Podcasts open up a world of different perspectives and can really support what we learn in the classroom. Hearing from people in the field you want to enter gives you some knowledge of the challenges you might face in the future. It’s also a great tool to spark motivation and dedication to a specific topic and career path. Sometimes just reading our textbooks and going to class isn’t enough, we need to know what is happening in the real world! I mostly listen to sustainability focused podcasts, but pepper in some news, social justice issues, feminism, and well… just about anything. So here I will attempt to give you my favorites from my list of 100+ subscribed shows.
Sustainability
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The Sustainability Agenda: I love this show because it explores many aspects of sustainability with a strong emphasis on economic systems. Economic activity is the main driver of environmental degradation and poor well-being for humans so hearing what thought leaders are doing in this space is extremely important. I specifically appreciate that the host questions guests on tough subjects, such as the limits to growth.
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Sustainability Defined: I listen to this show to hear from people across sectors doing their part in fighting for a sustainable planet. They have interviewed companies exploring solutions to food waste, energy efficiency, beer production, clothing, and their most recent episode was on campus sustainability!
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Campus Energy and Sustainability Podcast: I actually just started listening to this one because I’m working on proposals for sustainability at Rowan. I wanted to learn more about this very specific topic and voila! Listen to this show to hear from individuals from all roles at universities and consultant firms initiating change in these mini-towns we call campuses.
Feminist Vibes
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Call Your Girlfriend: Two long-distance best friends discuss a wide variety of topics through a feminist lens. These range from pop culture to abortion rights and everything in between. They’re all about female empowerment and the power of strong supportive female friendships.
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Unscrewed: This show has the mission of unscrewing the sexual culture through having hard conversations. The host is mindful of the diversity of relationships individuals have with sex. She includes gender, racial, religious, and sexual identity and their intersections.
News
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The Daily: This is the NY Times podcast where they explore one major news story in under 30 minutes. Interviews consist of experts and first-hand accounts to gain an intimate perspective on the topic at hand.
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Deconstructed with Mehdi Hasan: Has a similar concept as The Daily but has a more radical feel. Hasan isn’t afraid to bring on controversial guests and lean heavily into the progressive side of politics.
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Pod Save America: I listen to most of the suite of Pod Save podcasts, this was the first and the most well known. I especially find it helpful at this stage as they have great in depth analysis on the democrats running for President in 2020. Pod Save the People focuses heavily on social politics and issues of discrimination that are lesser known. Lovett or Leave It has some hilarious commentary on politics and whatever guests come to rant about. Pod Save the World has an interesting take on foreign policy from a member of Obama’s National Security Council and his number of qualified guests.
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Yo, Is This Racist?: I’m including this in news because the first segment of the show is where the hosts discuss news stories dealing with racial issues. They then move into listening to voicemails from callers with race related questions. The advice is informed, abrasive, hilarious, and, by their own admission, at times unhelpful. It’s good for white people to listen to this show, especially as we should all give our friends of color a break from our race related questions.