Have You Heard George's Podcast?

Apr 11 2024 44 ep. 5k
Have You Heard George's Podcast? artwork

The award-winning and critically-acclaimed podcast from George the Poet delivers a fresh take on inner city life through a mix of storytelling, music and fiction.

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Special: This Cultural Life

Apr 11 2024 44 mins  
George talks to John Wilson about some of his most formative cultural influences including the grammar school that taught him the essay-writing skills he still puts to use when making his podcast. He reveals how Tupac Shakur’s 1998 song Changes ignited his interest in hip hop, and discusses the impact of rap and grime on his own verse. He also remembers how his local community ra

38. Once Upon a Time in Kampala

Dec 21 2023 26 mins  
In Uganda’s capital city, a young cab driver forms an unlikely bond with a sex worker during the crippling lockdown of 2021. They are both forced to make tough decisions. Written by George the Poet Produced by Benbrick & George the Poet Original Music and Sound Design by Benbrick.

37. Back to Common Ground

Dec 14 2023 40 mins  
George responds to audience questions taken from Common Ground, the platform he co-created in Chapter 3. Listeners discuss everything from art to race using prompts from previous episodes, reaffirming the importance of the artist/audience relationship.

36. Jamaican DemAhCrazy Pt. 2

Nov 30 2023 26 mins  
Shaken by the passing of his grandmother, George reflects on the post-colonial struggles of her generation. 1970s Jamaica provides an early case study of the weaponised debt that went on to re-colonise much of the global South. A look back on previous episodes illuminates patterns of exploitation and extraction across African/Western relations. This is the global context that frame

35. Jamaican DemAhCrazy Pt. 1

Nov 16 2023 27 mins  
When keeping it real goes…wrong? For a moment in the seventies, Jamaican democracy produced an ambitious plan to end inequality between countries. But when the island’s socialist leader, Michael Manley, flew too close to the sun, he got burnt. What was the New International Economic Order? Why did it rattle Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan so much? On this fast-paced tour of

34. Francophone Pt. 2

Nov 09 2023 27 mins  
When is a breakup not a breakup? When your ex controls every aspect of your life. After walking through the freedom struggles of Ghana and the Congo in previous episodes, George turns his attention towards the “former” French colonies of West and Central Africa. What happens when freedom is gifted conditionally, not won through revolution? Is all independence created equal?Writ

33: Francophone Pt. 1

Oct 26 2023 21 mins  
The power of Western languages over African economies is undeniable, and nowhere is this more obvious than in Black music. Despite "Francophone” meaning French-speaking, across Africa, it signifies so much more. George looks at the power dynamics between the English-speaking world, the French-speaking world and the Africans forced to navigate both. How did these languages become

32. Drama in Ghana Pt. 2

Oct 19 2023 24 mins  
After achieving independence, Ghana gave support to freedom fighters across Africa. What went wrong?Written by George the Poet. Produced by Benbrick and George the Poet. Original score by Benbrick and recorded by the BBC Concert Orchestra. Sound Design by Benbrick.

31. Lumumba Pt. 2

Oct 12 2023 26 mins  
With enemies lurking in every corner, Patrice Lumumba is trapped in his own home. As the first democratically elected prime minister of the Congo, he planned to use the country’s natural wealth to improve the lives of its people, but secret actions by the US and Belgian governments stopped that from happening. These actions give a small indication of how far empires will go to ho

30. Lumumba Pt. 1

Oct 05 2023 27 mins  
Before Nigeria took over the African music scene, the Democratic Republic of Congo had us in a chokehold. But just like its minerals, the country’s music has yet to produce an industry that eases the economic suffering of its people, despite decades of supply and demand. Why? George goes to the genesis of the DRC’s economic reality by exploring the rise of Patrice Lumumba, Cong