Power to the Podcast

Everyone’s making a podcast these days. I, unlike many cynics, see that as a good thing. Fran, the founder of Cinegirl, and I have recently started co-hosting the Cinegirl Podcast, where we talk about film and TV and the way it reflects different topics. So far, we’ve discussed Mental Health with April Kelley (actress and ambassador for Bipolar UK), Pride on Screen with Lady Aria Grey (drag queen and award-winning writer), and chatted with Dale Elena McCready (DoP with an impressive portfolio of work). Recording the Cinegirl Podcast is undoubtedly the highlight of this horrible year we’ve been having, and I could talk about it all day.  

Now that I’m a podcast co-host, I wonder why the world of podcasting is becoming so popular – and especially for women. A while back, podcasting certainly seemed male-dominated (alongside everything else in the film and TV industry). Yet, now I’m influenced by many incredible podcasts hosted by women. In fact, I barely listen to any hosted by men at all. 

It wasn’t until a few years ago that I really started dabbling in podcasts. I grew up with The Archers droning in the kitchen every evening and considered all radio to be similarly tedious (sorry Dad). If there wasn’t music in my headphones, what was the point? Wherever I went, I’d be bopping along to Beyoncé, gazing out of rain-studded car windows like a troubled protagonist in a film. (Ah teenage angst, how I miss you. Twenties angst just isn’t the same, is it? Probably because it’s based around legitimate problems like making rent and having a successful career). But then, one day when I was walking to the tube station, I randomly clicked on The Guilty Feminist and my life changed.

The Guilty Feminist is a podcast that changes the way that you think. I called myself a feminist way before I listened to it, but I didn’t realise how flawed my feminism was. I was naïve. I didn’t think about politics. I didn’t think about intersectionality. I didn’t understand transgender issues. I didn’t realise my privilege as a straight, white woman from a middle-class background. 

Once I started listening to The Guilty Feminist, I understood what all the fuss was about with podcasts. The best ones make you challenge yourself. They share the voices of people who otherwise might not be heard. They give everyone a chance to speak their mind and be listened to. I began to feel a glow around me when I was in public: I would laugh, I would cry, I would feel as though I was part of a community. I went to the live shows. I took my mum and we laughed together. I would resent taking my headphones off when I got to work, waiting till the very last second to remove myself from my glorious feminist bubble. 

While Deborah Francis-White is a female podcast favourite, luckily there are plenty more to choose from. My friend Karis has recently started her own podcast called the UncerTwenties, which explores the trials and tribulations of twenty-somethings who don’t quite have their sh*t together (I’m a guest… Obviously). She features old and new friends who talk about their lives and the ways they attempt to gain success in such difficult times. While my episode is mainly about writing poo jokes, her other guests are a lot more impressive. The first episode features Tanyia Ahmed who created Deshall, her own skincare label with an exclusive pursuit of introducing South Asian beauty to all. A later episode centres around the Black Lives Matter movement, discussing the tragic murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and so many others. Like queen Deborah Francis-White, Karis uses her platform to amplify unknown voices and share opinions on important topics. Why is anyone moaning that there are too many podcasts out there, when they all do such great things? 

Not all podcasts are opinion-based, though. Some are simply there for a good time. Last year, I interviewed the wonderful women behind the Drunk Women Solving Crime podcast, which tells stories of often grisly and gruesome old crimes. It’s a complete hoot and you find yourself going back in time while simultaneously whirring along with their drunken madness. There’s also the millennial favourite The High Low, a weekly pop-culture and news podcast hosted by Dolly Alderton and Pandora Sykes, which covers the serious and the silly in equal measure. Their most recent episode discusses Wiley’s anti-Semitism, while they have another episode giving useful anti-racism resources. 

When you’re starting to worry that you’re a useless nobody without any talent, there’s How to Fail by Elizabeth Day, who chats with loads of successful people about the things they did wrong. There’s nothing quite as reassuring to a writer as hearing Phoebe Waller-Bridge talking about the struggles she had making rent or getting anyone to attend her play. It made me realise that there’s hope for us all. 

We’ve all had a tough year. 2020 has been the shadiest one yet. We’ve had a global pandemic that isn’t yet over, police officers murdering black individuals with no repercussions, Australian forest fires, Dominic Cummings finding new ways to get his eyes tested… And I don’t doubt that some more awful things will follow (sorry, did you come here for some optimism? Maybe go to Elizabeth Day instead). This year has beaten and bruised us all. 

But 2020 has forced people to be creative. We’re seeing more podcasts than ever before, and ones that are discussing topics that truly engage, challenge and excite us. We want answers. We want to be educated. We want our voices heard. And, if we’re privileged, we want to be better allies. Podcasts can help us to do that. 

So why is the podcasting world a great place to be a woman? Podcasts don’t silence us. They do the opposite. They accentuate our voices and give us a platform to speak our truths. And we don’t need to rely on anyone else. We can make them ourselves. All we need is our voices, a microphone and some guests that need to be heard. It’s that easy.