Catch Up on Podcasts with Tufts Connections

Listening to podcasts is a way to explore new ideas and hear compelling stories—while you are driving, cooking, exercising, or just folding the laundry. Podcasts have exploded in popularity in recent years, and members of the Tufts community are right in the mix, with offerings ranging from food and politics to humor and economics.

We’ve rounded up a great mix of podcasts with Tufts alumni, faculty, and students hosting and producing. If you’re aware of others, let us know at now@tufts.edu, and we’ll update the listings.

African Voices, African Arguments. Alex de Waal, research professor and executive director of the World Peace Foundation at The Fletcher School, hosts this podcast, which “features African scholars, writers, policymakers, and activists on issues of peace, justice, and democracy.” It is presented in partnership with African Arguments and Tufts' Institute for Global Leadership. (online)

Being and Becoming. Tufts Hillel Rabbi Dr. Naftali Brawer shares Jewish spiritual inspiration for everyday living. Recent episodes have included “Vayera: Faith and Doubt” and “Lech Lecha: How Do We Cease from Striving?” (Spotify, Apple, online)

Beyond Glass Walls. Samuel Joseph, A20, and Hendricks Delva, A20, co-host this podcast and “touch on a wide range of political and social issues affecting students on campus through a series of natural, freeform conversations,” according to a Tufts Daily profile. (SoundCloud, online)

Bottoms Up. Eugenia Noelle, A18, hosts this podcast about “a curious 20-something unpacking the challenging and fun parts of life—with the help of some special friends.” (Apple, Spotify, Google, Stitcher)

Cognitive Urbanism. Justin Hollander, professor of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning, hosts this podcast about “the big ideas of cities, urbanism, technology, and the brain.” (Apple)

EconoFact Chats. Hosted by Michael Klein, William L. Clayton Professor of International Economic Affairs at The Fletcher School, this weekly podcast on key economic issues is an offshoot of the online publication EconoFact, of which Klein is executive editor. Guests have included members of the Council of Economic Advisers and the board of governors of the Federal Reserve, the chief economist at the IMF, and reporters on the economics beat, such as Binyamin Appelbaum. “Many of the people I have interviewed are friends, and it has been really nice to get a chance to make public the kind of discussions we often have in private,” says Klein. (Apple, Google, Spotify, SoundCloud, online)

Ed Infinitum. David Nurenberg, AG00, associate professor of education at Lesley University, hosts this podcast “about all things related to the world of education.” New episodes are posted biweekly. (Apple, Google, Spotify, online)

Food Talk. Dani Nierenberg, N01, hosts and chats “with the most important folks in the food industry about the most important food news twice a week.” Guests have included José Andrés and Michael Pollan, among many others. (Apple, Google, Spotify, online)

Foot Notes. Lily Linke, AG20, hosts this podcast “examining the intersection of walkability and race, with transportation planners, researchers, and advocates about the issues with our current approach to walkability, and what solutions may be out there.” (Apple, Google, online)

Forks on the Left. Jeff Strauss, A84, A20P, is co-host of this 32-episode food-related podcast that ran from 2016 through 2017. Its slogan: “Listen to your stomach. Feed your ears.” (Apple, Google, online)

The International Dentist. Gabriela Lagreca, an assistant professor at the School of Dental Medicine, hosts this podcast about dentists who left their homelands to develop their professional careers in the U.S. (online)

Locatora Radio. Zoe Munoz, A14, under the stage name Mala Munoz, co-hosts the podcast Locatora Radio out of Los Angeles. It “blends humor, pop culture analysis, and interviews with artists to engage listeners in nuanced discussions about feminism, sexual wellness, and arts and culture for a modern Latinx audience.” (Apple, Spotify, Google, SoundCloud, Audioboom, online)

Mass Exoneration. Co-produced and co-hosted by Brian Pilchik, A14, the people who are the focus of this podcast “were convicted of crimes—crimes they never committed. This is what happened next, to them and the people they left behind. Now, they’re free to tell their stories—and so are their children, their parents, their lawyers. Everyone who lived through it, from arrest to exoneration.” (Apple, Google, Spotify, online)

May It Please the Court. Alex Akhavan, A10, narrates the events that connect the most important cases in U.S. history in this 2018 podcast series focused on the Supreme Court. (Spotify, Apple, Google, online)

