Podcasts are a great way to learn more about a specific human rights issue. We have compiled a list of excellent human rights podcasts. Some of these podcasts series are already fairly established with more than 50 episodes on record while others are fairly new initiatives.
Rights on the Line
This podcast is produced by Front Line Defenders, an international human rights organization based in Ireland working for the security and protection of human rights defenders (HRDs) at risk. Their podcast Rights on the Line highlights the experiences of human rights defenders and covers a broad variety of human rights issues including resilience and wellbeing, LGBTI rights, digital security, the impact of COVID-19 on HRDs and more. Each episode features several human rights defenders who share their stories and insights.
Right On!
The Right On! podcast is hosted by Meg Davis, an anthropologist and human rights advocate. Meg is Special Advisor on Strategy and Partnerships at the Graduate Institute’s Global Health Centre and teaches at the Geneva Centre for Education and Research in Humanitarian Action (CERAH). The podcast features human rights activists from the global north and south to discuss the human rights dimension of topics such as COVID-19, violence against women, policing and individual liberties.
The Rights Track
The Rights Track is hosted by Dr Todd Landman, Professor, International Consultant, Speaker and modern slavery researcher and has been around since 2015. Todd’s podcast is funded by the Nuffield Foundation and features world experts conducting systematic empirical studies of human rights problems. The most recent episodes focus on the interconnectedness of various Sustainable Development Goals and cover issues such as modern slavery, child rights, women’s rights and fast fashion.
Declarations
Declarations is a well-established human rights podcast published by the Centre of Governance and Human Rights at the University of Cambridge. Launched in 2016, the podcast brings together academics, activists and practitioners. Topics include a broad variety of human rights issues such as Indigenous Land Rights in Canada, Forced Labour in China’s Prisons and Accessibility for Persons with Disabilities. One unique feature of this podcast is that the team producing it, is changing every season.
Africa Rights Talk
The Africa Rights Talk is brought to you by the Centre for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. In this podcast you will learn from academics, practitioners and activists in their conversations with host Tatenda Musinahama. Each episode offers insight into the African human rights system and the state of human rights in Africa, and globally.
The Hum
The Hum is an initiative of JAYU, a charity that shares human rights stories through the arts. The podcast features artists, musicians, film makers and others, who share their personal human rights stories. With four seasons and 40 episodes, this podcast is a must for everyone interested in the connection between arts and human rights.
Rights Back at You
Amnesty International Canada examines anti-Black racism, policing, and surveillance in the podcast Rights Back At You. They explore stories of resistance and interview the pioneers who create social change. The topics of the podcast reach from the right to protest and the war on drugs to defunding the police and indigenous people’s rights. At time of writing there were five episodes available.
On Human Rights
This podcast includes 76 tracks and is offered by the Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law. Launched in 2015, the podcast series features staff of intergovernmental organizations such as the Council of Europe, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and the United Nations as well as employees of non-governmental Organizations such as Open Society Foundation, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International.
The Curio-city Collective
According to its co-founders Srinidhi Raghavan, Deepika Khatri and Arpita Joshi, the Curio-city Collective aims to build holistic well-being in Indian cities by re-connecting people, communities and ecosystems through the practice of reflection, education and action. The podcast discusses various issues that relate to well-being, mental health, connection and care, waste and sustainability.
Justice Matters Podcast
The Justice Matters podcast is offered by the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy, a research center of the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. In this podcast you will explore current human rights issues such as the ethics of artificial intelligence to identifying sources of systemic discrimination. Hosted by Sushma Raman, the podcast explores human rights matters with a multidisciplinary lens.
RightsCast
Launched by the Essex Human Rights Centre in October 2019, this podcast intends to bring you informed, interesting, and (relatively) informal discussion on contemporary and thematic human rights issues. The podcast applies a human rights lens to current events and explores how to achieve social change.
