Podhero Picks: The Black by Popular Demand Edition
Each February, the United States observes Black History Month, a time to educate and reflect on the Black experience. But 28 days (29 in a leap year) is far too little to capture the dynamic, intricate, and rich history of Black America. What’s more, the understanding and acknowledgement of this history, can guide us toward a better and brighter future.
So in this edition of Pods with Friends, we’re aiming to share a wide array of past, present, and future Black experiences — some challenging, some empowering, some joyful, and all worth your time. Give our list a read, load up your queue, and let’s keep this monthlong celebration going…all year round.
Finding Fred, “Kamau”
iHeart Media and Fatherly’s Finding Fred played well into the Rogers-centric cultural moment of 2019. Featuring interviews with show crew and collaborators, writers, and others who spoke about Mister Rogers’ influence on them. Although the show was hosted by a Black man (Carvell Wallace), and featured interviews with Black writers and contributors, this standout episode with comedian W. Kamau Bell is the first to explicitly address how Rogers covered race on his show.
In just under half an hour, Wallace and Bell deconstruct how Fred might have felt about race and how it revealed itself on the show, how the show connected with Black viewers, and the vulnerability it took to be so open in the early days of the show.
For All Nerds, “The Good Place Experience feat. William Jackson Harper”
And speaking of TV, nerd culture has a very specific look when portrayed in pop culture. To put it simply: where are the Black nerds? Wherever they may be, we hope they’re listening to For All Nerds.
This podcast hosted by Benjamin Johnson and Tatiana King Jones sprawls beautifully across all elements of the nerd experience: TV, comics, movies, podcasts, comedy, and more. And frankly, they’re having so many good conversations, it was very hard to choose an episode to share. Our eventual pick? In honor of the recently dearly departed The Good Place, we revisit their interview with the show’s resident Black nerd Chidi Anagonye, aka William Jackson Harper.
American Innovations, “XX Factor: Madam CJ Walker”
Madam CJ Walker is widely known for her stead as the first Black millionaire, a fortune she amassed in the world of beauty and hair care. However, her story is typically painted as a scrappy rags to riches story; as is often the case, there’s more to it than that.
Inspired by a tin of her groundbreaking Walker Wonderful Hair Grower that sits in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African-American History and Culture, this episode dives into Walker’s development of the Black beauty and hair care market as an inventor and entrepreneur, and eventually as a philanthropist.
Secure the Seat, “The Women of Color Equity Initiative”
Madam C.J. Walker’s success as a Black female entrepreneur represents an incredibly high level of professional achievement, one that sadly feels profoundly out of reach for countless Black women. And while Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In aimed to provide a blueprint for women to advance in their careers, former first lady Michelle Obama famously — and correctly — pointed out that those rules and techniques don’t work for everyone.
Minda Harts’ work is dedicated to crafting a playbook for professional success that works for women who are traditionally marginalized. That includes a book (The Memo), an online initiative, and this podcast. This episode of #SecureTheSeat talks more about her Women of Color Equity initiative, and is a must-listen…for women of color, and for anyone invested in their success.
99% Invisible, “The Hair Chart”
Speaking of hair, Black hair sparks controversy on a regular basis in society. In collaboration with The Stoop, 99% Invisible tells the story of another Walker — Oprah Winfrey’s hair stylist Andre Walker — and how his “hair chart” changed the way we talk about Black hair.
Now, that conversation is far from resolved, and the chart continues to raise questions about its inclusivity. But developing it started an interesting dialogue, one that 99PI shines a light on in this episode.
You’re Wrong About…, “Anita Hill”
Hosts Michael Hobbes and Sarah Marshall have dedicated themselves, through this podcast, to clearing up the misconceptions around cultural phenomena and the legacies of well-known people. And in a cultural moment that wrestles so mightily with sexual harassment, sexual assault, and the lasting ramifications for victims, it’s worthwhile to explore this notable case.
Her role in the confirmation case of eventual Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas cast her into the role of reluctant celebrity, but Michael and Sarah go beyond that sheen of visibility to uncover the facts of the case, its lasting if complex impact, and how Hill thinks about the events today.
Thirst Aid Kit, “A Sterling Choice”
2019 saw the revival of Bim Adewunmi and Nichole Perkins’ gone-too-soon-from-Buzzfeed Thirst Aid Kit, and not a moment too soon! Thirst Aid Kit allows for a type of frivolity and joy that isn’t typically offered to Black women, specifically through the lens of crushes — or, as the show refers to it, “thirst objects.”