Nobody Listens to Paula Poundstone. Adam Felber, E89, is writer and co-host of this podcast with the eponymous comedian. It is “a comedy field guide to life, or at least a set of IKEA assembly instructions,” as the promo says. The two “bring on leading expert guests and use their unique comedic sensibility to help us navigate life in the 21st century. Along the way, Paula attempts to explains existence through her kaleidoscopic perspective, and Adam tries to interject some rationality.” (Apple, Spotify, Google, Stitcher, online)  

No Country for Moving. Kyra Assibey-Bonsu, A09, hosts this podcast about “extraordinary human beings from across the globe.” Seven episodes in, she says that “as a solo, Black female traveler, I have always been fascinated by these stories of immigrants and emigrants. . . Because now, more than any other time in history, it is important to realize how our stories are similar but not treated equally.” (Apple, Breaker, Spotify, Overcast, Google, Radio Public, online)

Northstar Unplugged. Kristen Rainey, F06, based in Bozeman, Mont., hosts this podcast “about rest and rejuvenation, unplugging from technology, transitions, and transformations, and spending time and energy on the things that really matter to you.” (Apple, Google, Spotify, online)

The Oath. John Rosenberg, A82, hosts “conversations with fascinating men and women who took an oath to serve our nation—military and law enforcement leaders, medical professionals, an astronaut, a judge, and more. . . These captivating stories exemplify what is best about our country: integrity, civility, service, humility, and collective responsibility.” (Apple, Spotify, Google, Stitcher, Castbox, TuneIn, online)

On Boards. Joe Ayoub, A74, a member of the Tufts University School of Medicine Board of Advisors, co-hosts this podcast about best practices forcorporate boards. A recent guest was Diane Hessen, J76, A11P, a member of the Tufts Board of Trustees, who discussed what makes an effective board member and an effective board. (Apple, online)  

Poetry For All. Joanne Diaz, J94, co-hosts this podcast “for those who already love poetry and for those who know very little about it. We read a poem, discuss it, see what makes it tick, learn how it works, grow from it, and then read it one more time.” (Apple, Google, online)

Queering the Air! Aaron Idelson, A18, and Matt Rohrer, A17, host this weekly podcast that “features a queer guest discussing their lives and how their experiences, specifically surrounding their queerness, have shaped who they are today. (Apple, Spotify, Google, Anchor)

Revolution at Sea. Fletcher Professor Emeritus John Perry’s podcast is based on his popular Global Maritime History class. “Revolution at Sea invites listeners to embark on a wondrous exploration of the human history of the sea as a resource, avenue, and arena.” Jamie Rosenberg, F13, and Albert Buixadé Farré, F13, assisted in the development of the podcast. (Apple, Google, Spotify, and online)

The Rewind. A podcast from the Tufts Daily, covering news and features at the university; it was active through March 10, 2020. (Spotify)

The Sporkful. Dan Pashman A99, is the host of this long-running food-focused podcast, winner of the James Beard Award, Webby Award, and Saveur Award for Best Food Podcast. “Each week on the show, we use humor and humanity to approach food from many angles, including science, history, identity, culture, and economics. We like to say it’s not for foodies, it’s for eaters.” (Stitcher, Apple, Spotify, Google, online) 

Tell Me More. Brought to you by the folks who bring you Tufts Now, this podcast looks at broad topics from varied and often unexpected angles, featuring stories from the global Tufts community. One episode, on coping with isolation, features advice from a psychiatrist, a solo long-distance hiker, and a Buddhist monk, among others. Faculty, students, and alumni share insights from their research, their teaching, their art, and their own lives. (Apple, Google, Spotify, Stitcher, SoundCloud, online)

TwentyTwenty. Podcast creator Elizabeth Dykstra-McCarthy, F21, along with Max Klaver, A19, F21 and other current and former Tufts students, in partnership with the Fletcher Forum, have started this short series “about how the events of 2020 have accelerated global trends and made the world’s challenges, like authoritarianism, soft power, data privacy, and the future of work, more visible.” (Apple, Breaker, Spotify, Overcast, Google, Radio Public, Pocket Cats, online)

Taylor McNeil can be reached at taylor.mcneil@tufts.edu.