Podcast search, "diverse" edition
March 7, 2012 8:23 AM

A friend is looking for US-based podcasts that are interesting, different, and NOT produced by white dudes. This is for work on podcasts as a medium for material that doesn't fit into "traditional" radio categories and as a place for experimentation. She's finding lots of great stuff, but says with the exception of "Longest shortest time", they're all by white guys. Do you have any recommendations for US-produced podcasts that are experimental, interesting, and from a different perspective? Thanks a lot!
posted by supercoollady to Media & Arts (12 answers total) 12 users marked this as a favorite
Maximum Fun's new podcast is Throwing Shade, hosted by a woman and a gay guy. It's new, so I can't speak to how good it is, but Max Fun has a pretty good track record, in my book (The Sound of Young America/Bullseye; Jordan, Jesse, Go!; My Brother, My Brother, and Me). The description says "they tear apart the most embarrassing and horrible parts of our culture's sexism, homophobia and general wrong-headedness with wit and charm to spare."
posted by Rock Steady at 8:29 AM on March 7, 2012


Are you looking for a specific genre or style (like stylistic editing similar to Radiolab or 99% Invisible?).

If not, off the top of my head, there's Aisha Tyler's Girl on Guy, Making It with Riki Lindhome, Indoor Kids with Kumail Nanjiani and Emily Gordon, The Mutant Season by a 9 year old named Gil (though he may be white, I don't know). Looking at the top podcasts in the comedy category in iTunes, I also see You Had To Be There (Nikki Glaser and Sara Schaefer), Alison Rosen is Your Best Friend, in Science and Medicine there's StarTalk with Neil DeGrasse Tyson. That last one is, I assume, created by a production team, so if you're looking for more homegrown/edited that one may not count.
posted by Lyn Never at 9:28 AM on March 7, 2012


Snap Judgment is hosted by a black guy. Some of the producers are white guys, some are not. It's interesting in somewhat the same way that This American Life and RadioLab are, so it may not be extremely "different."
posted by slidell at 9:44 AM on March 7, 2012


Thanks all so far! Actually I'm hoping for podcasts that aren't from public radio "style", so while Radiolab is interesting I'm not looking for stuff that's specifically in that style because that's already a public radio podcast.

Looking for things that might not make it onto the airwaves, produced by different kinds of people. Thanks so much for your stuff so far--it's really been helpful. And I certainly don't mind if something's done by a production team. Keep 'em coming if you've got any more! Thanks again.
posted by supercoollady at 9:48 AM on March 7, 2012


Have you checked out the Public Radio Exchange or Transom? They're still public-radio-oreinted but skew more experimental.
posted by BrashTech at 10:06 AM on March 7, 2012


There's The Dork Forest, by Jackie Kashian. It's pretty lo-fi covers a huge breadth of topics, usually nerdy (more recent ones that I enjoyed were about model railroading, comic books, and board games). Sometimes it can get a little grating because I'm not really interested in the comic-interviewing-another-comic episodes, but there's usually some good stuff.
posted by backseatpilot at 10:25 AM on March 7, 2012


Two Whole Cakes Fatcast. Jay Smooth's Ill Doctrine podcast. Native American Public Telecommunications podcasts. Dos Lives Latino podcast.

Sadly, Addicted to Race stopped creating podcasts a couple of years ago.
posted by Sidhedevil at 10:30 AM on March 7, 2012


Also, Trannywreck podcasts were incredible. I wish Rebecca Ney was still doing them.
posted by Sidhedevil at 10:32 AM on March 7, 2012




Which Dork Forest was about Model Railroading?
posted by drezdn at 11:42 AM on March 7, 2012


Episode 91, Trains!
posted by backseatpilot at 1:14 PM on March 7, 2012


Fluff Radio Review is no longer being produced, but there's enough old episodes to listen to for a while.
posted by moonmilk at 10:35 PM on March 7, 2012


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