Feature image via Shutterstock
A couple weeks before the election, I slowed down my media consumption. Only about half an hour on the internet at a time; major cutbacks on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram; reading the actual, honest-to-goodness newspaper even more thoroughly; and, as it turns out, listening to a ton of podcasts. I’ve kept to all of those habits pretty firmly in the time since — it helps keep the panic at bay — but the podcasts stuck most of all. Now instead of just having them on at the gym, I play them in my car and on the train, regardless of time of day. I know I’ll get back into my regular radio cycle eventually, but to be honest, it’s lifted a ton of weight off just to absorb information more slowly and deliberately. If you’re having trouble shaking the feeling that all of your media feeds are one giant grief orgy, try changing the pace of what you take in. Not even the content, necessarily — just the rate. Podcasts are an easy way to do that: 30 to 60 minutes later, you’re done, informed, and ready to fight your next battle.
Here are nine hosted (or co-hosted) by queer women that have been getting me through Week One.
The Bossy Show
via Molly Adams/Twitter
Attention all members of the resistance: The Bossy Show is your newest required listening. Jill Gutowitz and our very own Carmen Rios have come out swinging with their new political talk show for young women. And even if you’re well past your teenage years, these bona fide bosses will remind you how to keep pushing forward for the next 1,453 days and beyond. Each episode is stacked with talent and perspectives you need to hear, along with concise explanations of not only what’s happening in our government right now, but what you can actually do to fight back. It’s perfect for budding political wonks and, frankly, anyone who’s felt overwhelmed, lost, or powerless since November 8 (you too? Great!).
As usual, Carmen says it best: “Our nation is in a state of crisis, and moving forward our best remedy is to come together and act. I want to equip the next generation of feminist leaders, activists, and woke baes — the future of this country — with the information and opportunities they need to change the world.”
The first two episodes came out TODAY (so get in on that ground floor!) and feature Amanda McKenna, Sarah Kendzior, Sarah McBride, Lauren Jauregui, and Jackie Savage. Come for the big-name interviews, stay for the policy discussion. And Trump Tinder. Trust me.
Bad With Money
via Podbay.fm
Does the phrase “personal finance” make you vaguely uneasy? Do you remain mystified by money matters great and small despite having made it pretty far into what most people call “adulthood”? Well, a) same and b) congratulations — Bad With Money is for you. Autostraddle family favorite and A-Camp alumna Gaby Dunn tells the stories behind the numbers, not just exploring how money works but connecting it to people, causes, and conversations that will stick with you long afterward (and probably lead to some binge listening, so be careful out there). Gaby is an excellent host — even the ads are entertaining — and she’s not afraid to ask big questions or follow money to unexpected (and sometimes uncomfortable) places. This is left-brain talk for right-brain people.
Reality Bytes
via Twitter
Reality Bytes breaks some ground and brings the charm as both a podcast and a YouTube show. You might know co-hosts Stephanie Beatriz and Courtney Kocak from their very unimpressive, not-cool-at-all day jobs on Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Danger & Eggs, respectively — but get ready for an entirely new experience here. Stephanie and Courtney discuss love, sex, relationships, and dating in the digital age with the help of at least one awesome guest every week, and the conversations range from feminist art to polyamory to business partnerships to online personas to politics and back again. These two are best friends and it shows; you’re gonna want to hang out with them for hours.
Another Round
via Soundcloud
Ali featured Another Round in her political podcast roundup and y’all, I cannot cosign that decision heartily enough. It’s essentially lighting my path through the Trump nightmare and I highly recommend streaming it directly to your ears this instant if you’re not already. Heben Nigatu and Tracy Clayton not only bring in all the voices you should be listening to (including Janet Mock, Susan Rice, and My President herself, Hillary Clinton), but they’re flat-out incredible people to spend an hour with every week. The pacing on this podcast is top-notch, too — nothing ever feels like it’s dragging, and they get the balance of featured interviews and shorter segments just right every time. Seriously, if you want to hear how it’s done, listen to Another Round.
Buffering the Vampire Slayer
via jennyowenyoungs.com
Look, it’s Jenny Owen Youngs and Kristin Russo following the adventures of a ‘90s feminist icon. We’ve wholeheartedly endorsed it. I didn’t even watch Buffy and I can’t stop listening. What more do you need?
(PS fellow LA folks: there are still tickets available for the first ever Buffering the Vampire Slayer live show at the NerdMelt Showroom on February 2 and you should go!)
The Rachel Maddow Show
via Twitter
Did you know that The Rachel Maddow Show is available every morning for free as a podcast? No, you won’t get to see Rachel’s signature hair/blazer/quizzical look combo in action, but you do get to skip all those pesky commercial breaks, which makes the cliffhangers between segments a lot more bearable. I spend my commute listening to TRMS now and can honestly say it’s helped me figure out how to navigate this legislative horror show we’re all in without succumbing to panic. She will tell it like it is and point out the finer details you might have missed, give you a play-by-play of what happened the previous day and remind you what to keep an eye on. It’s basically my preferred real-life Potterwatch.
