This list of 27 podcasts about race and privilege was compiled from resources published by Forbes, Glamour, Sophie Flicker & Alyssa Klein, Cosmopolitan, Woman’s Day, and WBUR. Podcast descriptions are from Spotify or the podcast’s website.
1619
Brought to you by The New York Times, 1619 is a six-part series that depicts the story of a ship carrying more than 20 enslaved Africans that arrive in the English colony of Virginia and the 250 years of slavery that ensued.
About Race
From the author behind the bestselling Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race, Reni Eddo-Lodge interviews key voices from the anti-racist activism community and addresses the recent history that lead to the politics of today.
Co-Conspired Conversations
Myisha T is a mental health activist and author. On her “Co-Conspired Conversations” show, she sits down with white mothers, mentors, community leaders, entrepreneurs, and more to have candid and revealing discussions about the guest’s own relationship with power, privilege, and racism. They dive into the erasure of Black, brown, and indigenous women of color throughout history, as well as their silencing now, and how well-intentioned associates still often suffer from blind spots.
Code Switch
Code Switch is NPR’s podcast about “race and identity” that began in 2013, so the hosts have been discussing these topics for a while. This means you’ll have a lot of episodes to listen to.
Come Through
Come Through focuses on race in 2020. Hosted by Rebecca Carroll, Come Through’s description says it all: “It’s an election year, and whether people want to admit it or not, race is at the center of every issue — healthcare, jobs, climate change, the media. Join host Rebecca Carroll for 15 essential conversations about race in a pivotal moment for America.”
Counter Stories
Another NPR podcast, Counter Stories “looks at the effect of implicit bias and institutional racism on women of color’s reproductive health, and at the greater historical narrative of native women and women of color being continually separated from their children.”
Dear White Women
Described as a social justice podcast, Dear White Women is hosted by Sara and Mishasha, two half-Japanese, half-white women who created the show as a way to talk about racial identity, among other issues.
Desert Island Discs
Bryan Stevenson is the founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative, a private, not-for-profit organisation working on death penalty cases, cases of children sentenced as adults, prison and sentencing reform, and issues of race and poverty. His great grandparents were slaves and he himself went to a segregated school before enrolling in Havard Law School.
Good Ancestor
Good Ancestor Podcast is hosted by Layla Saad, author of Me and White Supremacy . The podcast is an interview series featuring “change-makers and culture-shapers exploring what it means to be a good ancestor.” One positive review for the show wrote, “the way Layla talks about ancestry with her guests and the perspectives they share have shifted my thinking about the kind of legacy I want to leave as well as how I show up in the world. I’m deeply grateful.”
Hear to Slay
Tressie McMillan Cottom, Ph.D., describes “Hear to Slay” as a group chat. And with fellow writer Roxane Gay as co-host, you can expect this text thread to be full of Black feminist perspectives on everything from pop culture to politics. Both critical and comical, conversations have covered what livability looks like for Black women across America and how to leverage astrology in pursuit of social justice.
Intersectionality Matters!
Kimberlé Crenshaw coined the term “intersectionality” in 1989. The Professor of Law, at both UCLA and Columbia Law School, used it to describe how race, class, gender, and other identifiers “intersect” with one another. Now the term is often used to explain how persons with multiple signifiers can experience double (or triple) the discrimination, and how persons who advocate for one indicator should not ignore its overlapping others. On Crenshaw’s show, presented by the African American Policy Forum, she explores topics through intersectional lenses, including how white supremacy unveils itself in times of crisis.
Jemele Hill is Unbothered
Award-winning journalist and culture critic Jemele Hill interviews the most compelling figures in news, pop culture, politics and sports. Expect unbothered and unfiltered conversations. New episodes every Monday.
Justice in America
Justice in America, hosted by Josie Duffy Rice and Clint Smith III, is a podcast for everyone interested in criminal justice reform. Each episode we cover a new criminal justice issue.
Keep It
Comedians, journalists, actors, musicians, activists, politicians and more to discuss the latest ways pop culture and entertainment are intersecting with politics and society. Guests include Issa Rae, Kristin Davis, Jane Fonda and more.
