Grassroots Changemakers

28 episodes

Curated by:
User profile picepekilis

Podcasts that bring hope about people who just take action in a small way that builds community, brings people together, changes minds and opens hearts.


  • 1

    The artists re-framing Chicago

    Far Flung with Saleem Reshamwala

    35:01 | Aug 11th, 2022

    2 recommendations

    The Bean needs to move over—there’s a new art movement in Chicago, and it’s led by artists who are completely reimagining how residents think about the spaces around them. From an artist who turned ab...Show More

    epekilis recommended:

    Love these types of stories about grassroots community building. The opening story arc was especially impactful. It was about the photographer who started an art project to compare the houses at mir...Show More

  • 2

    As a kid growing up in London, chef Zoe Adjonyoh learned to cook by watching her father make the foods he ate as a kid growing up in Ghana. As an adult, she opened a restaurant devoted to dishes like ...Show More

    epekilis recommended:

    Love everything about this. This is fantastic food and travel podcasting, and why I love the genre so much when it’s done well. It places food in its context as the warp and weft of family, social c...Show More

  • 3

    The wealthy beachfront community of Manhattan Beach, California—known for its surf culture—has a Black population of less than 1%. You’d never know that a black couple was one of its founding families...Show More

    epekilis recommended:

    Thoughtful series travels around the US in search of community spirit. This episode blew my mind for two reasons. 1) A town in California literally expropriated land to block Black people from getti...Show More

  • 4

    Republican Congressional aide Neil Volz was convicted for conspiring to bribe members of Congress. Desmond Meade was a Black military veteran who fell into addiction, homelessness and prison. As peopl...Show More

    epekilis recommended:

    A moving story of personal redemption that has led to huge results for many. People can change and grow.

  • 5

    211 - House/Full of Black Women

    The Kitchen Sisters Present

    55:12 | Mar 28th, 2023

    1 recommendation

    For some eight years now thirty-four Black women have gathered monthly around a big dining room table in the orange house on Orange Street in Oakland, CA—meeting, cooking, dancing, strategizing—grappl...Show More

    epekilis recommended:

    Beautiful and profound. All hail grass-roots leaders who create community spaces. Some other similar podcasts on this theme include: Tiny Doors of Atlanta (Classic) from The Atlas Obscura Podcast o...Show More

  • 6

    A Black Musician Takes on the KKK

    A Slight Change of Plans

    34:47 | May 19th, 2021

    1 recommendation

    When Black jazz musician Daryl Davis meets a Klansman at a bar, his life takes a sudden turn. He ends up inspiring hundreds of people to leave white supremacist groups.You can follow Maya @DrMayaShank...Show More

    epekilis recommended:

    Inspirational episode from a consistently terrific podcast. There was an episode of Clear + Vivid that followed a similar theme for those who want to learn more about breaking down hardened racism by ...Show More

  • 7

    Christian Picciolini is the author of “White American Youth: My Descent Into America’s Most Violent Hate Movement – And How I Got Out.” His story helps the rest of us understand what leads an ordinary...Show More

    epekilis recommended:

    @mm This is the episode about the individual who joined and then left the neo-Nazi movement, and has dedicated his life to helping others leave the movement.

  • 8

    The Greening of Pittsburgh

    Overheard at National Geographic

    28:25 | May 10th, 2022

    1 recommendation

    When it comes to examples of cities that have successfully emerged from the industrial age into the information age, look no further than Pittsburgh. But can it be done with an eye toward climate solu...Show More

    epekilis recommended:

    Climate change is so overwhelming that I love hearing stories about people who are positive, solutions oriented and just getting on with the good work.

