Black Experiences: February 2021 podcast playlist

In honor of Black History Month, we put together a podcast playlist that highlights 5 stories from Black people around the world. This is by no means a comprehensive exploration of the breadth of the Black experience, but we hope it offers a few lenses from which to begin a discussion, including belonging, culture, citizenship, language, struggle, and joy.

Podcast Listening List on BLACK EXPERIENCES

Get the full listening list on your podcast player of choice using these platforms:

Rough Translation: “We (still) don’t say that” (Dec 2020, 50 min)
In France, talking about someone’s Blackness in French was very taboo. In English, it was fine. This episode tells the story of the movement to change that. Ngofeen Mputubwele talks about the ways the conversation around Blackness in France has shifted in 2020, as the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States takes on increasing global significance.

United States of Anxiety: “The Laws of Soil and Blood” (July 2020, 39 min)
Ngofeen Mputubwele tells the story of Black Italians and the multi-year campaign for birthright citizenship — connecting the dots between race, nationality, and white supremacy in Italy and the United States. What does it take to belong to the place you’re from?

Driving the Green Book: “The Elders, Living History” (Oct 2020, 30 min)
The elders who lived through segregation pass down the wisdom and knowledge they gained as they learned to safely navigate extremely tense, frightening, and humiliating situations. In this episode we learn from their example and find ways to move forward towards a more just future.

The Comb: “Two Sisters” (Aug 2020, 21 min)
Raised apart in Ghana and Germany, sisters Nana and Adjoa had very different childhoods. Now, Adjoa has moved to Ghana and Nana can’t understand why. Is the grass always greener?

Post Reports: “The Life of George Floyd” (Oct 2020, 64 min)
We all know about the death of George Floyd. But what about his life? This special episode of “Post Reports” tells the story of Floyd’s family, his upbringing and how racism hobbled his ambition — a story reflecting the lives of so many Americans.

Bonus podcast episodes:

• The Secret Adventures of Black People: “Once Upon a Time in Ghana” (Sept 2020, 16 min)
• The Moth: “Black History Month 2020: Devan Sandiford & Rev. Al Sharpton” (Feb 2020, 26 min)
• Excuse My African: “EP 75 – Divided We Fall” (June 2020, 17 min)
• Outlook: “The black child raised by white supremacists” (Oct 2020, 41 min)
• The Nocturnists: “Black Voices in Healthcare” series

Recommended Books & Resources:

These are books either mentioned in the episodes above or recommended by the PBC community. You can find all of our recommended books on our Amazon Idea List.

• “Find Where the Wind Goes: Moments from My Life” by Dr. Mae Jemison (featured book for the 2021 Black History Month festival)
• “The Perfect Nine: The Epic of Gĩkũyũ and Mũmbi” by Ngugi Wa Thiong’o (featured book for the 2021 Black History Month festival)
• “Stony the Road: Reconstruction, White Supremacy, and the Rise of Jim Crow” by Henry Louis Gates Jr (featured presenter at the 2021 Black History Month festival)
• “A Black Women’s History of the United States” by Daina Ramey Berry and Kali Nicole Gross (finalist for the winner of the Black History Month 2021 book prize)
• “From Here to Equality: Reparations for Black Americans in the Twenty-First Century” by William Darity, Jr. and A. Kirsten Mullen (finalist for the winner of the Black History Month 2021 book prize)
• “Carla Hall’s Soul Food: Everyday and Celebration” by Carla Hall (featured presenter at the 2021 Black History Month festival)
• “Black Women’s Mental Health: Balancing Strength and Vulnerability” by Stephanie Y. Evans (featured presenter at the 2021 Black History Month festival)
• “Black Women in the Ivory Tower, 1850-1954: An Intellectual History” by Stephanie Y. Evans (featured presenter at the 2021 Black History Month festival)

Some of the links on this page are affiliate links. If you use these links to buy something PBC may get a little something in return.

Conversation Starter Questions:

1. How well did your school system address Black history?
2. What surprised you the most from the episodes in the listening list?
3. After listening to the Rough Translation episode, do you think other countries would benefit from taking the regulatory approach to language that France does?
4. Thinking of the Driving the Green Book episode, how do you think that the historical experiences of the Black community align and/or diverge from Black experiences, today?
5. This year’s Black History Month Theme is “The Black Family: Representation, Identity, and Diversity.” In what ways did/does your family discuss representation, identity, and diversity? How could you/your family have improved these discussions? What activities/efforts did/do you commit to these areas?
6. How do you believe that individuals experience fear and why? Do you ever take into account others’ fears in your day-to-day life or make conscious/unconscious decisions based on fear (e.g., professionally, personally, publicly)?
7. Does the idea of “soil vs. blood” contribute to systemic/institutional racism?
8. Did you share any of these episodes or talk about certain parts with others?
9. After listening to these episodes, did you subscribe to any of the podcasts featured?