One of the emergent genres of criticism and reporting has been the podcast—a medium that blends the format of talk radio with the on-the-go, on-demand of contemporary life. While laying claim to the “first” podcast is hazy, today, 21% of Americans over the age of 12 have listened to at least one podcast in the last month, according to the Pew Research Center. To put that in context, that’s roughly equivalent to the number of Americans on Twitter and almost double the number of Americans on Spotify.
While programs like This American Life, Freakonomics, Radiolab, and Serial taking up much of the bandwidth, there are a plethora of smaller, more specialized shows that connect fans of virtually any cultural production around the world. We’re big fans of the medium and wanted to compile a list of go-to podcasts that deal explicitly with our area of expertise—music and media of African Americans and the African Diaspora.
Any list of black music podcasts has to start with Combat Jack, the pseudonym of former music attorney Reggie Ossé, who is also former managing editor of The Source. Ossé dives deep with major figures in contemporary black music and entertainment from a variety of areas—recent interviews range from Michael Eric Dyson to Fat Joe and Jordan Peele to Ice Cube.
Many podcasts have their roots in radio, and none run deeper than In Black America, which has been hosted by John L. Hanson Jr. for more than 35 years. “I still come away with the conclusion that my program is still necessary because there’s a segment of society that is basically overlooked,” Hanson told the University of Texas in 2013. Hanson’s show isn’t always about music—he recently hosted Hidden Figures author Margot Lee Shetterly—but he is one of the great and important voices in the format, no matter how you hear him.
One thing about podcasting—it’s, like a lot of semi-new-tech-with-funny-names, very white and very male. Most of the hosts are men, and diversity, broadly, is an issue in the medium. Enter WNYC’s response, a podcast hosted by African American comedienne Phoebe Robinson, who has a “no white guys” policy in her guest roster, which features many important figures in television, comedy, and music.
Another NPR-birthed podcast, Afropop Worldwide has been on the airwaves almost 30 years and is now distributed by Public Radio International and available in podcast form. Beloved host Georges Collinet and a group of talented producers take listeners into the popular musics of the continent, including nations like Guyana, Mali, and more.
Rosenberg Radio’s Juan Epstein
One of the most important rooms in the history of hip-hop isn’t a recording studio—it’s the radio recording booth at Hot 97. Legendary voices Peter Rosenberg and Cipha Sounds united ten years ago to produce the podcast, which is named after the Puerto Rican and Jewish character from Welcome Back, Kotter, a combination of the hosts’ heritages. It’s a bit more all-over-the-place, but it’s tops for hip-hop heads.
NPR’s Microphone Check [Archive]
Hosted by ATCQ’s eminent Ali Shaheed Muhammad and another NPR veteran, Frannie Kelley, Microphone Check emphasized hip-hop and contemporary R&B artists, using conversations to allow artists the space to dig deep in discussing influences, songwriting, and more. It’s now-defunct, but its archives still have some real chestnuts.
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