Richard Berry’s “A Golden Age of Podcasting? Evaluating Serial in the Context of Podcast Histories” was a paper on the “Chitlin Circuit” or “urban podcasters”. These podcasters are a group of black podcasters who seek to recreate traditional black hang out spots, such as the barbershops, beauty shops, and churches. These podcasts generally have no central topic. Rather, they are a collection of conversations that range from comedy to more serious topics of discussion. However, some podcast groups do have a central theme such as “Wheres My 40 Acres” (WM40A). The podcasters within the Chitlin Circuit promote each other, forming a sense of community in the universe of podcasting. These podcasts are unapologetic and meant for black listeners. The formation of the Chitlin Circuit is a testimony of black culture and the need for its representation.

The disparities are real. In the United States black people have a huge disadvantage to whites. Not just through socioeconomic levels but health disparities as well. It seems that black people need a voice, and these podcasts are a necessary achievement for equality.

Throughout my youth I found it difficult to connect to white culture. I felt that hip pop/rap, MTV (back when it was good), sneakers, and basketball much more enjoyable than what my white friends were into, although some of my white friends were into the same things as well. Not that I have anything against white people, its just that I found black culture to be more entertaining. And so when I immediately felt a connection in this article. Not so much because I idolize black culture or anything, but rather because of the fact that its something I am somewhat used to. I see my own culture to be influenced by black culture, but it is more along the lines of asian culture. This is interesting because artists like Nujabes or various YouTubers such as Rich Chigga, seem to share what I consider to be “my culture”.

As a Korean American, I found this article to be fascinating. The main thing I thought was do Asian-Americans have podcast communities? The answer is: “Kinda”. In my simple google searches I found some Asian American comedians and small celebrities have started a small community for podcasting. The next thing I asked myself was do Asian Americans have enough culture to recreate an enclave in the way the black podcasters have been able to? This was a little vexing to me. There’s no denying that there is a rich history that originated thousands of years ago in Asian culture. However, Asian-American culture is relatively new. For us, the story is different. We are Asian. We are American. It feels like you can’t be both but you are. In Asia, we are tourists in our parents’ native land, foreigners in our traditional homes. However, even though we were born in the United States, we are not really American but rather Asian-American, being Asian first before being an American. Therefore, is there enough history for people like me to find a place of belonging through podcasts?

** hint answer = yes