After tuning in to the podcast for a while, I realized that in addition to being a straight up, unabashed civics nerd, Rachel Maddow is a superb storyteller. She begins every episode zoomed all the way out, often focused on a story with seemingly zero relationship to the American political landscape, and then gradually unfolds its connection to the events of the day. I don’t think I really appreciated her skill in that area until I was listening to rather than watching her. Plus every interview is a must-hear (especially now), and sometimes she makes cocktails.
The Big Listen
via NPR
If you find this list and/or the prospect of podcast hunting overwhelming by nature, look no further than The Big Listen. It’s the podcast about podcasts — and host Lauren Ober is there to help you curate your personal library. She’s got interviews, show snippets, and one of the best radio voices you’ve ever heard, so you really couldn’t ask for a better guide. The show’s also fairly new, which I know always helps me get on board (a giant backlog of episodes can be kind of demoralizing). This is the show for you if you’re just getting into the podcast world, you delight in all things meta, or both.
Bonus fact: Lauren Ober wins Best Twitter Handle for a Queer Radio Host, hands down.
Black Girl Dangerous Podcast and Spirit Medicine
via Black Girl Dangerous
First of all, if you haven’t already been reading Black Girl Dangerous, you need to reshuffle your internet priorities immediately. Once you’re caught up on the blog, shift over to the podcast, which is hosted by Autostraddle contributor and general heroine of our times Raquel Willis. She took over hosting duties about four months ago and has been more than delivering ever since. She’s a great interviewer and one of my favorite and most trusted voices on Trump, the election, and the aftermath. “I have never been so clued in and invested in learning,” she says in the most recent episode. “And I’m hoping that this moment with this [President] is having the same effect on everyone else. Hopefully people are getting more involved and really learning about what’s going on in politics in their country, and what decisions are being made, and who is making these decisions.”
Spirit Medicine lives under the BGD umbrella and “focuses on providing accessible conversations, tools and rituals that support the healing, wellness and liberation of people of color, with a focus on queer and trans people of color.” In their five episodes to date, CarmenLeah Ascencio and ChE cover everything from cultural appropriation to creating meaningful work with anxiety and depression.
Here’s hoping that BGD continues to grow its podcast network — and as you’re building your personal and collective resistance efforts, make sure you take these two to heart.
You completely neglected to include Radio Menea… https://radiomenea.com/
Oh man, I too listen to TRMS on my commute every morning, and the comparison to Potterwatch is actually so apt it’s a little terrifying. Definitely going to look into a bunch of these, thanks for the list!
How did I miss the Potterwatch comparison earlier? Now I have to listen to it.
Podcasts are easy you say!? I’m subscribed to 51 podcasts and you just got me to add at least 3 more.
My phone already shows over 250 unlistened episodes.
Podcasts are hard.
This is my life right here! Clocking in at 31 (deleted a bunch), now i have more to download!!! TBH I’ve been in such a funk, I’m behind on many episodes…
Y’all are neglecting The Read! It’s fantastic and I am a hardcore listener every week. Both of the hosts are QPOC–Crissle is a black lesbian, Kid Fury is a Jamaican American gay man–and every bit of it is fantastic.
They recced The Read about a year ago: https://www.autostraddle.com/12-podcasts-hosted-by-queer-women-for-your-queer-ears-307630/ I started listening then and it’s SUPER fantastic!
Thanks for the awesome recs! Always looking for more female and especially queer female run podcasts to get me through my long days in retail. If anyone is looking for more Buffy in your life (which, to be honest, who doesn’t need more Buffy in their lives?), look into Tiny Fences. It’s an amazing podcast run by two Canadian women, one a life-long Buffy fan and the other completely unspoiled. They’re funny and insightful and the unspoiled one actually comes out during the course of the first couple seasons. Definitely give them all the love. They’re my #1 favourite podcast.
Canada and Buffy?? This sounds amazing. Thanks for the rec!
you’re very welcome!
That sounds great! I’ve added t to my list!
I’m loving Dumb, Gay Politics with Julie Goldman and Brandy Howard. Even the intro song makes me laugh every time! Thanks for the new podcast recs BTW- I just hardcore got into podcasts a couple of months ago and I always welcome more :)
Also for queer fiction- I recommend Within the Wires and Alice Isn’t Dead (some of the best stuff I’ve ever listened to!)
AND there is a queer sci-fi podcast called Glittership! It is awesome and deserves lots of love and support!
Yay Julie and Brandy!
