The Podcaster's Dilemma: Decolonizing Podcasters in the Era of Surveillance Capitalism

A fascinating exploration of modern podcasting as a tool for decolonization

In The Podcaster's Dilemma: Decolonizing Podcasters in the Era of Surveillance Capitalism, Drs. Nolan Higdon and Nicholas Baham III connect contemporary podcasting to the broader history of the use of radio technology in the service of anti-colonial struggle and revolution. By organizing the book’s analysis of decolonization through podcasting via three distinct activities—interrogation and critique, counter-narrative, and call to action—the authors create a lens through which they analyze and evaluate the decolonizing potential of new podcasts.

The book also critiques the threat to the decolonizing efforts of some modern podcasts by the growing phenomena of surveillance capitalism and the emerging podcast oligopoly.