Hi Besties!
I truly cannot get over the irony that we're celebrating Independence Day a week and a half after Roe v. Wade was overturned. I know a lot of marginalized groups carry similar sentiments, but the concept of freedom just hits different this year — in a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad way.
I’m currently on a much-needed road trip. I visited my extended family in South Dakota this weekend for a July 4th celebration. Now I’m in Minnesota with my immediate fam, and next weekend, I get to watch one of my younger brothers get married in Iowa. On our way back to LA, my boyfriend and I are going to tour Wall Drug and the Black Hills, do some glamping, hike at Zion National Park, and, of course, take a spin through Sin City.
James Baldwin has been ringing in my ears this past week.
“I love America more than any other country in the world, and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually.”
I desperately want this place to be worthy of that quote and our criticisms. I want to fall in love with this country again, remember why I love her, and experience some of the good parts because there is a big fight for bodily autonomy ahead of us. (Beyond that, a fight for democracy itself, but I'll save that for another edition.)
Thus, I compiled a reproductive rights-centric playlist to give Besties some resources to arm with which to arm yourselves. I hope my American Besties will listen to a few episodes and think about how you can move forward in that Baldwin-esque spirit of loving critique.
Private Parts Unknown: Abortion State of Disunion: Roe v. Wade Has Been Overturned, Now What? - In the latest episode, I respond to the grim news of the Roe v. Wade reversal and share my personal experience with abortion, then talk you through takeaways from the Center for Reproductive Right press conference on June 24th so you can hear directly from the people litigating the case about what this means, how we got here, and what's to come.
Science Vs: Abortion: The Science and the Supreme Court - In the Supreme Court opinion, Science Vs found a lot of scientific-sounding statements. So they wanted to find out whether these statements are true. They’ll tell you what actually happens in an abortion, whether a fetus can feel pain, and what the risks are for a pregnant person. They visit an abortion clinic in Texas and talk to Dr. Amita Murthy, Dr. Lisa Harris, and Dr. Diana Foster.
Queer Sex Ed Podcast: Abortion Laws and Crisis Pregnancy Centers (CPCs) - In this (sadly still relevant) episode from 2019, Sara and Jay discuss the legal and political movement to outlaw abortion in the United States, including the propaganda strategy of CPCs, the history of US abortion law, the current state of abortion rights, and how you can help protect abortion access in your area. Another great episode to check out from the Queer Sex Ed Podcast: Reproductive Justice and Family Building.
The Abortion Diary: Abortion Diary Entry 168: Oriaku Njoku - There are so many great perspectives on this podcast, but I loved hearing from Oriaku Njoku about how she sort of fell into reproductive justice work by accident and then realized it was her calling. She shares her experience of doing this work as a Black queer femme in the South, the importance of doing the work of abortion funding in and for community, and what it means to create a cultural shift around abortion in the South.
Therapy for Black Girls: Session 228: Supporting the Fight for Reproductive Justice - Now more than ever it’s important for us to be engaged in and supporting the efforts of those fighting for the rights of the most marginalized. In this episode, Yamani Hernandez, Executive Director of the National Network of Abortion Funds, shares about her work in this space. Yamani and host Dr. Joy Harden Bradford chat about what leadership looks like in this space at this moment, protecting your mental health while doing this work, and ways for you to get involved in supporting this important movement. Another related episode from Therapy for Black Girls: Session 140: Healing After An Abortion.
Private Parts Unknown: Pro-Abortion Playlist - Pro-choice episodes from our archives to counter the dangerous and shameful rhetoric surrounding abortion, and help destigmatize the common procedure.
Canadians are Power Podcast Listeners - Edison Research released the Infinite Dial Canada. One big takeaway: Canadian podcast listening has shot up five percent over the last year to 43%, higher monthly podcast listening than both Americans and Aussies, with 38% and 40%, respectively. So maybe consider running some ads in Canada?
