Denise Balkissoon's Grab Bag

Denise Balkissoon's Grab Bag

Radiotopia

News, true crime, drama, music, weirdness: podcasting is such a wide genre, and I listened to so many different things in the run-up to producing Colour Code. Here’s a list of a few that stood out, in no particular order.

Food, identity, history and honesty

Food, identity, history and honesty

This show is my dream podcast: food and identity and history and honesty. I love it so much. This is the story of Ernest Mickler, who put out a book called “White Trash Cooking” in the 1980s, and the lasting influence of his particular type of foodie pride.

Mar 15, 2017 • 0:00

Creative conversation on race and food

Creative conversation on race and food

I’m the food editor in the Globe’s Life section, and food + race is pretty much my sweet spot. The Sporkful has been doing some imaginative stuff on that intersection in the last bit: in this show, comedian Michelle Buteau and musician Ashok Kondabalu talk about food stereotypes, then play the namesake game.

Mar 15, 2017 • 0:00

Your parents get deported. What next?

Your parents get deported. What next?

WNYC does so many good shows. I love this one for its intimacy, and the obvious connection the audience has with the host, Anna Sale. This is an interview with Diane Guerrero from Orange is the New Black (which I also love) about a sadly topical issue. When she was 14, her parents were deported, and she had to grow up on her own.

Mar 15, 2017 • 0:00

Courageous and cathartic

Courageous and cathartic

Not only is this an excellent show led by two smart, funny black women, but one of their producers was kind enough to chat with us about making podcasts when we were first starting out. This is their first episode after the American election, and the raw honesty is courageous and really cathartic.

Mar 15, 2017 • 0:00

Phenomenal reporting that’ll hook you

Phenomenal reporting that’ll hook you

What phenomenal reporting by the CBC’s Connie Walker on this podcast about one particular woman – and the issue of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women in Canada. This is the first show, start here and get hooked.

Mar 15, 2017 • 0:00

Befriending strangers the old-fashioned way

Befriending strangers the old-fashioned way

Remember chatlines? Before the internet, you could call in, talk to strangers, and get in trouble from your parents when the phone bill came in? Yeah. They’re still around.

Mar 15, 2017 • 0:00

What is Indian Status, anyway?

What is Indian Status, anyway?

It was extremely important to me that our podcast about race in Canada start out with an indigenous story. We landed on the idea of explaining what Indian Status is, and what it still means. I’m pretty proud of how it turned out.

Mar 15, 2017 • 0:00

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