Our July 2020 Podcast Recommendations
Maia Lugar:
I want to start off by saying that I’m not a huge podcast listener. That being said, I started listening to Bad With Money when it first came out in 2016, and I’ve listened to every episode since. Hosted by Gaby Dunn, this podcast examines our financial system and its institutions, and looks at how the financial system has been constructed to systematically discriminate against people of colour (specifically black and Indigenous peoples), disabled people, and women. Gaby Dunn uses her platform to feature people of colour, queer/trans people, people with disabilities, and people with mental illness(es) in order to share their stories of how the financial system has worked against them, and how we can start to fight back and use the system to our advantage. Although the podcast has an educational perspective, it does not come across as ‘preachy’. In fact, we as the audience learn alongside Dunn, making it that much more enjoyable to listen to and engage with.
Dunn has also written a book based on the knowledge that she’s gained throughout her time as the podcast’s host; the book is titled “Bad with Money: The Imperfect Art of Getting Your Financial Sh*t Together”. I would highly recommend both the book and the podcast if you’re feeling overwhelmed with newfound adult financial responsibilities such as investing, RSPs/401(k)s, or paying off student loans, and want to learn more about how to navigate the financial system.
Marie-Pier Allard:
My podcast suggestion for July is “ Reveal”. This podcast has won multiple broadcast journalism awards and was also a Pulitzer Prize finalist. Hosted by Al Leston and produced by The Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX, each episode covers a different political and social justice topic that varies from immigration, environment, protest or prison. In this podcast, the host, Al Leston investigates with different reporters and newsrooms across the world to provide episodes that offer a 360 discussion about a special topic while giving you a different and deeper look from what you hear in the mainstream media. What I also really like about this podcast is the way Leston finds ways to discuss heavy and sensible hot topics and make it accessible and easy to process. Each episode fills you with extra information that you would often not get in the media to fully understand what is going on. “Reveal” is a podcast that digs deeper to provide us with extra information that we don’t get in the news. We live in a world where billions of pieces of information are thrown at us every day, at a pace where it becomes difficult to fact check it all. From fake news to filtered information to media biases, it is easy to fill our discourse with misinformation. And I feel like this podcast is informative, complete and so interesting. If you are new in the podcast world, this is definitely a good one to listen to if you are interested in American socio-political issues.
Here’s a couple episodes I suggest you should have look at :
Pizzagate: A slice of fake news
The smuggler
Pandemic, Protest and Profits
Tesla and Beyond: Hidden Problems of Silicon Valley
Carrie Robinson:
If you have been on the internet or social media in the past few weeks, you have probably seen the podcast “1619” recommended to you. 1619 is a 5 episode podcast by the New York Times’ and hoster by writer and Pultzer prize winner Nikole Hannah-Jones. This podcast discusses how every aspect of American culture, politics and society was affected by slavery and racism. Episodes are dedicated to how African Americans shaped debates on medicare, the financial system and american music and entertainment. In general, the 1619 podcast illustrates how America was founded and shaped on ideals of freedom but economics of slavery simultaneously. 1619 reframes the entire American story through the lens of the institution of slavery. It is poignant, educational and immersive. Importantly, it takes less than 5 hours to listen to the entire podcast, and it is definitely worth that time. I would recommend it to anyone who truly wants to educate themselves on race in American society.
Victoria Perak
:
My July podcast recommendation is “Pod Save the People” hosted by DeRay Mckesson with Sam Sinyangwe, Kaya Henderson and De’Ara Balenger. This podcast explores news, culture, social justice and politics with a specific focus on the experiences of BIPOC. Offering an often overlooked point of view, Pod Save the People shines light and thoroughly explains issues in society. I would recommend this podcast to anyone who is looking to get a more holistic view on both past and present events. Frankly, I think everyone should at least listen to a couple episodes of this podcast because it shows a perspective often unjustly hidden by the media. As students in Politics and International Studies, it is our responsibility to get the full story when learning and talking about current events or social justice issues and I think that this podcast is a great avenue for these discussions to continue.