  • 9

    What does it mean to set up a farm--for and by a minority community--in a predominantly white region? Reporter Ashia Aubourg digs in.

    epekilis recommended:

    A community of Somali immigrants who want to start a farm in New England need to work together with some allies in an agricultural trust to be able to establish a not-for-profit coop. Powerful look a...Show More

  • 10

    Stephanie Cunningham is the director of Museum Hue which supports people of color within the museum field and works to situate and promote culturally informed museum exhibitions and experiences across...Show More

    epekilis recommended:

    Diversity and inclusion is a universal need. I am so tired and sick-at-heart of hearing yet another sector described as the “last bastion” that needs to reflect how it relates to the broader communit...Show More

  • 11

    Lifer Bakery

    Ear Hustle

    41:38 | Apr 14th, 2021

    3 recommendations

    A small Israeli bakery in downtown San Francisco has offered first jobs to dozens of lifers just out of prison. Four employees share their stories of adjusting to life on the outside while working at ...Show More

    epekilis recommended:

    Finding redemption through hard work and chosen family. Ear Hustle never fails to make me re-examine my own biases and stereotypes. For more on the power of emotional connection to help former crimin...Show More

  • 12

    Sing Gently

    Twenty Thousand Hertz

    37:20 | Dec 16th, 2020

    1 recommendation

    After composer Eric Whitacre finished Virtual Choir number 5 in 2018, he thought the project might be done for good. But 2020 was just around the corner, and the Virtual Choir was far from over. For o...Show More

    epekilis recommended:

    If there was ever a time to join together in virtual community for mutual creativity, support and healing it is now. Sing Gently As One is an update to the beautiful Virtual Choir episode: #80 I Virt...Show More

  • 13

    Lebanon, USA 2.0

    Kerning Cultures

    48:16 | Aug 21st, 2020

    3 recommendations

    This week, a special collaboration with one of our all time favourite podcasts: Radiolab. We produced the episode - Lebanon USA - last year, and Radiolab have taken that original story and elevated it...Show More

    epekilis recommended:

    Beautiful story of self-discovery and building bridges between communities.

  • 14

    A Serving Of Compassion

    Kind World

    12:34 | Jun 22nd, 2020

    2 recommendations

    Irene Li, the celebrated chef of Boston's Mei Mei, discusses her commitment to helping mom-and-pop restaurants and immigrant families survive during the pandemic. Plus, how a longtime customer help...Show More

    epekilis recommended:

    “When you’re nice to people, they’re nice to you.” Two way stories of Covid community building by small independent restaurants - one giving to the community and the other saved by the community.

  • 15

    Hotel Corona

    Rough Translation

    34:26 | May 13th, 2020

    9 recommendations

    One hundred and eighty recovering COVID-19 patients. One Jerusalem hotel. Secular, religious, Arabs, Jews, old, young. Their phones are out, they're recording. And the rest of Israel is... tuning in.

  • 16

    Liberté, Égalité And French Fries

    Rough Translation

    45:06 | Sep 19th, 2019

    5 recommendations

    What happens when the employees of a French McDonald's take the corporate philosophy so deeply to heart, that it actually becomes a problem for the company? To listen to more Rough Translation, check ...Show More

    epekilis recommended:

    Unexpectedly thought provoking episode. McDonalds is easy to hate on, particularly in terms of its contribution to the obesity epidemic. But it has a very complex relationship with the impoverished ...Show More

  • 17

    Tell Christy I Love Her

    Ear Hustle

    43:55 | Oct 16th, 2019

    8 recommendations

    Tom was a cop; Jason was a teenager in a gang. One night in 1997, they had a violent encounter that Tom describes as “inevitable.” In our season finale, Tom and Jason relate the story of that night, a...Show More

    epekilis recommended:

    @alysson I just came in here to warn people not to drive while listening to this episode, but you got there first. I was a total mess at the wheel and there was no Kleenex in the car. Sleeves were i...Show More

  • 18

    364- He's Still Neutral

    99% Invisible

    32:55 | Jul 31st, 2019

    3 recommendations

    When confronted with trash piling up on a median in front of their home in Oakland, Dan and Lu Stevenson decided to try something unusual: they would install a statue of the Buddha to watch over the p...Show More

    epekilis recommended:

    This episode renews my faith in human nature. Community spirit still exists.

