Womxn-led podcasts to listen to in 2020

Image courtesy of Unsplash and CoWomen

2020 is almost here! We’re ushering in a new decade, one in which, I’m hoping, the word ‘podcaster’ will finally stop being synonymous with a white dude from Silicon Valley or a comedian bro in his basement studio. We always hear that “everyone has a podcast,” so let’s make it true and lift up new and different voices.

For me, the beauty of podcasting is that the barrier to entry is so low. It’s an easy way to get new voices out into the world directly and on the cheap. So, as we say goodbye to 2019 and jump into 2020, we wanted to highlight some incredible womxn (many from Canada) who are making their mark in the podcasting world.

1. Retail Nightmares (Vancouver)

Vancouver’s very own Alicia Tobin and Jessica Delisle co-host (or in their words co-ghost) this super-weird, super-charming, free-form interview show about experiences in retail. Each episode features a guest, usually a comedian, artist, or musician, who shares war stories from their retail jobs. We get to hear behind-the-scenes tales from grocery stores, coffee shops, video rentals, vegan, gluten-free bakeries – the gamut.

Over the years, the pair have added a massive roster of eccentric segments from “How much money have you spent on the Red Hot Chili Peppers?” to “What food would you take to space?” to “Worst Present Ever from a family member.” Each segment is accompanied by a synthy theme song by the podcast’s editor, Jay Arner.

Retail Nightmares is fun, hilarious and sometimes disgusting, but running under it all is a current of respect and empathy for people in retail. On the whole Retail Nightmares, for me, is about advocating for the minimum-wage worker and thinking carefully about how to be a better customer and community member. Maybe I’m projecting and the hosts would tell me the show is about fart jokes and celebrating cute dogs (which it also is), but they bring a level of compassion and introspection that makes this more than a typical comedians-interview-their-friends podcast.This is one of those shows that can cheer me up, make me spit-take my coffee and make me engage more deeply with human side of the retail experience.

2. The Horror of Dolores Roach (New York City)

This show hooked me from the first minute. A scripted fiction podcast from Gimlet, The Horror of Dolores Roach is executive produced by New York theatre legend Mimi O’Donnell and stars Daphne Rubin-Vega (who originated the role of Mimi in Rent, for any theatre nerds out there). With these two on board, it’s no surprise the storytelling is top-notch.

Written by Aaron Mark, the series follows Dolores Roach as she is released from prison and returns to her New York neighbourhood to find it nearly unrecognizable. The area has gentrified over her sixteen years behind bars, her boyfriend is missing and her community is nearly gone. Dolores runs into an old stoner friend, Luis, who gives her a room to stay in under his failing empanada shop, where she starts offering massages to earn some cash. When the building comes under threat, Dolores and Luis take extreme measures to survive in their changing habitat. The ‘horror’ in the title is well-earned – I don’t want to give any spoilers here, but this show is certainly not for the faint of heart.

The performances are spectacular. The music is a perfect mix of camp and drama, and the sound effect design is almost too good (you’ll see what I mean). I listened to all of season one in two days and have already made headway on season two, which just dropped this fall. The show is spooky, suspenseful, political – oh, and funny. If you’ve never given a scripted podcast a chance and you don’t mind a bit of gore, I’d recommend you give The Horror of Dolores Roach a shot.

3. How to Be a Girl (Seattle)

If you haven’t heard of this podcast, welcome to the party – we’re both late. How to Be a Girl began in 2014 and is still going five years later. It’s created by Marlo Mack, a single mother living in Seattle, about raising her transgender daughter. The show is a co-creation between mother and daughter, exploring topics like coming out in middle school, and bringing in guests to share intergenerational trans stories, or what it’s like to grow up trans in a red state. The podcast has grown up with Marlo’s daughter, who was six when the project began, and is now eleven.

Each story is told with so much thought and consideration: leaving in the honest moments of grappling, the human errors, and the awkward exchanges. The storytelling consistently blows my mind, weaving multiple story threads together seamlessly, all underscored by stunning sound design. I’m not overstating any of this. The show was nominated for a Peabody in 2017, which is about as good as it gets. Definitely check out How to Be a Girl for fun stories lovingly told, and thoughtful reflections on how to let people be people, and kids be kids.

4. Secret Feminist Agenda (Vancouver)

This show is like having a good long chat with your smartest, most well-read friend.

Hannah McGregor hosts The Secret Feminist Agenda, bringing a different “agenda” to each episode. Topics tackled include dealing with criticism, trans rights and allyship, veganism, and white feminism. McGregor takes a frank look at each issue through the lens of intersectionality along with some fantastic guests – there’s even an episode with Sara Ahmed, which feminist theory fans will dig. That said, if you don’t know Ahmed (which you may want to amend), and you don’t know feminist theory, you’re still welcome to listen. McGregor is an academic, but her show needs no prerequisites. It’s accessible, nuanced, funny, literary and political.

McGregor uses the podcast form intentionally, describing the show as being about the “insidious, nefarious, insurgent, and mundane ways we enact our feminism in our daily lives.” She goes into more detail on this idea of the “mundane” in episode 3.29, Feminist Anecdotes, and I think this aspect is what makes the show stand out to me. It centres the effect that small moments have in creating a feminist life: the friendships, the self-care, and the little choices like shaving your legs. It’s a great listen for people already engaged in feminist thinking, or a terrific place to start digging in.

5. The Disappearance of Natasha Lynn Starr (Winnipeg)

This podcast from Aboriginal People’s Television Network (APTN) really took me by surprise. The Disappearance of Natasha Lynn Starr, which dropped this past fall, sounds like it will deliver a run-of-the-mill true crime serial, and reveals a series that is anything but ordinary.

In just five short episodes, creator Natasha (Remier) Okemow takes us through her experience growing up adopted and in the foster care system. The 25-year-old Indigenous and Caribbean host brings us her life story as part-diary entry, part travel guide, part exposé of Manitoba’s Child Welfare System. Natasha was a victim of the “Millennial Scoop,” the ongoing seizure of First Nations, Metis, and Inuit children since the year 2000, who are placed into the foster care system.

The story may be heavy, but the show’s voice is fun and decidedly young, calling the system “whack,” and naming an episode “Truth Hurts,” which I refuse to believe isn’t a direct reference to Lizzo. Natasha shares her story of trauma and resilience in an unfiltered, unpolished style that I found incredibly moving. I really look forward to listening to future projects or podcasts from Natasha and the APTN team.

Cool Mules (Toronto)

One more quick recommendation to add – keep your eyes out for Cool Mules, a new podcast from Canadaland dropping early next year.

Remember in 2017 when Slava Pastuk, a former VICE music editor, was busted for running a cocaine smuggling ring out of the Toronto VICE office? It was huge news at the time, and is back in the headlines again as Slava has just been sentenced. This new investigative series, hosted by Kasia Mychajlowycz, promises to blow this fascinating story wide open. I, for one, can’t wait to listen.

Pippa Johnstone is a Vancouver-deserter who currently lives and makes podcasts in Toronto. She co-hosts and produces Word Bomb, a podcast about the evolution & history of words with TVO; and associate produces CBC’s PlayME, a project that turns stage plays into podcast form.