Best Migrant Diaries Podcasts (2024)

1
The John Birch Society 15:18

23d ago15:18

15:18

In today’s political climate, conspiracy theories are commonplace. But they’re nothing new. In fact, back in the 1960s, there was one organization that built a movement around them. The John Birch Society was started by a small group of wealthy businessmen including Robert Welch and Fred Koch. It expanded, with chapters of like-minded Americans mee…

1
American Migrant 15:59

1M ago15:59

15:59

During the Dust Bowl of the 1930s, millions of desperate Americans abandoned their homes, farms and businesses. It was one of the largest migrations in US history. In the 1940s, Pat Rush’s family were farm laborers, exhausted by trying to make ends meet. So they left Arkansas and followed the hundreds of thousands who had traveled Route 66 to Calif…

1
The Longest Game 44:13

2M ago44:13

44:13

In the spring of 1981, the Pawtucket Red Sox and the Rochester Red Wings met for a minor league baseball game of little importance. But over the course of 33 innings — 8 hours and 25 minutes — the game made history. It was the longest professional baseball game ever played. This story was produced in collaboration with ESPN's 30 for 30.…

1
When Borders Move 13:22

2M ago13:22

13:22

Ever since Texas became a state, the Rio Grande has been the border between the U.S. and Mexico. But rivers can move — and that's exactly what happened in 1864, when torrential rains caused it to jump its banks and go south. Suddenly the border was a different place, and Texas had gained 700 acres of land called the Chamizal, named after a plant th…

1
Guest Spotlight: The Phantom of the World's Fair 23:52

3M ago23:52

23:52

This week we're featuring a story we loved from the StoryCorps podcast. In 1964, a 12-year-old paperboy from suburban Long Island spent nearly two weeks hiding among the gleaming attractions of the New York World's Fair. His adventure caused a media sensation. But the world only learned half the story.…

1
HOUR SPECIAL: Stories from the Unmarked Graveyard 53:42

4M ago53:42

53:42

Hart Island is America’s largest public cemetery—sometimes known as a “potter’s field.” The island has no headstones or plaques, just numbered markers. More than a million people are buried on Hart Island in mass graves, there are no headstones or plaques, just numbered markers. In this special, hour-long episode we're untangling mysteries about ho…

1
The Almost Astronaut (Revisited) 25:23

5M ago25:23

25:23

When it comes to the space race, we all know names like Neil Armstrong and Yuri Gagarin. But in most moments in history, there are a few names that fall through the cracks. One of those names was Ed Dwight. When Ed was selected to train to become an astronaut, many thought he would become the first Black man to go to space — but Ed faced some unexp…

1
The End of Smallpox 21:24

5M ago21:24

21:24

Humanity isn't great at eradicating diseases. But there is one disease that humanity has managed to eradicate: smallpox. Smallpox was around for more than 3,000 years and killed at least 300 million people in the 20th century. Then, by 1980, it was gone. Rahima Banu was the last person in the world to have the deadliest form of smallpox. In 1975, B…

1
Meet Miss Subways 10:57

6M ago10:57

10:57

Most beauty pageants promote the fantasy of the ideal woman. But for 35 years, one contest in New York City celebrated the everyday working girl: Miss Subways. Each month starting in May 1941, a young woman was elected “Miss Subways,” and her face gazed down on transit riders as they rode through the city. Her photo was accompanied by a short bio d…

1
The Gospel Ranger 16:38

7M ago16:38

16:38

This year marks 90 years since Claude Ely wrote "Ain't No Grave Gonna Hold My Body Down." The song was written as Ely was supposed to be on his death bed. Instead, Ely, known as the "Gospel Ranger," went on to inspire the birth of rock & roll. Follow us on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram @radiodiaries. Learn more about our stories on radiodiarie…

1
Mandela's Election: 30 Years Later 17:40

7M ago17:40

17:40

This month marks 30 years since Nelson Mandela became South Africa's first democratically elected president. However, the story of Mandela's rise to the presidency isn't all that simple. The four years between Mandela’s release from prison and his election to the presidency were some of the most violent in South Africa's history. That's the story y…

1
Working, Then and Now 57:38

8M ago57:38

57:38

50 years ago, radio broadcaster Studs Terkel published a book called WORKING: People Talk About What They Do All Day, and How They Feel About What They Do. Terkel went around the country with a tape recorder and had conversations with ordinary Americans about their jobs and their reflections on them. The book ended up being an unexpected bestseller…

1
My Iron Lung (Revisited) 16:58

8M ago16:58

16:58

Paul Alexander, one of two people in the U.S. still relying on an iron lung to survive, died on March 11, 2024 at the age of 78. Paul contracted polio in 1952 at six years old, and has had to rely on an iron lung — a big metal ventilator that encases the body from the neck to toes — since then. We spoke to Paul a few years ago about his life and th…

1
My So-Called Lungs (Revisited) 30:22

9M ago30:22

30:22

We’re revisiting one of our favorite stories from years ago — with a new twist. Laura Rothenberg spent most of her life knowing she would die young. She had cystic fibrosis, a genetic disorder that affects the lungs. She documented her life in an audio diary, showing her attempt to live the normal life of a nineteen year old college student. Laura …

1
The Rise and Fall of Black Swan Records 23:51

9M ago23:51

23:51

In 1921, a man named Harry Pace started the first major Black-owned record company in the United States. He called it Black Swan Records. In an era when few Black musicians were recorded, the company was revolutionary. It launched the careers of Ethel Waters, Fletcher Henderson, William Grant Still, and Alberta Hunter, artists who transformed Ameri…

