainment. Stakes is High is a real podcast, having real conversations with real people. Tune in weekly with Jones and TC.
If you have other podcast suggestions, feel free to drop a comment below!
