Podcasts
Windows and Mirrors Podcast
Tell us about something or someone that made a difference in your life, helped shape who you are, how you think, or how you live. It could be about your life before Berkeley, at Berkeley, or after.
Viva Brother Nagi | Kerning Cultures
Nagi Daifallah was a young farm worker from Yemen who moved to California in the early 1970s, when he was just 20 years old. He went on to become one of the organisers of the infamous 1973 grape strike in California, led by Cesar Chavez. But one night in 1973, after a day of striking he was beaten to death by a local county sheriff outside a restaurant in Lamont, California. Although the sheriff who killed him never faced justice, Nagi’s story – and the movement he helped organize – went on to make real change to farm workers’ rights in America, and continues to inspire Yemeni American activists today.
What's Up Holmes? | By Latif Nasser Radiolab
Love it or hate it, the freedom to say obnoxious and subversive things is the quintessence of what makes America America. But our say-almost-anything approach to free speech is actually relatively recent, and you can trace it back to one guy: a Supreme Court justice named Oliver Wendell Holmes. Even weirder, you can trace it back to one seemingly ordinary 8-month period in Holmes’s life when he seems to have done a logical U-turn on what should be say-able. Why he changed his mind during those 8 months is one of the greatest mysteries in the history of the Supreme Court.
‘A Butterfly With My Wings Cut Off’: A Transgender Asylum Seeker’s Quest to Come to California | The California Report Magazine
Luna Guzmán lived through years of brutal abuse and discrimination in her hometown in Guatemala, and has long dreamed of seeking asylum in California. When The California Report Magazine produced an audio documentary about her last December, though, it seemed those dreams might be on hold indefinitely. In June, with the help of an attorney from the Oakland-based Transgender Law Center, an application for humanitarian parole was approved, allowing her to come into the US while she waits for another chance to go in front of an immigration judge and ask for protection. (KQED)
Bryan Stevenson on how America can heal | The Ezra Klein Show
This conversation is about truth and reconciliation in America — and about whether truth would actually lead to reconciliation in America. It’s about what the process of reckoning with our past sins and present wounds would look and feel and sound like. It’s about what we can learn from countries like Germany and South Africa, that have walked further down this path than we have. And it’s about the country and community that could lie on the other side of that confrontation.
Redefining Latino Identity | World Affairs Council podcast
At 60 million people and counting, Latinos are the largest minority group in the United States. But if the 2020 election taught us anything, it’s that our political establishment does not understand this community, which is undergoing a transformation. Young Latinos across the country are redefining their identities, pushing boundaries, and awakening politically in powerful and surprising ways. Many of them are coming together in solidarity under the term "Latinx."
The Vanishing of Harry Pace | Radiolab
It was Motown before Motown, FUBU before FUBU: Black Swan Records. The label founded 100 years ago by Harry Pace. Pace launched the career of Ethel Waters, inadvertently invented the term rock n roll, played an important role in W.C. Handy becoming "Father of the Blues," inspired Ebony and Jet magazines, and helped desegregate the South Side of Chicago in an epic Supreme Court battle. Then, he disappeared.
The Laverne Cox Show
Years ago, a therapist said in our very first session that there are only two things that we can truly control in our lives - our own perception and our own behavior. That's it. Nothing more than that. Each week, The Laverne Cox Show features intimate conversations with folks who help me to see and think differently so that maybe I can act differently.
US immigration and xenophobia in times of crisis
It's not new that whenever there's a disaster of war, economy, or public health — immigration takes a hit in the United States. President Donald Trump said his immigration order would only affect green card applicants for 60 days. It clarifies Trump's tweet Monday night that he would be suspending immigration into the US. Host Marco Werman speaks with Berkeley alumnae Erika Lee, the author of "Americans for Americans: a History of Xenophobia in the United States," about how the US responded with changes to immigration policy and increased xenophobia during times of war, economic hardship and disease throughout history.
The ZORA Canon
A list of the 100 greatest books ever written by African American women, is one of a kind, yet it exists within a rich cultural tradition. 100 masterworks, spanning 160 years of African American women’s literature, divided into sections from pre-emancipation to the present, including fiction and nonfiction, novels, plays, anthologies, and poetry collections and ranging in subject matter from the historical to the personal (and sometimes both at once).
Native America Calling
A live call-in program, linking public radio stations, the Internet, and listeners together into a thought-provoking national conversation about issues specific to Native communities.
