Call Your Girlfriend
Election Pep Talk
Joining the conversation with co-hosts and long-distance best friends Aminatou Sow and Ann Friedman this week is Crooked Media’s political director, Shaniqua McClendon. Given the distance between Friedman and Sow—which has only taken on more weight at a time when few people are traveling to be near one another—their candid and honest exchanges are even more important. They ask how one another is doing, and an answer like “not good” isn’t played for drama. This episode in particular focuses on educating and preparing ourselves for the events of November 3. With McClendon, the hosts offer an “election pep talk,” discussing strategies for getting involved, such as phone banking and voting plans, and explaining what kind of impact those things have upon voter turnout. McClendon breaks it all down into manageable action items, reassuring listeners and encouraging involvement in the process. [Jose Nateras]
Dope Labs
Life Avalanche
One of the best things about Dope Labs is that hosts Titi and Zakiya—a molecular biologist and a materials scientist/engineer, respectively—manage to remain approachable as they break down complex and immeasurable topics. “Lab 032: Life Avalanche” is all about the concept of burnout. Titi and Zakiya, along with this week’s guest, Dr. Anne Helen Petersen, discuss the realities of what it feels like to be constantly overwhelmed and living in a state of precarity. They contextualize the millennial experience by tracing the generational roots of burnout culture; understanding the physical and biological realities behind the common feeling of “hitting a wall,” is hugely comforting. It helps knowing that you’re not alone in feeling like you’re buried under the “life avalanche” of frightening political realities, a global pandemic, and serious social injustices, and Dope Labs hosts a discussion to reassure us all. [Jose Nateras]
Girl, That’s Scary!
Godzilla
Since it’s officially October and it’s all pumpkin spice lattes and Hocus Pocus on loop until the 31st, let’s track down some horror-themed podcasts helmed by people of color. This series, hosted by “your friendly neighborhood homegirls” Jazzmin (a.k.a. Jaz The 40-oz. Connoisseur) and Kathleen (a.k.a. Kat Daddy), riffs on all things horror, sci-fi, and geek-related the way some people savagely dish on the latest Real Housewives spin-off. On this episode, the hosts bring in Dylan Gonzalez (of the doom-metal podcast Diary Of Doom) to talk about the Godzilla movies, the sheer number of which takes the ladies by surprise. (“It’s more Godzilla movies than fucking Dracula movies!” Jaz exclaims.) They break down the ones they’ve seen, including the loathed Godzilla Vs. Megalon—which gave us this notorious, oft-memed moment—and the Hollywood blockbuster reboots. They all agree that last year’s Godzilla: King Of The Monsters wasted a good cast, while they can barely remember that ’90s movie starring Matthew Broderick. [Craig D. Lindsey]