  • 19

    Tiny Doors ATL

    The Atlas Obscura Podcast

    12:13 | Jun 27th, 2022

    1 recommendation

    A number of tiny, mysterious doors scattered throughout Atlanta, Georgia ask viewers to imagine what might be found on the other side. READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/tiny-...Show More

    epekilis recommended:

    Delightful episode featuring a tiny little personal art project that created a welcome community space.

  • 20

    Nuoc: A Viet-Cajun Story

    Sea Change

    31:42 | Jun 12th, 2024

    2 recommendations

    In Vietnamese culture, water and home are so linked that they share a word. The Vietnamese word for water is nước. But nước also means homeland.Today–how the Vietnamese community has to reimagine its ...Show More

  • 21

    Mexico City

    Far Flung with Saleem Reshamwala

    25:46 | Jun 24th, 2020

    2 recommendations

    Harnessing the creativity of a megalopolis isn't easy, but Mexico City shows us how it's done. Follow a real-life superhero who dons a luchador mask and cape to protect his fellow residents from speed...Show More

    epekilis recommended:

    I’ve heard other podcasts about the Pedestrian Superhero guy before but this episode takes a broader look at grassroots efforts to make Mexico City a more livable place.

  • 22

    Sometimes it’s hard to know which came first – monuments or the stories we tell about who and what is heroic. And for the powerful people who get to choose, it’s usually people who look like them. But...Show More

    epekilis recommended:

    We tend to use civic statues to memorialize victors in battle. But what about the unsung masses who built our infrastructure, often at great personal risk with little to no reward?

  • 23

    In this episode, I sit down with two incredible guests who share the joys and challenges of giving back through volunteering and finding a new purpose in retirement.  Featuring: Inspector Gunnar Hardy...Show More

    epekilis recommended:

    I love people who decide to sink their spare time into uplifting their community.

  • 24

    Bangladesh’s biker girls

    People Fixing the World

    23:54 | Aug 13th, 2019

    1 recommendation

    For the growing number of working women in Dhaka, commuting to work can be a challenge. The traffic is terrible and cars and taxis are expensive. Public transport is not only inconvenient, it is so...Show More

    epekilis recommended:

    Hiring women to drive women not only helps female passengers meet religious and social expectations in Bangladesh - it helps the drivers earn an income.

  • 25

    Reggie Nelson grew up on an East London council estate in a British-Ghanaian family that struggled with alcoholism, domestic violence and money worries. After a brush with the law at a young age, he f...Show More

    epekilis recommended:

    So hard to believe this stuff happens in real life. Mentorship to the nth degree - the kindness of strangers and the power to help spark self-confidence in a stranger.

  • 26

    Brave Enough To Ask

    StoryCorps

    16:12 | Nov 5th, 2024

    1 recommendation

    StoryCorps does a lot of different things, but they all come down to connecting people— even if they disagree. That's the idea behind our One Small Step initiative, where we pair strangers with opposi...Show More

    epekilis recommended:

    Power example of how conversation can build understanding between people on opposite sides of the political divide.

  • 27

    The Riverkeeper

    Sidedoor

    24:55 | Aug 19th, 2020

    1 recommendation

    Fred Tutman is the voice of the river. Specifically, Maryland’s Patuxent River.  As the Riverkeeper, his job is to protect and preserve all 110 miles of that waterway – a role that takes him both to t...Show More

    epekilis recommended:

    Who knew there was a profession of “Riverkeeper”, someone who is dedicated to conserving and protecting a river and its ecosystem for the common good. This is the story of the only Black Riverkeeper ...Show More

  • 28

    From the time we’re old enough to hold a crayon, it feels instinctive to draw on the wall. But for MISS CHELOVE – also known as Cita Sadeli – this instinct became a calling. Through bold color and lay...Show More

    epekilis recommended:

    Loved the part where she was commissioned to do a mural on a big building and then realized a school was across the street. The kids were the real audience, so she created “Every Day I See Something N...Show More

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