Queer podcast audio drama is my jam! Especially after I discovered The Penumbra Podcast
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-penumbra-podcast/id1090666976?mt=2
Put Your Hands Together is also rly rly rly good and helps keep me from feeling like all is lost.
Yay I was JUST thinking I don’t listen to enough queer podcasts. Carrie I just listened to you on yo! is this racist? and you were great, I love hearing you on podcasts and wish you hosted one!
The Read!!!!
I don’t know Another Round was queer! A reason for me to like them even more. Thanks Carrie.
OMG AGREED! Came to the comments to say the same!
Thank you for this! Side note for Android users these podcasts are not in the play/music store yet, so you would either need to use a different app, download it, or do what I am doing and mention it to the podcast hosts/creators to get it added there too.
Great list, including Rachel. They usually get the audio podcast up asap, by about 11 pm eastern/8 pm pacific, so if you want to hear it the same night you can. Thanx!
It wasn’t mentioned in the political podcast roundup either, but Humorless Queers is another. Episodes are infrequent, though.
Can confirm the Rachel Maddow show podcast is almost always up around 11pm est
BLESS YOU
Thanks for both causing my already huge podcast list to get even longer and for the image description. As someone with a visual impairment who uses screen readers to access AS and all other web sites, that was *super* appreciated! Rock on, AS!
Also also also: very politically minded unabashed queers of colour run This Is The Read, although the content is often advice and TV show discussions rather than solely politics. BUT IT’S STILL GREAT AND EVERYONE SHOULD LISTEN TO IT
I really like The Lesbian Romantic podcast. It is romantic but not extremely sexual. Well-told storyline (check out The Blogger Story) from “across the pond.” (Produced by a woman in Belgium.)
You should check out queeriositypodcast.com ??
Yes! I was hoping there would be another article about podcasts! The one last year was super helpful :) I already listen to Rachel Maddow and Buffering the vampire slayer, but I also started Brand New Podcast the other day which is great! I’ve been meaning to start Bad with Money and Stephanie Beatriz’s one though.
?? Praise ?? you for this list. Not that I need anymore podcasts to listen to, but you know, I’m always looking for more.
I’d also recommend Ladies Who Lunch from YouTubers Cat Valdes and Ingrid Nilsen. They have some interesting conversations around friendship, sex, orgasms etc from a feminist angle and then Ingrid is also coming at it from a queer angle.
I love a podcast. They keep me sane and in touch with my fellow queers when I’m in the middle of nowhere at work in Tanzania/Kenya. My fav ranty feminist/queers can be found at Feminist Killjoys, PhD. Two queer identifying gender/women’s studies professors on who is ruining the dinner party, smashing the patriarchy, and current events. Queers FTW!
https://feministkilljoyspodcast.com/
Seriously, y’all will love this.
For any Aussies or others, who might be interested The Australia Institute offer podcasts regularly too. Follow the Money is often very interesting. Also New Matilda covers some interesting political stuff too. Content is both local and international though not podcast as far as I know. These are not queer sites but do have LGBTI people working on them and are allies.
I just started listening to Strange Fruit, hosted by two queer POC in Kentucky. It is AMAZING.
They discuss “politics, pop culture, and black gay life,” and do really great interviews along the way. Take a listen!
Carrie is an amazing podcast guest, herself! Loved the ep of Reality Bytes with you and Andrew Ti <3
Love this list! I also listen to Rachel Maddow on my commute every day to work and it really helps me feel like I’m in the loop, but told in an actual sane matter. Just started listening to Another Round too!
I’d also like to recommend “The Struggle Bus” (one of the hosts is queer). It’s mostly an advice show but talks a lot about self care, discusses queer things quite a bit, and the banter between the hosts is great.
Yay podcasts.
YAS. Read this list. Started listening to Bad With Money. Fell in love with Gabby Dunn’s voice immediately. Still listening to it.
GAH! Thank you.
I love the BGD podcast so much!!!
Definitely want to throw “The Read” out there as well, as both of the hosts are queer and they’re right up there with “Another Round” on my weekly listen list.
Also, though perhaps on the other side of things/slightly unrelated, Audio Drama!! Welcome to Nightvale, Alice Isn’t Dead, Ars Paradoxica, and I believe the upcoming Starship Iris are all queer-run and include a swath of queer characters in their storylines. <3 <3
+1 for The Read! Crissle and Kid Fury are hilarious.
shut the front door, how did i not know trms is a podcast? maybe an audio-only format will help me focus on the very smart things rachel maddow is saying because on the tv sometimes her face makes me lose track of words. i’m not the only one with this problem, right?
also: if i listen to rachel maddow in my hippie bumper-sticker-ed truck while i drive to the food co-op, will people stop thinking i’m a heterosexual?