Apple Podcasts Shares Their Social Media Asset Tool - You can use it to create sleek-looking images for all platforms. And as Arielle Nissenblatt pointed out, it's part of a larger co-marketing effort you can make with Apple.
David Lloyd is Preaching My Sermon! - I totally agree with the philosophy David Lloyd espouses in this little rant. I'm a neurotic editor attempting to clean up "ums" and "likes" in the perfect ratio, leaving enough to sound natural, but making the speaker sound like the best version of themselves. I'm actually working on a show right now where they specifically don't want me to do the initial cutdown — I'm embracing the time it saves me, but it was surprisingly hard to let go of the task.
Nominations are open for the 17th Annual People's Choice Podcast Awards - The People's Choice Podcast Awards is the longest running premier podcast awards event in the podcasting space open to shows worldwide. The competition is open to all shows regardless of country of origin or language, and they encourage shows from around the world to participate. Voting is open through the end of July.
Production Assistant (freelance) at Origin | Remote (UK or Europe)
Producer, Current Series (full-time) at Wondery | Los Angeles, CA or New York, NY
Cruz Show Co-Host (part-time) at iHeartMedia | Burbank, CA
The Bleeders: Hannah Howard on How Her Food Memoirs Became So Much More - Hannah Howard is author of two food memoirs that transcend the genre and are also about relationships, motherhood, and finding your tribe. We discuss how an MFA application process helped her crystallize her vision for what became her first book, the difference between first and second books, her experience in a low-residency MFA program, reactions she’s gotten to writing about ED, and how her niche is expanding into parenting.
The Bleeders: Chapped: Bridgette Bianca on be/trouble & the Legacy of Black Poetry - Bridgette Bianca is a fantastic spoken word poet with a Grammy nomination on her bucket list, and it was so interesting to hear her describe the interplay between performance and her writing process. She also shared a valuable lesson she learned in grad school. Plus, she took us to Howard for an education on the legacy of Black poetry, explained how essential community was to her publishing experience, and more.
The Bleeders x The Book I Had to Write: The Memoir as Detective Story - This is a feed swap with The Book I Had to Write podcast hosted by book coach Paul Zakrzewski. This episode features his interview with Lilly Dancyger, author of the memoir Negative Space and the editor of the anthology Burn It Down: Women Writing About Anger.
❤️ Thank you so much to Earbuds Podcast Collective for The Bleeders spotlight this week!
This week’s Play it Forward rec comes from jack of all trades podcaster Keith Kornelukt. Let's face it, from Inventing Anna to the Tinder Swindler, we’re obsessed with cons. Keith recommends a podcast that covers a different major con every week, Swindled, starting with this ep:
“Swindled unpacks the fat cats who have exploited people for their own benefit. This is not a happy show. But the storytelling is outstanding. In this episode titled ‘The Vegan,’ the anonymous host — using ‘A Concerned Citizen’ as his moniker — tells the story of a man who swindled his girlfriend, his employees, his investors, and society as a whole. It's maddening, but you can't stop listening.”
And if you’re looking for even MORE true crime to consume, Keith’s pod Modem Mischief will satiate that desire with a unique twist — tackling true cybercrime. Keith suggests this episode:
Gamergate. Death Threats, Doxing & Harassment.
“Gamergate was, and in some ways still is, a brutal online harassment campaign of several female game developers. This is not a pleasant story to hear but it's an important story to tell. On Modem Mischief, we aim to tell stories from the dark side of the Internet. However, this one will make you need a shower when you're done with it.
I wanted to tell this story because I think it's important to shine a light on a very dangerous subculture which is prevalent on the Internet. I think this story is sad and wonderfully told. One of our writers, Lauren Minkoff, penned this one.”
Thank you, Keith!
➡️ Here’s the link to submit for future editions.
So… ROLL CALL! 🗣
Do you have recs for other reproductive justice and pro-abortion episodes you think I should add to my playlist? I want to keep expanding on this as a resource for the post-Roe era.
Follow me @courtneykocak on Twitter and Instagram. For more, check out my website courtneykocak.com.