I started listening to podcasts a few years ago, mostly old episodes of the Diane Rehm Show. Since then I’ve found a few really fantastic, inspiring, and eye-opening podcasts. These podcasts have shaped my understanding of spaces, communities, and politics. The podcasts I listen cover a variety of topics from architecture, design, and urban planning to fashion to food to race. These are my top podcasts:
- The Funambulist
I absolutely adore The Funambulist which is also a journal. They cover the politics of bodies and space so they often feature architects and planners but also historians and anthropologists. I cannot stress how much I love The Funambulist and these are top episodes that I honestly think about nearly every day (in no particular order):
- The Geological and Technological Landscape Production of our Cities (I have not stopped thinking about this podcast since I first time I listened to it 3ish years ago.)
- Crystal Marie Fleming’s Blackness, Memorialization of Slavery, and Racial Denials in France. I love Crystal Marie Fleming and actually had the chance to hear her speak when she came to Wellesley, which is also her alma mater. This conversation highlighted numerous differences I’ve experienced traveling in Europe as compared to friends and family, which was enlightening.
- Chanelle Adams’ The Politics of Phamarcy-Gasy in Madagascar. I’ll be honest, many times I listen to the Funambulist and it’s about something I’ve never heard of before. This was one of those times but I highly recommend this episode.
- Concrete Action’s A Disobedient Platform for Architecture Whistleblowers
- Almen Modstand’s A Resistance Movement Against the Racist Danish Ghetto Laws. Racial politics in Scandinavia, nough said. (but seriously check this episode out and Marie Flemming’s out because race in Europe is so interesting especially when thought about in conversation to race in America.)
- I have one more episode I want to mention but I’m going to save it for later this week because it is directly related to my research.
The absolute best (and realist) fashion podcast on the face of the planet. I’ve been listening since day one and every episode is (somehow) better than the last. I love every episode so I actually could not pick a single episode to highlight so I highly recommend ALL of them.
A foodie podcast run by Andi Murphy, a Navajo woman, who highlights Native food, chefs, and Indigenous cuisine. I just found out about this podcast this year, like a few months ago, but I love it. The food scene is for some strange reason really white, which irks me (for a number reasons, I’m not going into right now) so I love hearing from non-white voices.