Best Humaninterest Story Podcasts (2024)

1
PELVIC MESH SCANDAL: Deaths, Disabilities and Denials with Kath Sansom 30:57

20h ago30:57

30:57

Imagine going in for routine day surgery to help stop occasional bladder leaks and being left permanently disabled needing a wheelchair or stoma bag. That's what's happened to thousands of woman around the world. When Kath Sansom of Sling the Mesh began her campaign, she never imagined it would resonate with so many. This episode brings Kath's emot…

1
Under-reported news - investigating the stories mainstream media ignore 3:07

5d ago3:07

3:07

A look forward to upcoming stories in the series Angela Walker in Conversation with topics ranging from animal testing to medical negligence. And a reminder of some of the stories we've covered so far - including disability discrimination and environmental destruction. Also, how you can get involved and support independent journalism. Support the s…

1
233: Resculpting History 2:29

15d ago2:29

2:29

Rewriting history is far from a thing of the past. And presently, Bassem Nabeel, a content creator in the Middle East, is putting a new take on the concept by combining his love for both sculpting and history in presenting neutral analysis of historical figures as he sculpts them in stop-motion videos.…

1
BODY IMAGE AND EMPOWERMENT: Boudoir, Beauty, Media and Global Body Image Issues 41:05

20d ago41:05

41:05

Body image concerns related to weight and appearance are now prevalent on a global scale, leading to widespread mental health pressures. This conversation explores the topics of body image, self-acceptance, and the impact of social media and advertising on our perception of beauty. Alexandra Vince, a boudoir photographer, shares her journey and how…

1
WHAT IS BOTTOM TRAWLING? The fight for our ocean beds (bitesize version) 9:04

1M ago9:04

9:04

Bite size. Full length version available. Bottom trawling is a destructive fishing method that indiscriminately catches everything in its path, causing damage to the seabed and releasing carbon. Over the past 150 years, bottom trawling has depleted fish populations and harmed marine biodiversity. Efforts have been made to mitigate the impact of bot…

1
OCEAN CRISIS: The Battle Against Bottom Trawling and the Fight for Marine Conservation with Dr Jean-Luc Solandt 30:34

1M ago30:34

30:34

95 percent of fish stocks in the North Sea have been depleted due to over-fishing and bottom trawling. Bottom trawling is a destructive fishing method that indiscriminately catches everything in its path, causing damage to the seabed and releasing carbon. Over the past 150 years, bottom trawling has depleted fish populations and harmed marine biodi…

1
BOOKS KIDS LOVE READING: The Quirky World of Barry Loser Creator, Jim Smith 17:10

1M ago17:10

17:10

Jim Smith has sold one million children's books and his graphic novels inspire children all over the world who might otherwise not pick up a book. He won the Roald Dahl Funny Prize in 2013 for his second book “I am still not a Loser” and the second book in the spin-off series Future Ratboy won The Laugh Out Loud Children's Book Awards in 2017 for 6…

1
232: A Bright Idea 2:55

2M ago2:55

2:55

It is said that necessity is the mother of invention. Zidane Mitoubssi (Zee-dan Mit-wub-see) was a newly graduated college student entering a workplace for which he found himself somewhat unprepared. And then he and a friend had a bright idea.

1
HOW TO FIX BRITAIN'S HOUSING CRISIS: Homes, Sustainability and Urban Planning 49:09

2M ago49:09

49:09

The UK is in the middle of a chronic housing shortage. The government wants 300 thousand new homes built every year, but where should they go? Local authorities are under pressure and campaigners want to protect green spaces. How can we get the balance between the need for new homes and sustainability? Join me as I discuss these issues and more wit…

1
Can We Understand One Another? 30:00

4M ago30:00

30:00

Hosts Kate Ellis and Doris Tulifau explore the perils and possibilities of the kind of fieldwork that defined Margaret Mead as an anthropologist. They provide answers to the Mead-Freeman controversy but also ask the questions that remain. In this season finale, we circle back to the problems with coming of age … in Samoa and everywhere. Season 6 of…

