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Black Voices at the Mic: Great Podcasts on Love, Sci-Fi, and Radical Honesty

Black stories are more than just struggles with racism and traumatic events.

Bethel Habte

Read when you’ve got time to spare.

Must-listen podcasts from Black voices, curated by radio producer Bethel Habte.

I’ve been thinking a lot recently about what it means to listen to Black voices. I’m a radio producer—a voice elevator—after all.

One of the many awful things about living in a world that discriminates against people for something as arbitrary as the level of melanin in their skin is how much it can flatten and reduce individual experiences. There are so many ways to exist in the world when you’re Black, and they don’t always center on our relationship to racial oppression.

It’s vital to listen to stories from Black folks that don’t solely address our struggles with racism, or our stories that are touched by trauma. So these recommendations aim to reflect the fact that while it’s critical to listen to Black voices that address this moment in history, it’s equally pressing to listen to the stories that remind everyone we contain multitudes.

We’ve Been Here Before [LISTEN]

Amid a still raging global pandemic, the nation has been reeling over the most recent spate of killings of Black people at the hands of police. Brittany and Eric sit down to process their feelings and memorialize the lives we lost.

The Liberation of RNA [LISTEN]

Starting when he was a senior in college being shook down by a couple cops, Brandon tells us about navigating his ups and downs of a career in science, his startling connection to scientific racism, and his battle against biology’s central dogma.

Why Ta-Nehisi Coates is Hopeful [LISTEN]

The author of Between the World and Me on why this isn’t 1968, the Colin Kaepernick test, police abolition, nonviolence and the state, and more.

Borders Between Us [LISTEN]

Saidu Tejan-Thomas is a young poet. For a long time, he had a story he needed to tell: an homage and apology to his mother.

Love and Lapses [LISTEN]

A story of relationships told through the small recorded calls between people who love each other.

The Black Introverts [LISTEN]

How it can be different to be an introvert while Black.

Art Maven Kimberly Drew [LISTEN]

Tastemaker Kimberly Drew on the importance of mental health, what it really means to work in the art world, and how drinking water helps her keep the beat.

Tressie McMillan Cottom & Trevor Noah: Optimistic and Depressed [LISTEN]

Trevor Noah and guest host Dr. Tressie McMillan Cottom talk about why radical honesty around mental health can be liberating.

How Bibliophiles Flirt [LISTEN]

An essay about a book lover’s embarrassing secret.

We Are in the Future

Afrofuturism is more than sci-fi. It’s a way of looking at Black culture that’s fantastic, creative, and oddly hopeful—which feels especially urgent during a time without a lot of optimism.

Bethel Habte

Bethel Habte is an associate producer at Radiolab. She also curates a newsletter called “wilt” (what I’m listening to) and sends out five podcast and song recommendations every Friday. She’s a proud aunt, aspiring dog-mom, and on-and-off salsa dancer.