Hey readers! I hope you’re all having a great break from school/work/whatever. I know this is technically an off week, but I thought I’d do a quick podcast review for those of you who need an excuse to get away from the family insanity this week!
Recently I’ve gotten really into listening to podcasts, particularly those of the feminist variety. Here’s a list of my favorites so far:
I was introduced to this particular podcast through a co-worker. The Discovery Channel funds a variety of podcasts via howstuffworks.com, and this one is by far my favorite. Molly and Cristen discuss various issues that pertain to women, but this isn’t like listening to Cosmo being read out loud. Some of my favorites are How Feminism Works, Top 5 Feminist Movements, A Politics-Free Abortion Podcast, and Is There a Gender Gap in the Workplace?
2. Bitch Radio
This is a fledgling work of everyone’s favorite magazine, Bitch. The podcasts began coming out this past May, and they’ve done everything from interviews to movie reviews. The most recent podcasts features author and activist Jaclyn Friedman discussing her latest book. My only complaint about this podcast is that the interview audio is very low quality, and it’s really easy to tell that they’re outdoors or in a restaurant, which is really distracting to listen to.
This podcast, hosted by Laura, features a wide variety of topics from politics to online comment wars. What I like best about the commentary is that Laura is not afraid to critique the feminist movement when she thinks it fails itself. My favorite podcast so far is her interview with Gabby Schulz, creator of the infamous Sexism web comic
So in case you haven’t figured it out by now, I’m a history major. But what I love about The History Chicks is that they make women’s history accessible to anyone (or as we like to call them in the JMU History Department, Aunt Fanny). Each podcast is about an hour-long and covers the life of one woman in history. They go over the juicy rumors, fashion senses, and everything that non-history majors might find interesting (but also leave in the more boring stuff for the nerds like me). And the podcasts tend to be hilarious.
I know these are only four of the many feminist podcasts that are out there, but give a girl a break, there’s only so much time in the day. If anyone has any recommendations for other podcasts, please feel free to comment! I hope these will help you survive the holidays and maybe even give you a little break during finals!
ShoutOut! James Madison University 