1
Guest Spotlight: Parakeet Panic 42:41

10M ago42:41

42:41

This week, we’re featuring an episode of a podcast we’re big fans of: The Last Archive! The Last Archive tells little known histories and how they affect our modern lives. Today’s story, “Parakeet Panic,” explores when invasive parakeets began to spread in New York City in the 1970s — and the government decided that the solution was to kill them al…

1
The Drum Also Waltzes 21:06

10M ago21:06

21:06

At the age of 16, he played with the Duke Ellington Orchestra. He went on to make landmark recordings with Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie and Thelonious Monk. He’s considered one of the most important drummers in history — and he would’ve turned 100 years old this week. Max Roach: The Drum Also Waltzes is a new film about the musician by award-win…

1
The Unmarked Graveyard: Live at WNYC 1:01:24

11M ago1:01:24

1:01:24

We bring you a lot of stories each year, but we don’t often get to share the work behind them. We recently held an event at WNYC’s The Greene Space in New York City, where our subjects and producers reflected on the challenges, and joys, of telling these untold stories. For the last podcast of the year, we’re bringing you that live show: a behind t…

1
The Man on the President's Limo 12:07

12M ago12:07

12:07

Today marks 60 years since the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. There are many photos from that day in 1963, but one image in particular caught people’s attention, spreading in newspapers across the country: a photo of a Secret Service agent jumping onto the back of the presidential limousine during the shooting. Today on the podcast, th…

1
The Unmarked Graveyard: LaMont Dottin 15:16

12M ago15:16

15:16

Back in 1995, LaMont Dottin was 21 years old and a freshman at Queens College when, one evening, he didn’t come home. His mother went to the local police precinct to try to report him missing, and his name was added to a list of thousands of cases that the NYPD’s Missing Persons Squad was supposed to be investigating. Then his case fell through the…

1
The Unmarked Graveyard: Hisako Hasegawa 12:45

1y ago12:45

12:45

The Belvedere Hotel is in the heart of New York City’s theater district. Many of its guests come to see the sights, take in a show. But there are a few dozen people who call the Belvedere home. Decades ago, they came to New York and rented rooms there. As the hotel changed hands over the years, they never left. One of them was Hisako Hasegawa. This…

1
The Unmarked Graveyard: Cesar Irizarry 15:51

1y ago15:51

15:51

Angel Irizarry spent years working as a detective, and in 2021 he set out on a personal investigation to track down an uncle who’d been estranged from his family for decades. But early in his search he made a disappointing discovery: his uncle Cesar had died. So Angel embarked on a new quest, to learn what had become of Cesar during his long absenc…

1
The Unmarked Graveyard: Dawn Powell 16:54

1y ago16:54

16:54

Dawn Powell wrote novels about people like herself: outsiders who’d come to New York City in the early twentieth century to make a name for themselves. For a few years, those novels put her at the center of the city’s literary scene. Ernest Hemingway even called her his favorite living writer. When she died of colon cancer in 1965, Powell donated h…

1
The Unmarked Graveyard: Documenting an Invisible Island 20:52

1y ago20:52

20:52

For more than a century, it was almost impossible to find out much about people buried on Hart Island. But in 2008, that all changed — thanks in large part to a woman named Melinda Hunt. Melinda is a visual artist who has spent more than 30 years documenting America’s largest public cemetery, and advocating for families with loved ones buried there…

1
The Unmarked Graveyard: Angel Garcia 20:38

1y ago20:38

20:38

When Annette Vega was in elementary school, she found out the man she called “dad” wasn’t her biological father. But all she knew was that her mom had had a teenage romance with a guy named Angel Garcia. Annette has searched for Angel for more than 30 years, a search that is finally coming to the end. This is episode three in our series The Unmarke…

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Migrant Diaries Podcasts

Podcasts Worth a Listen

1
Migrant Diaries

Pharez Monney

1
Radio Diaries

Radio Diaries & Radiotopia

1
Decolonization Diaries

Nadia Ann

1
The John Birch Society 15:18

1
American Migrant 15:59

1
The Longest Game 44:13

1
When Borders Move 13:22

1
Guest Spotlight: The Phantom of the World's Fair 23:52

1
HOUR SPECIAL: Stories from the Unmarked Graveyard 53:42

1
The Almost Astronaut (Revisited) 25:23

1
The End of Smallpox 21:24

1
Meet Miss Subways 10:57

1
The Gospel Ranger 16:38

1
Mandela's Election: 30 Years Later 17:40

1
Working, Then and Now 57:38

1
My Iron Lung (Revisited) 16:58

1
My So-Called Lungs (Revisited) 30:22

1
The Rise and Fall of Black Swan Records 23:51

1
Guest Spotlight: Parakeet Panic 42:41

1
The Drum Also Waltzes 21:06

1
The Unmarked Graveyard: Live at WNYC 1:01:24

1
The Man on the President's Limo 12:07

1
The Unmarked Graveyard: LaMont Dottin 15:16

1
The Unmarked Graveyard: Hisako Hasegawa 12:45

1
The Unmarked Graveyard: Cesar Irizarry 15:51

1
The Unmarked Graveyard: Dawn Powell 16:54

1
The Unmarked Graveyard: Documenting an Invisible Island 20:52

1
The Unmarked Graveyard: Angel Garcia 20:38

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