Storytelling podcasts celebrating Black women's voices & stories

A curation of podcasts for Black Women's History Month

Podcast artwork for Harlem Queen, Red for Revolution, Booker and Olivia, Bayou’s Wrath, and Bronzeville

Curator:

👉🏽 Yhane Washington Smith and Xperience J.

Why this theme?

👉🏽If you want to know the WHOLE story of "America," ask a Black woman.

Audio drama creators are passionate about writing and storytelling — that's a given. Our deepest desire is to share our stories, so we harness our grit and wit to fuel our creativity and resourcefulness in getting them out into the world. Our stories are not "whitewashed;” they are grounded in truth, with a dash of drama and humor.

Podcast Picks

Harlem Queen podcast cover art

Harlem Queen is a historical fiction audio drama that centers and celebrates the legendary "gangster" Madame Stephanie St. Clair. She took on the "big boys" — Lucky Luciano and Dutch Schultz — and won.

Red for Revolution podcast cover art

At its heart, this story follows the passionate love affair between jazz singer Lorraine Giovanni and activist Ella Ali. The narrative unfolds through the perspective of Jazmine, an 18-year-old navigating her queer identity, first crush, and the delicate task of mending her relationship with her homophobic mother.

As Jazmine seeks solace and guidance from her grandmother, listeners are transported back to 1971, where two remarkable women — living oceans apart, from vastly different backgrounds, and with opposing political views — embark on a romance that defies all conventions.

Booker & Olivia podcast cover art

I love this story because Olivia is no joke.

Two idealistic young college graduates journey to the Deep South and work together to found one of the legendary HBCUs.

Bayou’s Wrath podcast cover art

This story brilliantly brings the past into the present.

Leah and Michelle, New York appraisers, inherit a mysterious estate in Natchez, Mississippi. As they dig into their family’s haunted past, they confront spirits and uncover dark family secrets buried deep in the Southern soil.

Bronzeville podcast cover art

This is the series that inspired so many audio drama creators.

Starring Laurence Fishburne, Larenz Tate, and Tika Sumpter, and written by Academy Award® and BAFTA nominee Josh Olson (A History of Violence), Bronzeville chronicles the lives of players in the lottery games while illuminating the self-sustainability of the community’s African American residents.

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Community

💖In Podcast The Newsletter, Lauren Passell recommends Belief in the Future. She writes: “host David Zvi Kalman intersects two huge subjects that I rarely see intersected— religion and technology.”

🎙️The Forgotten: After Helene focuses on the people in Western North Carolina who are still struggling to recover after the hurricane, long after the news crews have moved on.

🤲Divine Intervention is the untold story of a ragtag band of radical nuns in combat boots, wild-haired priests, and their madcap friends who swiftly became accomplished cat-burglars in a hellbent effort to sabotage the Vietnam war.

💰Heart to Hustle launched a new bonus episode series called Hustle Hotline. Each episode is a quick, actionable Q&A where host Layla Palmer offers insights on topics like career transitions, burnout, side hustles, and creative entrepreneurship

🚀Get your show or news featured in our Community section. Fill out this form.

Podcast news from Podnews

  • Spotify’s monetization model for creators, the Spotify Partner Program is to expand to a further nine new countries, eight in Europe. From April 29, eligible audio and video creators in France, Belgium, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and New Zealand can enroll.

  • Good Tape has launched Off The Record, a “community-centered media business that facilitates real-time dialogues between podcast executives, creatives, and brands”.

  • The Signal Awards are open for entries. The awards boast new categories, including more for fiction podcasts, and a new honor for thought leadership.

Spotlight

What’s Your Map? podcast cover art

From historians, scientists, and writers to creatives and cultural custodians, people have used maps as a source of knowledge, guidance, and inspiration for centuries. Join award-winning expert Professor Jerry Brotton as he invites a guest to share a map close to their heart — and unfurl the ideas, inspirations, and stories behind it.

If you’re fascinated by history, art, adventure, and culture, why not become part of a global community of fellow explorers?

What’s Your Map? is brought to you by Oculi Mundi (‘eyes of the world’), the online home of The Sunderland Collection of antique maps and atlases. For a fully immersive experience, visit http://www.Oculi-Mundi.com/podcast to explore each of the maps as you listen.

Thank you to our community supporters: