2021 Favorite Podcasts

My favorite podcasts with a brief review listed below:

Hear to Slay—My absolute favorite podcast ever. This lives on Luminary and as of this publishing date has 91 episodes hosted by the fabulously brilliant Dr. Roxane Gay and Dr. Tressie McMillan-Cottom. There is an annual subscription of $35 plus tax and worth every cent. The first airdate was 7-April-2019 and the last to air was 20-July-2021. I dunno if they’ll have any additional seasons but what is available is priceless and well worth the listen many times over. Their mentorship throughout this fascist era and the pandemic is incomparable. I tried to find one episode that really sticks out as a front-runner fav but I could not, which means listen to them all; they are all little pieces of cultural and intellectual treasures and an empowering feminine force and voices unlike any other today.
Rachel Maddow & The ReidOut—Rachel and Joy are my go-to news goddesses. Rachel usually starts her show with an interesting slice of info that she turns into a compelling anecdote that is pertinent and drives a current and ongoing news story. Her team is outstanding. I love her giggles, humor, and the way she asks her guests if they can correct anything she got wrong while reporting on the story in question. Joy’s enthusiasm and candidness as well as her authenticity are unmatched. She knows that her progressive voice and directness on everything is important and related, and she has no qualms whatsoever about stating the obvious. I also love that she regularly brings on Elie Mystal whom I adore. While MSNBC’s team of Rachel, Joy, Arie, Nicole, Chris and Lawrence are all fabulous and I’d love to listen to them all every day, there are only so many hours in the day and week I can listen, and have to pick and choose between.
Ezra Klein—I’ve only started listening to Ezra within the last month when Tressie and Jamelle did a few eps. I’ve made a few comments about the show on here and Twitter. I’ll have a more thorough review eventually because there is a wealth of information there and definitely worth the listen.
Ted Radio Hour—An intellectual feast of knowledge and inspiration. I’ve had so many ideas from listening to these episodes that I had to pause and note them in a voice recording as at the time I was walking and didn’t have any pen and paper to write on.
Vox Conversations—I just started listening to this one with the Why Fascism in America Isn’t Going Away.
Unclear and Present Danger—I love Jamelle Bouie‘s writing and photography and follow him on Twitter for his commentary overall so when I saw that he had a new podcast on discussing 90’s post-cold war thrillers, I had to listen. I’ve only tuned in to the first two so far (so little time blah blah blah) and will have a more thorough review later.