6 inspirational and educational podcasts to stream ahead of MLK Day

We’ve rounded up educational and inspirational podcasts this month, sharing enlightening stories and advice with engaging hosts and guests. Check out a documentary series brimming with powerful speeches from history, including monumental moments from Martin Luther King Jr., Hillary Clinton, and Barack Obama – just to name a few. There’s a mental health podcast sharing tools for listeners on their journeys to becoming the best versions of themselves.

Layla F. Saad’s series chats with change-makers about what it means to be a great ancestor. CNN’s Don Lemon hosts a series investigating the racial divide in America, interviewing thinkers, activists, and artists on how the country can learn and search for solutions. Scroll down to tune into our complete list of inspirational podcasts.

It Was Said

C13Originals’ “It Was Said” shares 10 impactful speeches, selected by Pulitzer Prize winning and best-selling author-historian Jon Meacham. Historians, authors, journalists, and more will share the speech’s context and history each episode. Tune in for Martin Luther King Jr.’s last speech, Robert Kennedy’s eulogy after MLK Jr.’s assassination, JFK’s inaugural address, Hillary Clinton’s women’s rights speech in Beijing, President Obama’s Charleston Sermon, Ronald Reagan’s Farewell Address, and more. The average length of episodes is 42 minutes.

Black History Year

PushBlack’s “Black History Year” shares history and conversations about thinkers and activists you might not always hear from in the mainstream narrative. The podcast’s goal is to unite “for the best interest of Black people worldwide.”

Still Processing

Wesley Morris and Jenna Wortham of The New York Times’ “Still Processing” have set the podcasting standard since they began the show in 2016. The two talk about all things art and culture, while contextualizing what makes it so important. They bounce from the niche to more mainstream topics and chat about what it all says about life in the United States. While they haven’t released new episodes yet this year, the old episodes are all still worth a listen.

Become A Good Ancestor

Layla F. Saad presents “Become A Good Ancestor,” a monthly series speaking with thinkers, change-makers, and culture-shifters on the focal theme of what being a good ancestor means. Saad is an educator and wrote the New York Times best-selling book, Me and White Supremacy. Guests include author Frederick Joseph, author and travel entrepreneur Lola Akinmade Åkerström, and more.

Therapy for Black Girls

Dr. Joy Harden Bradford hosts conversations on mental health, healing, wellness, and tips to become the greatest versions of ourselves on the weekly series, “Therapy for Black Girls.” Recent episodes covered topics like personal development, setting your intentions for travel, and Seasonal Affective Disorder. Since 2017, Dr. Bradford has released over 300 episodes, and the average episode length is an hour. This series is presented by iHeartPodcasts.

Silence is Not an Option

CNN’s “Silence is Not an Option” investigates America’s crisis of racial divide, and what it’s like to be Black and brown. People want to help, and this podcast helps listeners carry forth by learning, sharing conversations with activists, thinkers, artists, and more. Host Don Lemon explores solutions with guests, and understands that there are ways to rebuild the nation together. Both seasons are now streaming, with the average episode running 30 minutes long.