Campus

5 Podcasts That’ll Get You Politically Informed For Uni

Perfect your clap backs for that know-it-all who reckons Trump "isn't that bad".

by Luke Hickey  20 February 2018

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Want to feel like you know what you’re talking about in a tute? Want to shut down that know-it-all who reckons Trump “isn’t that bad”?

Start with these political podcasts that’ll keep you super informed but also entertained.

Pod Save America

Hosted by former Obama staffers Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett, Tommy Vietor and Dan Pfeiffer, Pod Save America is one of the most popular political podcasts. Averaging more than 1.5 million listeners per episode, Pod Save America is one of the most prominent young voices in political media, and has often been referred to as “the left’s answer to conservative talk radio”. The show covers current news items in the US political sphere, and the hosts always have entertaining and informative discussions (Favreau worked as a speechwriter for Obama, Lovett as his head joke writer).

Delete Your Account

Delete Your Account is the perfect antidote to dreary political media that ponders and bickers more than it inspires. The hosts, Roqayah Chamseddine and Kumars Salehi, discuss current issues with tip-of-the-spear activists who might not receive the coverage afforded by traditional media outlets. In the past, these have included labour organisers, international journalists, even prisoners.

Fair enough if you’re politically cynical or demotivated in this age, but it’s impossible to not get a little bit radicalised (in a productive way) after hearing some of the incredible in-your-face stories shared on Delete Your Account.

Economic Update with Richard D. Wolff

For a well-rounded understanding of complex economic issues that affect both you and others abroad, it’s hard to recommend anyone other than Richard Wolff. One of America’s most prominent Marxian economists, Wolff and his weekly program explore the nature of capitalist economics from a local and global perspective. Occasionally, the jargon used might be unfamiliar to some, but Wolff does his level-best to make the program as accessible as possible to those without any economic background.

Citations Needed

A relatively new entry into the podcasting world, Citations Needed focuses on the role of the media in perpetuating the myths of power. Hosted by Adam Johnson and Nima Shirazi, each week the podcast breaks down particular intersections of media, PR, and government control to highlight the ills of society. Whether it’s their discussions of how “feel-good” stories on the nightly news deliberately obfuscate the harsh realities of poverty, or how colonial attitudes are still represented in the real estate section of the newspaper, Citations Needed revels in pulling the curtain back to reveal the ugly truth.

Chapo Trap House

Hosted by Will Menaker, Matt Christman and Felix Biederman, each week Chapo interviews comedians, activists, writers and journalists to both analyse and roast the political and pop-cultural discourse. There’s none of the smug, faux-civility championed by Jon Stewart and other institutional darlings, Chapo understands that referring to him as ‘Donald Drumpf’ just isn’t enough.

(Lead image: The Daily Show/Comedy Central)