The Big Listen ended production in May 2018. While this site is no longer updated, all the content remains available for archive purposes.
Bronzeville star and producer Larenz Tate at the audio series’ swank launch party.
Hey, pals!
Happy Black History Month! We’re celebrating by taking a look at more black-hosted podcasts. Though for us at The Big Listen, we’re always trying to recognize the work of podcasters of color. Their amazing work shouldn’t just be resigned to one month of the year.
Speaking of black history and podcasting, we recently visited a class at Virginia Commonwealth University that’s all about the intersection of the two. It’s called Podcasting While Black and it’s taught by Chioke I’Anson. I’Anson’s students learn about the history of Africana rhetoric and oratory, and then they use the communication techniques of famous black speakers such as Audre Lorde and Frederick Douglass to create podcasts of their own.
In addition to being a professor in the university’s Department of African American Studies, I’Anson’s also an audio guy — he’s one of NPR’s underwriting voices and is one of the producers of the new podcast, Do Over.
Tell Me More Shows To Check Out!
- Bronzeville — Actors Larenz Tate and Laurence Fishburne pull together an all-star cast for this fictional audio drama about Chicago’s historic African American neighborhood, Bronzeville. Set in the 1940s, the show follows the players in the neighborhood’s underground lottery game.
- Baltimore: The Rise of Charm City — Baltimore is a great American city with a rich African American history. Host Stacia Brown digs into that history with stories from the city’s hidden corners and well-known spots.
- Friends Like Us — Comedian Marina Franklin and a rotating cast of women of color dish on the week’s hot topics like gentrification, Islamophobia and how to keep a sense of humor in a post-Obama America.
- Very attractive listener recommendations: Gravy, Alt.Latino and The Positive Head Podcast
Call Me!
Do you have a podcast recommendation you’d like to share with us? We want to hear it! Give us a jingle on the Pod Line at 202-885-POD1 and leave a message. Then we’ll put you on the radio and your friends will be green with envy.
Thanks for reading, pals! ‘Til next time…keep listening, America.
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