Somali American student uses slam poetry to speak out against injustice |Fiat Vox
Saida Dahir grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah. She was born in a refugee camp in Kenya after her family fled the civil war. The more she tried to fit in, the worse she felt. But in eighth, grade, when she met Mr. Brandy, a journalism and English teacher, she realized her power and began writing poetry.
john powell on rejecting white supremacy, embracing belonging | Berkeley Talks
On Friday, Aug. 30, UC Berkeley held a symposium that marked the start of a yearlong initiative, "400 Years of Resistance to Slavery and Oppression," commemorating the 400th anniversary of the forced arrival of enslaved Africans in the English colonies with a daylong symposium. In his keynote speech to close the symposium, john powell, director of the Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society and professor of law, African American studies and ethnic studies, discussed the link between slavery and white supremacy. Slavery, he said, created anti-black racism, which was necessary for the extraction of capital.
Memories of Japanese-American internment | Good Food
In a haunting photo essay for Vogue called “The Memory Keepers,” Bridget Read spoke with women survivors of the Japanese internment, plus their descendants who have become custodians of their family memories. Many of them have deep roots in California agriculture and still work the land. The Good Food podcast is hosted by Evan Kleiman.
Not Just My Hijab | Co-production by Razan Alzayani, Lilly Crown, and Hebah Fisher.
Kearning Cultures | Middle East podcast - Often the hijab is perceived as a static, monolithic thing. Whereas its representation and the stories of the women who choose to wear it are varied in background and complexity. In this special 2-part series, listen to the stories of 4 different women from different parts of the world share their relationships with their hijab. for some, it is a symbol of faithfulness and tradition, for others it holds memories of arguments and connotations of responsibility.
From Stonewall to the Present, Fifty Years of L.G.B.T.Q. Rights
Masha Gessen co-hosts this episode of the New Yorker Radio Hour, guiding David Remnick through the fifty years of civil-rights gains for L.G.B.T.Q. people. From drag queens reading to children at the library to a popular gay Presidential candidate, we’ll look at how the movement for L.G.B.T.Q. rights has changed our culture and our laws. (Photograph by Golden Cosmos)
Little War on the Prairie | This American Life
Growing up in Mankato, Minnesota, John Biewen says, nobody ever talked about the most important historical event ever to happen there: in 1862, it was the site of the largest mass execution in U.S. history. Thirty-eight Dakota Indians were hanged after a war with white settlers. John went back to Minnesota to figure out what really happened 150 years ago, and why Minnesotans didn’t talk about it much after.
Who Belongs? EP 10 - Targeted Universalism, with john a. powell
A brand new primer just published by the Haas Institute on the targeted universalism policy approach, a model conceptualized by professor powell. Targeted universalism is a platform to put into practice social programs that move all groups toward a universal policy goal. It supports the needs of the most marginalized groups, as well as those who are more politically powerful, while reminding everyone that we are all part of the same social fabric.
The disturbing parallels between modern accounting and the business of slavery |Marketplace podcast
Caitlin Rosenthal is an assistant professor of history at the University of California, Berkeley, and in her new book, "Accounting for Slavery: Masters and Management," she looks at the business side of slavery once it was well-established on plantations. Rosenthal argues that slaveholders in the American South and the Caribbean were using advanced management and accounting techniques long before their northern counterparts. Techniques that are still used by businesses today. Below she explains a few examples from the book.
A very Offensive Rom-Com | Invisibilia
The following program contains adult language and sexual content. In other words, it's definitely R-rated. A young woman starts to look into how she decides who she wants to date and finds out that unconscious bias plays a big role in deciding what race of men she wants to go out with. She decides to do something about that. This episode includes an interview with Berkeley Law Professor Russell Robinson who, for the past 10 years, has been teaching students about the ways in which social structures influence our romantic choices.
‘Forward together, not one step back’ | The Rev. William Barber II - 2019 Othering and Belonging Conference
Berkeley Talks - The Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II is a pastor and social justice advocate building a broad-based grassroots movement, grounded in the moral tenets of faith-based communities and the constitution, to confront systemic racism, poverty, environmental devastation, the war economy and the distorted moral narrative of religious nationalism in America today. Barber delivered the closing keynote speech on April 10 at the 2019 Othering & Belonging conference, organized by the Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society at UC Berkeley.
Voices of the Movement
Stories and reflections from some of the leaders of the civil rights movements from the "Cape Up" podcast produced by Jonathan Capehart.
