February 3, 2021

Podcast Recommendations for Black History Month

Podcast Recommendations for Black History Month

In honor of Black History Month, we’re taking a deep dive into the lives, accomplishments and challenges of African Americans in our community and beyond. Here are some podcasts you may enjoy:


INDIANA HISTORY
Echoes of Indiana Avenue 
Produced by Cultural Manifesto host Kyle Long and narrated by musician Herman “Butch” Slaughter, Echoes of Indiana Avenue is an audio documentary focused on the cultural achievements of Black artists and musicians from central Indiana.

MUSIC/CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Louder Than A Riot - “Captured By The Game: Nipsey Hussle”
After LA rapper Nipsey Hussle was murdered in 2019, city officials praised him for his community advocacy. But NPR has learned that behind the scenes, some law enforcement officers branded Nipsey as a gang member, and that label meant another man from Nipsey's neighborhood would be sent to jail — just for interacting with him. So why did California's Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation lie to us about it? And what does that say about the impact of law enforcement categorizing thousands of Black and brown men as potential criminals?

CULTURE / STORYTELLING
Code Switch - “We Aren’t Who We Think We Are"
Every family has a myth about who they are and where they came from. And there are a lot of reasons people tell these stories. Sometimes it's to make your family seem like they were part of an important historical event. Other times, it's to hide something that is too painful to talk about. That last point can be especially true for African American families.

GLOBAL AFFAIRS
Rough Translation - “We (Still) Don’t Say That”
Note: This story contains strong language in English and French.
France is the place where for decades you weren't supposed to talk about someone's blackness, unless you said it in English. Today, we're going to meet the people who took a very French approach to change that.

HISTORY
Throughline - ”The Most Sacred Right”
Frederick Douglass dreamed of a country where all people could vote and he did everything in his power to make that dream a reality. In the face of slavery, the Civil War and the violence of Jim Crow, he fought his entire life for what he believed was a sacred, natural right that should be available to all people — voting.

ENTREPRENEURSHIP / MEDIA
How I Built This With Guy Raz - “How I Built Resilience: Live with Morgan DeBaun”
Morgan DeBaun founded Blavity as a media platform for Black millennials to convene and connect online. Today, amidst an economic crisis and a reawakening of concern over racial justice, Blavity's mission is both more urgent and more challenging.