iHeartMedia's NextUp Initiative Announces First Slate Of Podcasts

First Slate

iHEARTMEDIA's NEXTUP INITIATIVE to develop new podcasts from underrepresented communities has announced its first slate of podcasts.

The new podcasts include "BEAUTY TRANSLATED," a show on the trans experience in the American SOUTH hosted by professional skin therapist and trans woman CARMEN LAURENT, debuting TODAY (6/29); "BFF: BLACK, FAT FEMME," hosted by Dr. JONATHAN P. HIGGINS and JORDAN DANIELS, premiering JULY 12th; "TONGUE UNBROKEN (Tlél Wudakʼóodzi Ḵaa Lʼóotʼ)," a show on Native American language revitalization and decolonization, hosted by UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA SOUTHEAST Assoc. Professor X'UNEI LANCE TWITCHELL and premiering on AUGUST 1st; "PARTITION," on the 1947 Partition of INDIA and creation of PAKISTAN, hosted by NEHA AZIZ for an AUGUST 15th debut; "ON CALL WITH KAY-B," a look at medical TV shows, coming in SEPTEMBER and hosted by entertainment journalist and producer KAY-B; "WHEN YOU'RE INVISIBLE," with MARIA FERNANDA DIEZ examining working-class stories, coming in OCTOBER; "SURVIVORS HEALL WITH OYA L. SHERRILLS," telling the stories of crime victims and social justice, premiering in NOVEMBER; and "WE, THE PRODUCT," with PRIYANKA DAS reporting on technology and "surveillance capitalism," bowing in DECEMBER.

“As a transgender woman, it’s very important to me that my community’s stories are shared,” said LAURENT. “The NEXTUP INITIATIVE has given me the tools and platform to do just that, and it’s been so inspiring to learn from industry-leading experts in the podcasting world to create a show that really amplifies our voices.”

“We’re thrilled to see the results of the hard work and passion that each and every creator put into their podcast,” said iHEARTPODCASTS Managing Exec. Producer and NEXTUP co-founder ANNA HOSSNIEH. “Each show tells a different story around an incredibly important, but often overlooked issue, and the creativity we’ve seen here is just astounding. This is really just the beginning of what these creators will do.”

« see more Net News