If you’re anything like a younger version of yourself, you find politics a little overwhelming and while you want to know more about them, you don’t know where to start. I remember feeling conflicted all throughout high school because although I had a strong set of political opinions, I wasn’t the best at reading the news or paying attention to what was happening in the world around me. I deeply wanted to pay attention or be closer to the pulse of what was happening in the country, as well as internationally, but I was overwhelmed and didn’t know where to start (not to mention living in a town steeped in conservatism and conspiracy theories). From time to time these days, I still chide myself for missing out on a political event or uprising that has happened, but presently I would say I am a lot more politically involved as well as educated, and a lot of this is thanks to the podcasts I have listened to. If you would like to learn more about political issues or just add some new podcasts to your queue, here are some that I recommend (fair warning, a lot of them are produced by NPR. I’m an NPR junkie).
- Code Switch
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Code Switch is produced by NPR and hosted by Shereen Marisol Meraji and Gene Demby. The term “code switching” is used to describe a person alternaternating between different languages, language styles or meaning and is seen often in minority communities. The podcast Code Switch digs a little deeper, though, and applies the concept of code switching to all aspects of minorities interacting with white America by examining the overlapping of culture and race or ethnicity. The podcast generally sticks close to current events, but it is very multicultural and covers a vast amount of topics.
- America Did What?
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Hosted by queer, African American Muslim activist/author Blair Imani, as well as actor and author Kate Robards, America Did What? takes a fun, quirky and deep look at the history of racism and injustice in America and exposes its lesser-known dark side. Robards jokingly plays devil’s advocate for white people (as a way of mocking white ignorance on minority struggles) while Imani digs deep into history that is not often discussed, and they both draw connections to how history influences our current political situation.
- No Compromise
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This NPR podcast, hosted by reporters Lisa Hagen of WABE and Chris Haxel of KCUR (I see you, Kansas City!), discusses a very specific niche in politics: the far right and gun-rights activists. The pair of reporters follow a Facebook group of a gun-rights super power, the Dorr brothers, and survey their supporters and suspicious campaigning tactics. The podcast also delves into social media and its influence on politics and is a very interesting series to binge.
- Port of Entry
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Port of Entry examines the space between borders — where cultures collide and innermingle. The host, Alan Lilienthal, weaves together stories of hope, desperation and love from people that live in these spaces and have lives which are deeply impacted by the Mexico/U.S. border wall, along with the stories of those crossing the border. The stories are always personal and often emotional, and they generally stick to current political themes, with an obvious special interest in Latinx issues.
- The Cut
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The Cut by Vox Media often explores many topics, ranging from popular culture, fashion, sex and gender, to politics. It tends to be very feminist-leaning with almost completely female hosts and guests. It is clean-cut, often lighthearted journalism that can be really refreshing.
- This American Life
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This American Life, hosted by Ira Glass, has been a longtime radio show on NPR stations. Like The Cut, it also focuses on more than just politics. However, it offers a lot of very close-and-personal accounts of political events and a close look at many things happening in society. Although many of the stories told on this podcast tend to be happy ones, This American Life is not afraid of looking into bigger, harder emotions and discussing the politics of the situation. It is a classic that I always turn to and features a vast archive of past episodes online (dating all the way back to 1995) that will hold you off in between new episode releases.
Podcasts are not the sole way that I get my news, but they really help me digest current events or dig into the politics and history of things. Though I am an adult and will hopefully soon be entering the news field as a journalist, it really helps to be able to listen to other perspectives. Hopefully these podcasts will help you feel more politically informed like they have with me!