How Can I Say This So We Can Stay in This Car Together? | On Being
The poet, essayist, and playwright Claudia Rankine says every conversation about race doesn’t need to be about racism. But she says all of us — and especially white people — need to find a way to talk about it, even when it gets uncomfortable. Claudia models how it’s possible to bring that reality into the open — not to fight, but to draw closer. And she shows how we can do this with everyone, from our intimate friends to strangers on airplanes.
The Bear, The Goose and The Whale | Snap Judgment
Luna The Whale In 2004, a lost baby orca named Luna swam towards the west coast of Vancouver island and tried to befriend humans. But nobody knew how to respond to this wild once-in-a-lifetime encounter. Then the First Nations and the Department of Oceans and Fisheries got involved.
Ear Hustle
The podcast is a partnership between Earlonne Woods and Antwan Williams, currently incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison, and Nigel Poor, a Bay Area artist. The team works in San Quentin’s media lab to produce stories that are sometimes difficult, often funny and always honest, offering a nuanced view of people living within the American prison system.
Making Obama | WBEZ
Former President Barack Obama — along with key advisers, mentors, and rivals — tells the story of his climb from Chicago to the national stage. The story of how Chicago shaped the country's first African-American president. Hosted by Jenn White and produced by Colin McNulty.
How Change Happens, In Generational Times | On Being podcast
America Ferrera is a culture-shifting artist. John Paul Lederach is one of our greatest living architects of social transformation. From the inaugural On Being Gathering, a revelatory, joyous exploration of the ingredients of social courage — and how change really happens in generational time. (On Being)
Searching for my sister: America's missing indigenous women
Every year, thousands of Native American women are reported missing across the US. Many are never found and the murder rate of indigenous women is higher than for any other race in the country. Reporter Kate Hodal investigates.
This story features cartographer and UC Berkeley alumna Annita Lucchesi.
Painting Michelle Obama | Host Tony Cohn (Smithsonian's Sidedoor Podcast)
In this episode of Sidedoor, we journey to Amy's studio to hear exactly how she captured the spirit of Michelle Obama in paint on canvas, and what she thinks of the reactions to her work.
Radiolab's Border Trilogy, Part 3: What Remains | Reported by Latif Nasser and Tracie Hunte and produced by Matt Kielty and Tracie Hunte.
This episode follows anthropologist Jason De León after he makes a grisly discovery in Arivaca, Arizona. In the middle of carrying out his pig experiments with his students, Jason finds the body of a 30-year-old female migrant. With the help of the medical examiner and some local humanitarian groups, Jason discovers her identity.
Radiolab's Border Trilogy Part 2: Hold the Line | Reported by Latif Nasser and Tracie Hunte, and produced by Matt Kielty, Bethel Habte and Latif Nasser.
Part 2 looks at Operation Blockade, a border patrol operation in El Paso and an anthropologists effort to figure out how many migrants die crossing the desert.
Radiolab's Border Trilogy Part 1: Hole in the Fence | Reported by Latif Nasser and Tracie Hunte and produced by Matt Kielty, Bethel Habte, Tracie Hunte and Latif Nasser.
Over three episodes, Radiolab investigates this policy, its surprising origins, and the people whose lives were changed forever because of it. Part 1: the unlikely story of how a handful of Mexican-American high schoolers in one of the poorest neighborhoods in the country stood up to what is today the country’s largest federal law enforcement agency.
Battle Scars
Some firefights and bomb blasts never make the news or the history books, but they’re still incidents that changed the lives of those involved. In each episode, host and former soldier Thom Tran talks to fellow veterans of our recent wars. (Battle Scars)
Off Shore
Stories from Hawaii. Because sometimes being in the middle of nowhere gives you a good perspective on everywhere else.
‘The Daily’: Racism’s Punishing Reach
For decades, Americans have believed that the best way to end racial inequality is to end class inequality. But a landmark 30-year study is debunking that logic.
About Race
Co-discussants Anna Holmes, Baratunde Thurston, Raquel Cepeda and Tanner Colby host a lively multiracial, interracial conversation about the ways we can’t talk, don’t talk, would rather not talk, but intermittently, fitfully, embarrassingly do talk about culture, identity, politics, power, and privilege in our pre-post-yet-still-very-racial America.
Debatable | Radiolab Podcast | Produced by Matt Kielty. Reported by Abigail Keel
In competitive debate future presidents, supreme court justices, and titans of industry pummel each other with logic and rhetoric.