Momentum: A Race Forward Podcast
Momentum: A Race Forward Podcast features movement voices, stories, and strategies for racial justice. Co-hosts Chevon and Hiba give their unique takes on race and pop culture, and uplift narratives of hope, struggle, and joy, as we continue to build the momentum needed to advance racial justice in our policies, institutions, and culture.
Pod For The Cause
Hosted by The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, this podcast delves into topics including: human rights, policing, education, fighting hate and bias, judicial nominations, fair courts, voting rights, media and tech, economic security and immigration.
Pod Save the People
The blue vest has been making the rounds on Twitter for years at this point. Activist DeRay Mckesson and his vest made their way to this show in 2017 and he was soon joined by activists Brittany Packnett Cunningham and Sam Sinyangwe and writer Dr. Clint Smith III. The quad analyzes social issues, culture and politics in hour-long episodes that often feature special guests. I’d like to point you in the direction of an on-the-nose episode from last November titled “No In Between,” where they talk to author and historian Ibram X. Kembi about how to be an anti-racist, which coincidentally enough is also the title and subject of Kembi’s book.
Seeing White
”Seeing White” is, in fact, the Peabody Award-winning second season of the “Scene on Radio” podcast. Released in 2017, it is a 14-episode series led by producer John Biewen and regular guest Dr. Chenjerai Kumanyika. The hosts dive into the construction and meaning of whiteness, and subject matters include the structural innovations upon which American slavery was built, as well as the scientists who sought (and claimed to have) proof of racist hierarchies. An invitation for conversation, the show comes equipped with a downloadable study guide full of questions for comprehension and discussion.
Speaking of Racism
Looking for an anti-racism podcast that discusses the various levels and history of racism within the United States? Hosted by Tina Strawn and Jen Kinney and described as “a podcast dedicated to frank, honest discussion of race within the U.S.,” Speaking of Racism is a good option.
Still Processing
Still Processing is hosted by Jenna Wortham and Wesley Morris, two culture writers for The New York Times. They discuss everything from books to art to movies, while explaining how that often intersects with race in America.
The Diversity Gap
Join Bethaney Wilkinson as she explores the gap between good intentions and good impact as it relates to diversity, inclusion and equity. On The Diversity Gap podcast, we’ll be learning from thought leaders, authors, creatives and more about the diversity gaps in society and culture. Our goal is to discover promising practices for closing diversity gaps in our everyday lives and work!
The Echo Chamber Pod
Friends Jade and Ez discuss issues that they hope will resonate among black British people, speaking from their perspective as black, working class women.
The Nod
The Nod is a podcast by Gimlet Media that tells “the stories of Black life that don’t get told anywhere else.” It’s hosted by Brittany Luse and Eric Eddings and, as the site explains, talks about everything from “an explanation of purple drink’s association with Black culture to the story of an interracial drag troupe that traveled the nation in the 1940s.”
The Stoop
The stoop is where you hear stories, of course. On their show of the same name, journalists Leila Day and Hana Baba are unafraid to question cultural commonalities; instead, they discuss with guests the pressure that’s felt to buy all things Black or the resistance to always giving “The Nod.” But it also celebrates and protects Black joy; in a conversation about if being vegan makes you bougie, they debate who makes the best jollof rice (Is it Ghana? Nigeria?) and in an ode to Black introverts, they reveal how to correct the ways such personalities are treated.
The United States of Anxiety
United States of Anxiety is a podcast that talks about race and its history within the borders of the United States. “Many of the political and social arguments we are having now started in the aftermath of the Civil War, when Americans set out to do something no one had tried before: build the world’s first multiracial democracy,” the podcast’s description says. “The podcast gives voters the context to understand what’s at stake in this election.”
Throughline
The past is never past. Every headline has a history. Join us every week as we go back in time to understand the present. These are stories you can feel and sounds you can see from the moments that shaped our world.
Yo, Is This Racist?
The name probably gives it away, but this podcast is a good one if you’ve ever wondered… well, if something’s racist. Hosted by Andrew Ti (who has a blog of the same name) and Tawny Newsome, Yo, Is This Racist? takes questions from listeners and about whether something is racist or not and breaks it down.
