When the first season came to a very satisfying conclusion, I was sad to think I wouldn’t hear from the show again. So you can imagine how excited I was to see season 2 come out this month. And I jumped at the chance to ask host Andrew Steven (a fellow “amateur explorer, expert coffee drinker, and podcast maker…”) all about the new series…

The first season of Trail Weight felt like a satisfying conclusion to one story, can you give us a taste of what Season 2 has in store for listeners?

I think of Season 2 of Trail Weight as an emotional sequel. Season 1 was my story, and most of my guests on the show listened and reacted to my personal journey. In the new season, I’m discovering another’s story, and the listeners get to hear my reaction this time. You get to listen to me wrestle with questions and weigh the complexity and nuance of what it means to be someone who loves nature and worries about my effect on the outdoors. Plus, I genuinely think the story I tripped into (in Season 2)—the story of Walt Disney’s attempt to build a ski resort in the Sierra Nevada Mountains—is fascinating, and I wish more people knew about it.

Why podcasting? What is it about the format that appeals to you?

It’s almost cliché to say this now, but audio is more intimate than many other forms of media. For example, not many people watch Netflix on the way to work, on a walk through the neighborhood, and as they fall asleep. And audio is similar to books in that they invite you to use your imagination to fill in the gaps. But that can be tricky with a travel story that takes you across the U.S. (and the globe), to high in the mountains, and drops you into a magical pine forest in California. And so that becomes the challenge, inviting the listener to these places and having them feel like they’re there with me.

If you could go back to before you started out and give yourself one piece of advice, what would it be?

Even for a planner like me, I always wish I had more time. I have a writer friend who says his books are only ever finished because they’re sent off to the printers. Similarly, Lorne Michaels famously says SNL goes on air, not because it is ready, but because it’s Saturday. But in all seriousness, I wish I would record and catalog and archive more audio (but this would add more work and take much longer, and I just said I wish I had more time). Trail Weight is written like a book, so hopefully, I can always write my way out of bad tape, but I wish I had more audio from the actual moments I get into, even if only for brief glimpses.

Which episode of your podcast means the most to you?

I always like episode one’s. For a show like Trail Weight, which is very much narrative and told in specific episode order, there’s something special about a good episode one. Hopefully, ours are interesting enough to provide someone with an entertaining and informative listen while piquing their interest to stick around for the rest of the season.

Which podcasts inspire you most?

I’m a big fan of the super-produced, well-developed, audiobook-esq style podcast and two people sitting around a table and talking for a couple of hours into microphones podcasts. Some of the first shows I listened to were comedians talking to other comedians, as well as This American Life and Radiolab. I’ve made both types of podcasts, and as a listener and a producer, I’m always looking for ways to merge the two styles together.

Finally, what is your current favourite podcast you would recommend to readers?

Recently, I’ve been enjoying Mike Birbiglia’s Working it Out, Larry Wilmore: Black on the Air, Rachel Maddow Presents: Ultra, and Threedom with Scott Aukerman, Lauren Lapkus, and Paul F. Tompkins.

Listen to Trail Weight on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and other popular podcast apps.

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Who are you and what’s your podcast about?

We’re Brenda Gazzar and Georgia Brewer, co-producers of Code WACK!, a podcast on America’s callous healthcare system and what we can do about it.

What was the first podcast you ever listened to?

Serial (Brenda loves good investigative journalism)

NurseTalk (Georgia loves to hear sassy nurses talking health policy)

Why did you decide to start podcasting in the first place?

Podcasting is an intimate way of sharing people’s powerful stories, eliciting emotion and inspiring change. We wanted to explore a new way to inform and engage people to fight for a healthcare system that works for everyone.

Which podcasts do you take inspiration from?

Compelling NPR-style interviews focused on real-life injustices that demonstrate our vulnerability and humanity.

Who’s your dream guest for the podcast?

Brenda: Actor Kiefer Sutherland because Brenda is a fan and his grandfather was Tommy Douglas, a politician who was the father of Canada’s single-payer healthcare system.

Georgia: The late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., because he understood structural injustice in every form.

What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learnt so far as a podcaster?

You’re only as good as your last podcast episode!

Which episode would you say is the perfect introduction to your podcast?