1
ZANE GBANGBOLA: The Boy Who Died from Cyanide Poisoning and His Family's Fight for Justice 34:57

5M ago34:57

34:57

Imagine losing your child to a highly poisonous gas while he's asleep in his home. This is the heart-wrenching reality that our guests, Zane Gbangbola's parents, Kye Gbangbola and Nicole Lawler lived through. Listen as they walk us through the series of events that led to Zane's death. They tell of environmental negligence, unaccountable authoritie…

1
Weaving Stories: Two Women Speak 30:32

5M ago30:32

30:32

We turn from Margaret Mead’s and Derek Freeman’s conflicting accounts of adolescence and sexuality in Samoa to more stories from Samoans themselves. Author and poet Sia Figiel and activist and anthropologist Doris Tulifau are two Samoan women from different generations. Yet they share a bond and have a similar experience of terrible violence and su…

1
231: Out of the Ruin 4:51

5M ago4:51

4:51

Beauty is worship, according to Kamal Aldeen Abu Halaweh. And ruin is just an ingredient for making something beautiful.

1
Sex, Lies, and Science Wars 28:30

5M ago28:30

28:30

After Derek Freeman publishes Margaret Mead and Samoa: The Making and Unmaking of an Anthropological Myth, the controversy heats up. Op-eds, documentaries, censure by a leading anthropological organization, and even a debate on the Phil Donahue Show all follow. Was Margaret Mead, “the grandmother of the world,” wrong? Or was Freeman? At stake was t…

1
HOW TO LIVE WITH HEART FAILURE: BBC Sport’s Chris Slegg's Battle Against the Rare Heart Condition Ebstein's Anomaly - and His Mental Health 58:50

5M ago58:50

58:50

Two years ago BBC sports reporter Chris Slegg was told the unexpected news that he needed a heart transplant within a year. He was only 41. Married, with two children, the news plunged him into a deep depression as he feared for the wellbeing of his children. https://www.doctors.net.uk/AngelaWalker I first worked with Chris and his wife about fifte…

1
Bonus: Flemmie Kittrell and the Preschool Experiment 38:23

5M ago38:23

38:23

SAPIENS is happy to present this bonus episode from Lost Women of Science about another path-breaking thinker. In the 1960s, a Black home economist at Howard University recruited kids for an experimental preschool program. All were Black and lived in poor neighborhoods around campus. Flemmie Kittrell had grown up poor herself, just two generations …

1
Into the Light 23:52

5M ago23:52

23:52

The first missionary arrived in Samoa in 1832, almost a century before Margaret Mead set out to study the culture of the islands. By the time she arrived, the church had been a central part of Samoan life for generations. In this episode, Doris Tulifau explores how Christianity and colonization complicate Mead’s—and her critic Derek Freeman’s—concl…

1
Trashing an American Icon 28:27

6M ago28:27

28:27

In January 1983, the front page of The New York Times read: “New Samoa Book Challenges Margaret Mead’s Conclusions.” Anthropologist Derek Freeman had been building his critique of Mead for years, sending her letters and even confronting her in person. Freeman’s resulting book, Margaret Mead and Samoa: The Making and Unmaking of an Anthropological M…

1
We Need to Tell Our Own Stories 28:29

6M ago28:29

28:29

Sparked by a provocative encounter in American Samoa, Doris Tulifau explores modern-day Samoan attitudes toward Margaret Mead. With a mix of voices and opinions, we encounter three loud ideas around Mead’s work, ultimately dropping us at the doorstep of Derek Freeman’s central critique about Samoan culture and society. Season 6 of the SAPIENS podca…

1
Flapper of the South Seas 25:05

6M ago25:05

25:05

In 1925, Margaret Mead set sail for American Samoa. What she claimed she found there—teenagers free to explore and express their sexuality—instantly captivated her audience in the U.S. Her book became a bestseller, and Mead skyrocketed to fame. But what were her actual methods and motivations? We trace Mead’s legendary nine-month journey in the Sou…

