Are there many podcasts by and for people other than white male techno-geeks?
That’s something I looked into when writing the report, “Podcast literacy: recommending the best educational, diverse, and accessible podcasts for library users” (coming in 2017 from ALA TechSource).
Maybe not…
According to Pew Research, “They’re more likely to be male, young, have higher incomes, be college graduates, live in an urban area.” (“Podcast’s biggest problem isn’t discovery, it’s diversity,” Wired, Aug. 31, 2015).
But wait…
But as of late 2016, there is some good news. Edison Research, a group that has been tracking demographics of podcast listeners for over a decade says, “…In the early days of the medium, podcasting was disproportionally a medium for white males, ages 25-44. … but today, the content universe for podcasts has exploded, and the diversity of programming available rivals any other form of audio.”
So how do you find podcasts for diverse audiences?
One place to look is the site of a podcast collective called Postloudness. Based in Chicago, it’s aiming to create a community of shows by women, people of color, and queer-identified hosts. Their goal is to bring more diversity to podcasting and help underrepresented voices create their own shows.
Get my report
Postloudness is a good place to start, but there are many more diverse podcasts available. In order to assist librarians with recommending podcasts for diverse audiences, I’ve complied lists in the following categories:
◆ produced or hosted by women
◆ racial and ethnic diversity (African-Americans, Latinos, Asian-Americans, Native Americans)
◆ LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning)
◆ aging and ageism (elders’ & children’s rights)
◆ homelessness, poverty and economic class
◆ people who are (or were) incarcerated
◆ adult literacy
◆ neurodiversity and mental health issues
◆ physical disabilities
To get this annotated list of podcasts for diverse audiences, watch for my report from ALA Tech Source, available in 2017.
Learn more about what this report covers:
Podcast Literacy – table of contents
