The stories we’re told can determine how we view the world around us, and with the media industry monopolized by an elite few, it’s important to dig deeper than mainstream coverage.

Independent media serves the critical role of providing a platform for underrepresented voices that might be otherwise unheard in mainstream media. By exposing unique perspectives and stories, this free exchange of information makes independent media a cornerstone in the movement to empower the public.

Bioneers has been hosting an award-winning independent radio show and podcast for nearly two decades and we’ve been amazed and inspired by the explosion of really top-notch audio storytelling and reporting projects. Check out nine indie podcasts you should be listening to (along with The Bioneers: Revolution from the Heart of Nature, of course!). An obviously, this is by no means an extensive list – let us know what you’re listening to!

Drilled Presents: The HEATED Podcast

The HEATED podcast is a 6 episode, limited-run series that shows how COVID-19 and the climate crisis cannot be separated.

In a series of interviews with Bill McKibben, Mary Heglar, Anthony Rogers-Wright, Kate Aronoff and others, HEATED host Emily Atkin connects the dots on how two of the most pressing issues of our time are really one and the same.

All My Relations

All My Relations is a podcast that explores what it means to be a Native person today.  To be an Indigenous person is to be engaged in relationships— relationships to land and place, to a people, to non-human relatives, and to one another. All My Relations is a place to explore those relationships, and to think through Indigeneity in all its complexities.

On each episode hosts Matika Wilbur (Tulalip and Swinomish) and Adrienne Keene (Cherokee Nation), delve into a different topic facing Native peoples today, bringing in guests from all over Indian Country to offer perspectives and stories.

Ear Hustle

The Ear Hustle podcast brings you the daily realities of life inside prison shared by those living it, and stories from the outside, post-incarceration.

The podcast is a partnership between Nigel Poor, a Bay Area visual artist, and Earlonne Woods, formerly incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison. The Ear Hustle team works to produce stories that are sometimes difficult, often funny and always honest.

The Next System

The Next System Podcast is a biweekly series featuring leaders from academia, politics, business, and the grassroots discussing movements, models, and pathways toward a new system.

This podcast is just one outlet from the the Next System Project, an initiative of The Democracy Collaborative that’s aimed at bold thinking and action to address the systemic challenges the United States faces now and in coming decades.

Democracy in Color Podcast

Democracy in Color, hosted by Steve Phillips, is “a new color-conscious political podcast.” As the 2020 election season heats up, there remain strong differences of opinion about the right strategy for winning in a racially-polarized electoral landscape. This podcast facilitates a candid conversation about what strategies make the most sense. Join Steve for a conversation that is unafraid and unapologetic about grappling with some of the toughest topics in politics.

Intersectionality Matters (Kim Crenshaw)

Intersectionality Matters!, presented by the African American Policy Forum, is a podcast that brings intersectionality to life. Its host, Kimberlé Crenshaw, is an American civil rights advocate and a leading scholar of critical race theory.

Zero Hour Talks

Zero Hour Talks is a youth podcast produced by Zero Hour, a global, youth-led climate activism movement fighting for climate and environmental justice. Its episodes center the voices of diverse youth in the conversation around climate and environmental justice.

This podcast represents a movement of unstoppable youth organizing to protect rights and access to natural resources and a clean, safe, and healthy environment that will ensure a livable future where we not just survive, but flourish.

Food Talk with Dani Nierenberg

Dani Nierenberg is the president of Food Tank, a nonprofit organization focused on building a global community for safe, healthy, nourished eaters.

She hosts the Food Talk podcast as a platform for interacting with farmers, policymakers, co-op owners and others about how we can build a food system based on sustainability and justice, especially in the face of climate change.

MEDIA INDIGENA

MEDIA INDIGENA is a weekly Indigenous current affairs roundtable podcast. Each week, guests from the worlds of activism, arts, academia and beyond join Rick for lively, insightful conversation that goes beyond the headlines to get at what matters most to Indigenous peoples.

Driven by the mission to originate and celebrate a wealth of distinct, Indigenous-led experiences both on-line and off, MEDIA INDIGENA’s larger vision is to catalyze these conversations and connections into community.