I’m entering into my fourth week of social distancing here at Optimistic Anthropology’s new headquarters in Washington, DC. As a person who works virtually with clients and keeps in touch with friends and family via technology, that part of my life isn’t too different. But, with no outings to cultural and community events, or to meet folks for a cup of tea, meal, or celebration; and no travel, it’s a fundamentally different rhythm to my days.
Over the last few weeks, I’ve found I’m spending a lot more time reading and commenting on social media, participating in webinars, joining friends for online happy hours, tea times, and even crafting. I’ve chatted on the phone and texted, Facetimed, Whatsapped and Facebook Messengered with friends around the world. I even signed up for Marco Polo, though I haven’t quite figured out how I might use it. I’ve probably interacted with folks more using technology in the last couple of weeks than any other time in my life. This is kinda incredible, and it’s also been a bit overwhelming.
It’s amazing how generously and quickly people have created ways for us to come together in community. And I’m finding that (as I often do) I also appreciate the chance to enjoy something or learn something or be transported by a story on my own.
Which is how I came up with this offering for you. As anyone who has read this blog for a while knows, I’m a big fan of podcasts. I listen to a lot of them on a wide range of topics. And in previous years, I’ve done an annual round-up of some of my favorite podcasts and episodes.
I had been meaning to do a podcast round-up for 2019, and thought that now might be the perfect time. If you’re sheltering in place on your own, podcasts feel intimate, like you’re in the room with the people you’re listening to. If you’re sheltering with others, they can provide a bit of a break from discussion if you want to listen together or distance if you want to put on your headphones.
Since I know we all have different bandwidths for heavy and light stories, individual episodes versus multi-episode series - I’ve divided this year’s recommendations up and even put the single episode recs into two handy playlists!
The Heavier Side
“The Heavier Side” features episodes that are more explicitly connected to things we consider part of our work at Optimistic Anthropology research methodologies; the role of trust in social problemsolving; challenges with institutions, systems and mindsets; and complex social and economic and environmental problems.
The Lighter Side
“The Lighter Side” features episodes that I just enjoyed in 2019 (and one is from 2020). From the history of the SuperDome to an interview with three Matroyshka dolls to a fake internet courtroom, these episodes tend to be lighter and more affirming of humanity, a few are even silly.
Multi-Episode Listens
If you prefer multi-episode series to one-offs, I have a handful of podcasts to recommend as well (all of these fall on the “heavier side”):
After Effect - In 2016, a non-speaking autistic man named Arnoldo Rios Soto was playing with his toy truck in the middle of a street. A neighbor mistook the truck for a gun, and the SWAT team shot at him and his aide. AfterEffect follows Arnoldo and his family after this tragic incident and explores the deeply problematic and disturbing truth of how the public systems meant to support autistic adults fail them.
The Dream Season 1 - A deep dive into multi-level marketing companies (MLMs), their history, how they work, who they exploit, and how they use policy to protect their interests and make lots of money.
Moonface - A fiction podcast that follows a gay, late 20-something Korean-American man who lives at home with his mother in the quiet suburb of Downey, California. He wants to finally open up to her by coming out, except they can’t speak the same language. The sound design is beautiful, and there is some very sexually explicit content.
This Land - In this limited series, Oklahoma journalist and citizen of Cherokee Nation, Rebecca Nagle, connects the dots between an 1839 assassination of a Cherokee leader and a 1999 murder case as context for a 2019 Supreme Court decision that will determine the fate of five tribes and nearly half the land in Oklahoma.
White Lies - In 1965, Rev. James Reeb was murdered in Selma, Alabama. Three men were tried and acquitted, but no one was ever held to account. Fifty years later, two journalists from Alabama return to the city where it happened, expose the lies that kept the murder from being solved and uncover a story about guilt and memory that says as much about America today as it does about the past.
You Must Remember This: Six Degrees of “Song of the South” - Disney Plus launched with the stated intention of streaming the entire Disney library...except for Song of the South, the 1946 animation/live-action hybrid film set on a post-Civil War plantation, which was theatrically re-released as recently as 1986, served as the basis for the ride Splash Mountain, but has never been available in the US on home video. What is Song of the South, why did Disney make it, and why have they held the actual film from release, while finding other ways to profit off of it? Across six episodes of our new season, film historian and host Karina Longworth digs into all facets of Song of the South’s strange story.
One Last, Lighter Recommendation
One last recommendation. If you’re looking for something a bit lighter, I can’t recommend Sam Sanders’ It’s Been A Minute podcast enough. He does an interview/culture episode one a week and a weekly round up of the news on Fridays. I particularly recommend those episodes for the last segment where he plays recordings from listeners of something good that happened during the week. It’s very earnest and moving.
