Hot on the heels of our Open Access reading list on Global Communication and Social Change from last year, this year we are pleased to share a Global Communication and Social Change Podcast Playlist. This playlist picks out the top 5 from a longer playlist created for a module on the MA Global Communication and Social Change programme.

Global Yaadie: Global Yaadie Gets Climate Conscious

Our playlist must begin with Global Yaadie, a podcast by our alumna, Dainalyn Swaby, who is passionate about the role of communication for development and social change for climate justice and youth activism, based in Jamaica. I recommend the full series, but if pushed to choose just one, my top pick is Episode 1 of Season 2, ‘Global Yaadie Gets Climate Conscious’, in which Dainalyn talks with a fellow climate-focused podcaster. Participatory communication and other communication approaches emerge several times throughout. Dainalyn even mentions her MA dissertation at around 23:50, which you can read in full in our IMCI Graduate Papers.

Rethinking Development: Strategic Communication

This episode on Strategic Communication from the Rethinking Development Podcast series hears from an experienced professional in the field of development communication and advocacy. We cover communication approaches within the international development sector in quite a lot of detail in the MA Global Communication and Social Change programme, including how thinking and practice has changed over time. This podcast with Dr. Deepak Gupta gives an insider’s perspective on current practice, drawing on his vast experience in various UN agencies. He also discusses how communication is seen, and sometimes misunderstood, by other professionals in the international development sector.

SCA Podcast: Digital Solutions for communities and campaigners with Brian Young

As well as communication within international development, our MA programme also looks at the role of communication and media in social movements. The Social Change Agency (SCA) is a London-based organisation that supports a wide range of activists, social movements and development organisations with their strategies, systems and infrastructures. All their podcasts are fascinating insights into the world of activism and community organising, intersecting with media and communication strategies in many varied and indirect ways. We were very lucky to have two guest lectures from SCA for our MA Global Communication and Social Change students this year. I’ve chosen this particular podcast because it thoughtfully considers digital communication and technology in social movements. Brian Young brings a balanced view of both the potential and the challenges of a range of digital tools. There is also a Part 2 to this episode.

No White Saviours: Ethical Storytelling w/ Tom Saater

We change gears a bit in this podcast. No White Saviours is an exciting podcast team based in Kampala, Uganda, and their critical discussions on a wide range of topics always bring an important decolonising perspective. Postcolonial theories are an important aspect of our MA programme, helping us to understand the historical and structural basis of contemporary power dynamics and representation. In this very thought provoking, at times raw, episode, the No White Saviours podcast team hears from a photographer reflecting powerfully on his own role in taking stereotypical photographs of African people, especially children, for Western NGOs and audiences, and what led him to change his practice and perspective. There is also a slightly tangential but interesting reflection in the middle of the episode on the deliberately provocative title, ‘No White Saviours’ (which you can hear more about in their introductory episode). See also the follow up podcast where the NWS team reflects on ethical storytelling and photography.

Why Change: Responsive, Creative Social Change with Jacki Kauli and Verena Thomas

My final pick is an episode that features Associate Professors Jacki Kauli and Verena Thomas – both of whom are doing fascinating research on communication and social change practice in Papua New Guinea. Verena’s work focuses on visual storytelling and filmmaking, and Jacki uses theatre and drama. In this podcast they talk about their own work and projects, and reflect on some challenges of doing creative, participatory social change work within international development. I have visited the Centre for Social and Creative Media (CSCM), mentioned in the podcast, and they do truly innovative work around themes like gender-based violence, sorcery and violence, and women’s leadership. It is well worth checking out some of the films produced out of CSCM, and probably the best place to find them is on the CSCM Facebook page.

What do you think about these podcasts? Do you have a podcast recommendation? Are you a podcaster with an interest in communication and social change? Add your reflections and recommendations to the comments below or get in touch with the Programme Director of the MA Global Communication and Social Change at j.noske-turner@lboro.ac.uk with your tips!
See more details on the MA Global Communication and Social Change programme.