But a couple years ago Ryan Wash, a queer, Black, first-generation college student from Kansas City, Missouri joined the debate team at Emporia State University.When he started going up against fast-talking, well-funded, “name-brand” teams, it was clear he wasn’t in Kansas anymore. So Ryan became the vanguard of a movement that made everything about debate debatable. Whether he was able to change what counts as rigorous academic argument … well, that’s still up for debate. (Radiolab)
Code Switch
Ever find yourself in a conversation about race and identity where you just get...stuck? Code Switch can help. We're all journalists of color, and this isn't just the work we do. It's the lives we lead. Sometimes, we'll make you laugh. Other times, you'll get uncomfortable. But we'll always be unflinchingly honest and empathetic. From NPR.
Still Processing
Wesley Morris and Jenna Wortham, two culture writers for The New York Times talk about TV, movies, art, music and the internet to find the things that move them — to tears, awe and anger. Still Processing is where they try to understand the pleasures and pathologies of America
A is for America
This podcast provides listeners a glimpse into the lives of immigrants and new American voters across the country.
Layli Long Soldier - The Freedom of Apologies
Layli is a citizen of the U.S. and the Oglala Lakota Nation. Here she talks to Krista Tipped about 'Whereas" - her book of poetry that is a response to the congressional resolution of “Apology to Native Peoples,” which was tucked inside the 2010 Department of Defense Appropriations Act.
LGBTQ&A
Some of the most important people in LGBTQ history are alive today. We’re documenting their lives, while also highlighting the diversity in our community. LGBTQ people are often portrayed in the media as a monolith with a single set of experiences. With LGBTQ&A, we’re trying to get beyond transition and coming out stories, to get to know each person, their defining moments, their accomplishments, and how they got to where they are today.
Identity Politics
Identity Politics is a podcast that features new stories and perspectives about race, gender and Muslim life in America. From pop culture to politics, each episode co-hosts Ikhlas Saleem and Makkah Ali invite guests to talk about issues impacting their lives as Muslims at the intersection of multiple identities.
Politically Reactive
Started during the 2017 Presidential Election, the podcast features comedians and longtime friends W. Kamau Bell and Hari Kondabolu as they navigate the dumpster fire that is the US political landscape.
On Being with Krista Tippett
A Peabody Award-winning public radio conversation and podcast, a Webby Award-winning website and online exploration, that looks into the questions what does it mean to be human, and how do we want to live?
The Problem We All Live With
In the second part of this podcast, a city going all out to integrate its schools. Plus, a girl who comes up with her own one-woman integration plan.
Latino USA
Latino USA, the radio journal of news and culture, is the only national, English-language radio program produced from a Latino perspective.
Nancy
BFFs Kathy Tu and Tobin Low share provocative stories and frank conversations about the LGBTQ experience today.
On One With Angela Rye
Angela Rye covers politics through the lens of race and culture in this uplifting podcast that often features guests you might not get on other political shows. She is an American attorney and the Principal and CEO of IMPACT Strategies, a political advocacy firm in Washington, DC. She is a political commentator on CNN and an NPR political analyst.
We Can't Burn it All Down - Still Processing podcasts
An explosive moment at the Tin House Summer Workshop prompted us to consider what it means for an institution — from a writing workshop to a TV network to a social media platform — to really commit itself to inclusion, and whether inclusion is even enough.
Chicago Humanities Festival
Since 1990, world-renowned authors, scholars, poets, policy-makers, artists, and performers have gathered each November at Chicago's many cultural institutions to celebrate the power of ideas in human culture. And each year, tens of thousands of enthusiastic audience participants rediscover the rich and vital role the humanities play in their daily lives. This podcast aims to highlight some of the best programs from the 25 year festival archives. (iTunes. Podcast is also available on Stitcher.)
Seeing White
Scene on Radio's 14-part documentary series exploring whiteness in America - where it came from, what it means, and how it works.
Radiolab presents: More Perfect
A show that examines benchmark Supreme Court cases with lasting impact on today’s headlines. For example, “Sex Appeal,” co-starring Ruth Bader Ginsburg as a young ACLU lawyer, details how the Supreme Court handles gender-inequality cases. As you listen to the second season, a pattern emerges from the other topics it covers: race, police brutality, gerrymandering, guns, unlimited campaign contributions, and more.
Society of Women Engineers - DIVERSE Podcast
The podcast will inform you and engage you through engineering topics and interviews with fascinating people.