Listen In, Act Up

Our latest Active Listening podcast roundup finds the balance between being informed and getting entertained.

Richmond will be buzzing with podcasting energy this week as pod creators, hosts and producers from all over the country descend upon the Institute for Contemporary Art for the annual Resonate festival.

You probably aren’t going to be there – tickets sold out within a few hours of becoming available – so instead, you can enjoy Style’s latest roundup of local listening options. If you have recommendations for podcasts to feature in future review columns, please send suggestions to activelisteningrva@gmail.com.

Local news and politics

The high drama of the race for president has meant that some Richmonders have overlooked the contest underway to elect their next mayor. For those needing to bone up in these last couple weeks, RVA’s Got Issues (RGI) might be just what you’re looking for.

The VPM-produced pod premiered in May, delving directly into the thornier problems facing Virginia’s capital city, including gun violence and housing (disclosure: VPM owns Style Weekly). But as the election grows near, host Rick Meagher has been inviting the mayoral candidates on the show for relatively short, but still illuminating, interviews.

Professor of political science Rich Meagher hosts “RVA’s Got Issues” with an avuncular, easy-to-like persona. Photo courtesy of VPM

Meagher, a professor of political science at Randolph-Macon College, has an avuncular, easy-to-like persona but that does not stop him from pushing the candidates past their simplistic talking points. He authored a 2020 book titled “Local Politics Matter: A Citizen’s Guide to Making a Difference” (Lantern Books).

In the first episode focusing on the mayor’s race, he challenges Harrison Roday, asking for his specific plans for dealing with the local housing crisis. In the second, he pointedly focuses on Maurice Neblett’s resume, wondering “What would you say to voters concerned with your lack of experience in city government?”

In 20 well-produced minutes, RGI gives a solid snapshot of each candidate with enough details to help conscientious voters narrow down their choice. And those who tune in for the candidate interviews will want to further explore the podcast’s back catalog. Earlier episodes not only explore specific issues but also feature listener questions and community spotlight segments.

Embrace Matters of Richmond (EMOR) takes a different approach to tackling local issues. Episodes generally come in groups of three where the hosts Dominic “Moral” Wall and Carl Joseph move from expressing their preconceived ideas on a topic to doing their own research on it and being informed by an expert.

For those looking for maximum edification, you can sometimes skip the first two and go directly to the expert interviews. For instance, during the podcast’s exploration of local school systems, guest Kim McKnight, Ph.D., director of VCU’s Center for Teacher Leadership, provides compelling insight into how educational enterprises can be improved.

Attendees of an “Embrace Space” event listen to Dominic “Moral” Wall and Carl Joseph leading a conversation about housing. Photo by David Timberline

EMOR’s most entertaining idea is its MapZ series where episodes zero in on a specific neighborhood in Richmond. What was Short Pump before it was an overwhelming slog of retail stores? How is Church Hill dealing with its rapid gentrification? The MapZ episodes illuminate the specific charms and historic origins of places in Richmond in an appealing way.

EMOR also extends its mission of affecting change to real-world gatherings called “Embrace Space” events. Attendees engage in conversation about an issue, with opportunities to consider how each of them might be able to have a positive impact.

Arts and culture

An arts-oriented podcast can provide a welcome escape from all that serious issue-related talk. The best of these excel by emulating a “good hang,” the relaxed experience of hanging out with friends, in addition to covering compelling subjects.

I tried listening to Two Guys Into Fridays, rated first in Style’s most recent Best of Richmond readers survey. Maybe it’s a side-effect of hosts Travis Oliver and Stephen “Dash” Brown churning through so many 1990s-era TV shows, but I found the vibe more workmanlike than entertaining.

Fans of her old RVA Mag column, “Attack of the Killer Thumbs,” will be familiar with how Grace Todd couches true expertise in a cheerful but sardonic sense of humor. She brings that same approach to audio with Didn’t Read It, her podcast about literature.

In most episodes, Todd presents a work of fiction to a guest and they engage in irreverent conversation about it (discloser: this author was a guest on the podcast last year). The results are both fun and enlightening with a vibe like a chat over drinks with a pal.

Todd sometimes picks works that hide bawdy fodder for speculation, e.g., is there a gay subtext to Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado” or exactly what sex act does the protagonist of May Sinclair’s “The Nature of the Evidence” engage in with a ghost?

I’ve particularly enjoyed her explorations of lesser-known work by famous writers, like “Frankenstein” author Mary Shelley’s “The Last Man.” Todd’s guests are as cheekily insightful as she is, finding unexpected themes or interesting nuances that make the conversation engaging even if you never intend to read what’s being talked about.

While you’ll be smiling throughout, you’ll also feel smarter at the end.

The next “Embrace Space” event will be held Dec. 13. Details can be found at the podcast’s Facebook page

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