Here are the podcasts that are shaping a queer futurešŸ”®

Podcast recommendations from Michelle MiJung Kim that speak to grief, transformation, and radical careāœØ

Curator:

šŸ‘‰šŸ½ Michelle MiJung Kim, author, speaker, and host of I Feel That Way Too

Why this theme?

šŸ‘‰šŸ½ When I say ā€œqueer futures,ā€ Iā€™m not just talking about my sexual orientation. Iā€™m talking about a political identity, a lens, and a way of being in the world, one that resists the status quo and insists on dreaming bigger. Queerness, to me, is about refusing to accept that this is as good as it gets. Itā€™s about building lives ā€” and worlds ā€” where more of us can thrive.

This podcast playlist includes episodes that have helped me remember whatā€™s worth fighting for. They speak to grief, transformation, and radical care. They ask hard questions about punishment, success, identity, and belonging ā€” and offer glimpses into the kind of future I want to live in. I hope they move you as much as theyā€™ve moved me.

Podcast Picks

I Feel That Way Too podcast cover art

I Feel That Way Too

This vulnerable episode grapples with the collapse of identity when itā€™s tied to hustle culture and capitalism. Through honest storytelling and reflection, it opens a portal to a future where worth isnā€™t earned through productivity, but grounded in being.

Itā€™s a powerful entry point for anyone imagining a life beyond burnout, and an invitation to stay with the discomfort of not knowing your next move.

This Is Actually Happening podcast cover art

This Is Actually Happening

This episode confronts the unimaginable: how do we respond to harm without replicating carceral logic?

Through a deeply personal story, it challenges the dominant narrative of punishment and asks us to consider a future shaped by healing, not vengeance ā€” a central question for transformative justice and queer liberation.

10% Happier with Dan Harris podcast cover art

10% Happier with Dan Harris

Mia Birdsong offers a liberatory vision of success rooted in community, care, and interdependence ā€” directly countering individualistic, capitalist ideals.

This episode is an invitation to reimagine what a good life looks like when we define it for ourselves and with each other. From embracing non-traditional family structures to practicing community care when systems fail us, this episode feels like a celebration of human connection and resilience.

How to Survive the End of the World podcast cover art

Dr. Eve Ewing is brilliant, witty, and endlessly inspiring. I could hear her talk for hours. adrienne maree brown and autumn brown have been my longtime favorites, and this episode featuring three visionary Black femmes is just chefā€™s kissšŸ˜™.

From discussions around cross-racial solidarity to myriad approaches to education, this episode will have you learning, laughing, and reflecting for a solid hour!

Becoming the People Podcast with Prentis Hemphill podcast cover art

Becoming the People Podcast with Prentis Hemphill

Kai Cheng Thom (who was also a guest on I Feel That Way Too!) is magnetic in her tenderness and fierce commitment to our collective liberation. Kai invites us to embody the future we long for, even as weā€™re still healing.

This episode is a beautiful meditation on love, trauma, and queer and trans resilience, calling us into deeper connection with ourselves and each other through radical love. Prentis and Kai are the dynamic duo we need to feel held, seen, and grounded during this tumultuous time.

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Community

ā›°ļøBlue Mountain Morning is a daily podcast offering calm, thoughtful takes on current events ā€” with a twist.

šŸ«£Blending cult classic horror vibes with sharp documentary storytelling and a bit of dark comedy, Radio Rental blurs the line between the real and the surreal.

šŸˆ Our favorite cat-themed podcast, 6 Degrees of Cats, returns with season three, kicking off with an episode featuring NYT bestselling author Tricia Hersey.

šŸ’–In Podcast The Newsletter, Lauren Passell interviewed Sahaj Kaur Kohli, the host and creator of new podcast, So Weā€™ve Been Told. She describes the show as ā€œa living, breathing community for those left out of wellnessā€.

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Podcast news from Podnews

  • The New Zealand Podcast Awards is back for a fifth year. The awards are sponsored by Acast; gold winners will each receive 500,000 advertising impressions to promote their show across Acastā€™s podcast network in the country.

  • The fiction podcast app Apollo shut down last month, itā€™s emerged. ā€œWeā€™ve poured our hearts into building a space for fiction podcast loversā€, said the founders in an email, ā€and while weā€™re incredibly proud of what we created, we havenā€™t been able to grow the listener base enough to sustain the service long-term.ā€

  • CNN Audio is changing its name - to CNN Podcasts. ā€œThe fact is, these are podcasts. Itā€™s what the industry and the general public, more importantly, calls them,ā€ says the Head of CNN Podcasts, Steve Lickteig. Itā€™s part of an expansion push for the company.

Spotlight

Audio Maverick podcast cover art

The history of radio crackles to life with Audio Maverick, a nine-part documentary about one of the most visionary figures in radio, Himan Brown. Explore the golden age of radio through Brown's life, as we travel from the birth of audio drama to the programs that brought millions of families into their living rooms every night.

CUNY TV and the Himan Brown Archive assemble the story of how radio became an entertainment medium through archival audio of some of the most famous audio dramas, contemporary interviews with media scholars, and discussions with a new generation of audio mavericks that he inspired.

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