Brenda: A Shocking Sacrifice featuring Rebecca Wood

Georgia: Cruel & Stupid featuring Ron Birnbaum MD, Paul Y. Song MD and James G. Kahn MD/MPH

Where can the Pod Bible readers find out more about you?

Check us both out on LinkedIn: Brenda Gazzar and Georgia Brewer.

Listen to Code WACK! now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and other podcast apps.

The post Code WACK!: Shining a light on America’s callous healthcare system appeared first on POD BIBLE.

Stay with me here. You really haven’t heard it all when it comes to talking about race.

CA Davis, host of A Latto Thought. Photo by Joe Martinez Photography.

I imagine that you’ve been signposted to a few podcasts on this subject this year, and the usuals do the rounds – for good reason, we need them. But perhaps you’re tired of ‘learning.’ I get it. I think that we have reached a stalemate when it comes to race-based podcasts, which happens when any subject is thrust into the forefront of our everyday lives in a short space of time.

Following the BLM protests this summer we were overwhelmed with reading lists, more lists on how to be antiracist and podcast recommendations (my own show included). And I did wonder what everyone did with all this information. It was a lot to process. Maybe too much. And now it’s all died down, maybe it’s time to reflect on what content is not only available, but also dynamic and accessible. Podcasting needs to improve the dialogue on race and make the content more diverse, not only in terms of who is hosting, but also in terms of the content they cover. We don’t have too many podcasts on race – but they seem to be at each end of a spectrum with nothing bridging the gap.

We have shows that share personal accounts of racism – the anecdotal stories. We have the heavyweight conversations telling historical accounts of how we’ve got to where we are and what we need to do about it – the serious and instructive shows.

What’s missing is the engaging content that accompanies you through the events that have created the complex structures and misconceptions surrounding race, alongside real stories of people who were affected by these events… without leaving you feeling exhausted by the end of it. If you’ve yet to find a show like this, I’ve found one for you.

CA Davis, Host of A Latto Thought. Image by Joe Martinez Photography.

A LATTO thought is hosted by filmmaker, digital storyteller and producer, CA Davis. CA works at Northwestern University in a small department that supports humanities research and pedagogy. His role is to take professors’ research and locate the stories within their work to create films that both academic and non-academic audiences can enjoy.

CA takes you on a huge ride through some of the most important events in the history of racial stereotyping, including – importantly – contemporary mixed-race misconceptions. In the episode ‘takin’ it back’ you will hear why we have achieved a “false sense of progress” regarding mixed-race people (especially those in positions of power). Our bodies are used as momentary vapours to veil over the truth about how much we have progressed, in part due to the ‘cultural firsts’ such as electing a Black president and a Black female Vice President, or having a Black Royal Family member. Yet, these individuals are mixed-raced. And it’s mixed-race bodies that are wrongly used as markers of a racially progressive society.

In the latest episode ‘kinfolk, not skinfolk’, CA draws you right into the falsehoods of DNA testing until you are rewinding to hear every word. Just as you’ve grasped a new and complex idea, he pulls you right out of feeling comfortable with a thud of a great bassline, witty quip and lighter chat. The balance of sound, narration and the super-high, cinematic production quality, makes it an engaging listen.

A LATTO Thought is stimulating and educational. You’ll finish the show feeling contemplative but energised. That’s a rare thing in this genre of podcasts.

Listen to A LATTO Thought on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and on the A LATTO Thought website.

—

Lou Mensah founded Shade Podcast to create a safe space for rigorous & inclusive conversations on Representation within the Arts.

Before launching Shade Lou worked on various commissions as a photographer, including stills for Directors Anthony Minghella & Sundance winner Marc Silver plus Mike Figgis; gaining awards for her work from Nick Knight and the late Alexander McQueen.

Launched just over a year ago, Shade Podcast has been received well by both the audience and press. Miranda Sawyer (The Guardian) said of Shade “Every episode gave me something new to think about. Inspiring!” – whilst Esquire has listed Shade as one of the ‘Best 2020 Podcasts you can listen too.”

Season 4 is due to be launched in Jan 2021. Listen on Acast, Spotify or Apple Podcasts. 

Read more reviews by the Pod Bible team.

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