Past episodes have gone into stunning and highly enjoyable detail about Bim and Nichole’s fixations on actors like Michael B. Jordan and Mahershala Ali, filmmakers like Ryan Coogler and Taika Waititi, and even more abstract concepts like hot fictional characters or beards. For the best sampling of what these women bring to the table in terms of thirst, get started with “A Sterling Choice,” their episode dedicated to This is Us and Waves actor Sterling K. Brown.
The Hilarious World of Depression, “Baron Vaughn and His Inadvisable All-Cheerio Diet”
One of the lasting legacies that Sterling K. Brown is leaving in pop culture, is starting a highly visible conversation about Black men and mental health. Baron Vaughn’s appearance on John Moe’s podcast, which sets out to untangle the complicated relationship between comedians and mental illness, reinforces this crucial point: conditions like depression and anxiety know no race. Vaughn talks about coming to this realization on his own, how it impacted his work, and what it’s meant to him to talk about it in his comedy.
The Black community has a complicated relationship with naming and treating these conditions, but as more high-profile people come forward with stories of their challenges and how they manage it, the conversation is gradually shifting.
Tremendous Upside, “Metta World Peace”
After spending several seasons revealing the reality of mental illness and how it affects some of our favorite performers, the team behind The Hilarious World of Depression developed a spinoff series that does the same for athletes. In the inaugural episode, host and Women’s Basketball Hall of Famer Chamique Holdsclaw interviews fellow basketball player, and longtime friend, Metta World Peace (formerly known as Ron Artest).
Artest is known by many for his notable outburst and rush into the stands to attack a fan in 2004. As He and Holdsclaw dig deeper into his background and their shared history, he paints a picture that connects this behavior — and other disciplinary incidents — to his struggles with trauma and mental illness. He talks more about where he is today, as well as how therapy led him there and what he’s learned from it all.
Colored, “Episode 1: War”
Suggested by Swoot user Katie K.
When it comes to trauma, not unlike that which Metta World Peace mentions in his Tremendous Upside episode, it can come from both individual and systemic sources. Colored, which carries the subtitle “Crack Cocaine, the War on Drugs, and the Making of Post-Civil Rights America,” dives deeper into this undeniable source of trauma for countless members of the Black community.
We’re dropping you in at the beginning of the series, but can’t recommend the full experience highly enough. Over the course of its run, Colored dives deeper into the genesis of this highly racialized — and racist — government program, how the media exacerbated it, and the very real impact it had and continues to have on Black and Brown communities.
Circle Round, “The Magic Bowl” (featuring the Boston Symphony Orchestra)
Over the course of our month, you may have noticed that we dedicated our Fridays to sharing Black History Month content aimed toward kids and families. This episode is no exception.
Circle Round is a storytelling podcast for kids that shares stories from all around the world. In this edition, a story from Ghana and the West Indies — a common point of origin for Black Americans — is accompanied by orchestration from the Boston Symphony Orchestra. We won’t spoil it for you, but there’s a good lesson by the end of this one!
Strong Black Leads, “Garrett Morris”
Black History Month is a time to highlight luminaries and prominent figures in the Black community; this frequently means the people highlighted have since passed. Netflix’s Strong Black Leads and its host Tracy Clayton have dedicated themselves to, as they say, giving prominent groundbreakers in Black entertainment their flowers while they’re still here. Past episodes included interviews with Loretta Devine, Oscar-winning costume designer Ruth E. Carter, and recently departed John Witherspoon.
We’re highlighting the episode with Garrett Morris, billed as “everyone’s pretend uncle” but who earned his icon status as the first Black cast member on Saturday Night Live. In the episode, he shares his coming-of-age stories, more about his time on SNL, and his later career on shows like Martin and The Jamie Foxx Show.
Tiny Desk Concerts, “Lizzo”
We’re closing out this edition of Pods with Friends with the most popular Tiny Desk concert of 2019: with singer-rapper-flutist-all around talented human Lizzo. She has steadily risen in prominence over the past several years, and finally exploded onto the pop music charts, red carpet reverie, and near-universal appreciation last year.
This 17 minute performance highlights three songs off her album Cuz I Love You, and adds nuance to her frenetic stage persona through letting her show off her clear, but undermentioned, vocal chops.
We’re literally only scratching the surface of podcasts that demonstrate the wide range of the Black experience. As you consider what else to listen to, we hope this is only the beginning of your exploration — let us know what other podcasts or episodes we should have on our radar!
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