5 Podcasts You Need to Hear to Get Through This Week
Conversations with African-American police officers, hide-and-seek experts, and one of the less-well-known members of the Dead Poets Society.
Well, we'd like to say this has been a carefree summer full of fun and innocence, but no such luck. In the midst of an especially difficult July, we're at least happy to be able to point you to some thoughtful conversation about race and policing via Code Switch, as well as the debut episode of a new podcast from one of the 2 Dope Queens. And if you're absolutely bent on recapturing that whole fun-and-innocence thing, then we've also got field trip back to childhood, and an episode about what it's like to have Robin Williams write an absence excuse note to your principal. Doubtfire away!
WNYCSooo Many White Guys, “Phoebe and Lizzo Get Lit”
Phoebe Robinson, co-host of *2 Dope Queens*, is hilarious---and now she's struck out on her own for a new podcast in which she interviews other thoughtful, funny people of color. For the first episode, Robinson and Minneapolis-based rapper Lizzo discuss becoming comfortable in their own bodies and how to talk about Philando Castile’s death. Make sure to listen through the credits for a very funny cameo from pushy executive producer Ilana Glazer. [Listen here.](http://www.wnyc.org/story/so-many-white-guys-podcast-episode-1-phoebe-and-lizzo-get-lit)
Spencer Platt/Getty ImagesCode Switch, “Black and Blue”
*Code Switch* takes a look at the deaths of Castile, Alton Sterling, and five Dallas police officers through the lens of African-Americans who wear the badge. These are honest conversations with law enforcement officials, including Michael Rallings, interim director of police services in Memphis, who marched with Black Lives Matter protesters last week, and Gregory A. Thomas, who leads the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives. [Listen here.](http://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2016/07/14/485728431/the-code-switch-podcast-episode-9-black-and-blue)
NPRInvisibilia, “Frame of Reference”
This week, the *Invisibilia* team examines how much a frame of reference dictates happiness through a series of stories: an examination of African-American soldiers in World War II, who reported higher satisfaction when stationed at bases in the segregated south; Hasan Minhaj, correspondent on *The Daily Show* and son of immigrants; and a woman with Asperger’s, able to recognize nuanced emotion only during an hour-long experiment. [Listen here.](http://www.npr.org/podcasts/510307/invisibilia)
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Charley Locke writes about growing up and growing old for publications including The Atlantic, The New York Times Magazine, and WIRED. ... Read More