1
MICROPLASTICS: Illegal Sewage Dumping Filling UK Rivers with Plastic. Professor Jamie Woodward 30:41

6M ago30:41

30:41

Every time untreated sewage is dumped in our rivers millions of microplastic particles also make their way into the water. When these discharges take place during low river flows, the microplastics settle on the riverbed, coated in a cocktail of chemicals and pathogens. These particles can be mistaken for food by hungry fish, thereby threatening fi…

1
Coming of Age … Today 23:34

6M ago23:34

23:34

Being a teenager can be hard. Very hard. Our hosts Kate Ellis and Doris Tulifau recount the tough parts from their adolescence to ask whether being a teen is difficult in every culture. It’s the question that inspired Margaret Mead, one of the most influential figures in American anthropology, to begin her research in American Samoa in 1925. And it…

1
PREGNANCY TEST BIRTH DEFECTS: Marie Lyons' Fight For Justice Against Government and Bayer 43:07

6M ago43:07

43:07

EXCLUSIVE. Government commits to reviewing new evidence in Primodos scandal for first time. Families who believe miscarriages and devastating birth defects were caused by the NHS-prescribed pregnancy test Primados say it's a fantastic positive that the British government has told this programme it is "committed to reviewing all new evidence on horm…

1
The Problems With Coming of Age: Season 6 Trailer 3:19

7M ago3:19

3:19

This special SAPIENS podcast season tells the story of famed anthropologist Margaret Mead’s epic life and controversial research to explore key quandaries about the human experience: sex and adolescence, nature versus nurture, and the question of whether it’s ever possible to fully understand cultures different from your own. In addition, we hear f…

1
LIVING WITH EHLERS-DANLOS SYNDROME: Sarah Hamilton's Insights on Diagnosis, Management, and Advocacy for this Rare Disorder 26:49

7M ago26:49

26:49

Are you ready to unravel the complex world of Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS)? This in-depth discussion with Sarah Hamilton from Ehlers-Danlos Support UK is set to provide an enlightening perspective on this rare connective tissue disorder that affects roughly one in 500 people. From offering a closer look at the myriad of symptoms to unravelling the …

1
SACKED BECAUSE HER DAUGHTER HAS CANCER: Christina Harris's Battle for Job Security for Families with Seriously Ill Children 18:01

7M ago18:01

18:01

Imagine receiving the life-altering news that your child has been diagnosed with a serious illness and then losing your job when you take time away to look after them. Christina Harris has lost her job of 19 years because she is looking after her daughter Skye who has been diagnosed with leukaemia. Christina courageously shares her struggles of bal…

1
CAMPAIGN AGAINST SEWAGE POLLUTION: Channel Swimmer Laura Reineke’s Battle for Cleaner Rivers 22:37

7M ago22:37

22:37

Have you ever wondered what it takes to swim the English Channel solo? Meet Laura Reineke, a fearless woman, fresh from the challenge. She shares her riveting 15-hour journey, fighting harsh weather, jellyfish and huge tankers, all while maintaining a laser-like focus and determination. Laura's monumental feat wasn't just a personal triumph, but a …

1
230: A New Life Cycle 4:12

7M ago4:12

4:12

For Radwan Hashem, cycling is more than a sport—it’s a lifestyle. After undergoing a series of knee surgeries, the bike became a lifeline for him—as well as a teacher.

1
BIRTH TRAUMA: Campaigners call for better maternity care as record numbers suffer PTSD 46:11

7M ago46:11

46:11

More than half of mothers have experienced physical or psychological birth trauma leading them less likely to have more children because of their experience of maternity care. That's according to a study by Mumsnet instigated by Conservative MP Theo Clarke. She has founded an all-party parliamentary group on birth trauma to advocate for change foll…

1
229: Holy Dagger 3:47

8M ago3:47

3:47

As an essential part of their culture, the dagger is sacred among the Bedouin (nomadic) people, according to craftsman Nayif Abu Muhaysin, whose family has been making daggers for four generations. As such, he aims to help continue preserving traditional Bedouin heritage for future generations through his traditional, handmade daggers.…

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