Behind the News with Doug Henwood Doug Henwood

An OG left-wing podcaster who has clearly set the tone for a lot of other podcasts and continues to be ahead of the curve. People he interviews end up on other shows years later. A rare host who does lots of background work and makes sophisticated points, but steps on his interviewees a lot less than others. Great music too. You will like this if you like: Rachel Maddow, Joe Rogan.

I have listened to Doug Henwood’s Behind the News for years. I’ve tried many newer podcasts on and off, but I always come back to Doug’s because it shows a level of professionalism, thoughtfulness, scholarship, and charm lacking in every other podcast I’ve tried. Doug is an outstanding interviewer, never trying to speak for his guests: he reads their books and asks intelligent, polite questions, allowing them to speak for themselves and taking the time to edit. He keeps the interviews fairly short, allowing him to cover two books or topics in an hour. It’s true that every once in a long while I want to listen to Greg Grandin talk for two hours about the frontier in American history (something you can find on the Dig), but most of the time a half hour that goes to the point is perfect. Doug covers a huge range of topics and does an outstanding job interviewing women, queer, and black scholars, something that tends to be a seriously alienating problem for the straight white bros who clog the left podcast world. He includes a lot of international material, very knowledgeably, that doesn’t make the front page. And I love the music selections, even the crappy punk rock. An education. Five stars.

Amazing show today. Thank you, Doug!