🎙 Decolonizing podcast interviews

Reimagining how we hold space for guests. + new shows for your ears

We’re told that a “good” interview is about being in control.

• Do your research.

• Ask sharp questions.

• Get the story.

• Edit out the rambles.

• Keep it tight.

That approach, while well-intentioned, is rooted in the same extractive logic that dominates journalism and academia: I’m here to take your story.

When we treat guests as anything other than collaborators, we replicate the white, capitalist, patriarchal model we want to resist.

“Expert interviews” tells us that knowledge is a resource, the host is the authority, and the listener deserves a tidy, consumable product.

We can do better.

Exchange > Extraction

Decolonizing the interview starts by rejecting soundbites.

The podcasters job isn’t to just get quotes that trend. We’re here to create a container where someone feels safe enough to say something true.

This shift begins before hitting record. It starts when we first reach out to a potential guest. We must lead with transparency—about what we’ll ask, what we’ll edit, and how their story will be used.

Build consent into the entireprocess, not as a checkbox but as a living practice:

“Is it okay if we go deeper here?”
“Would you like to skip this question?”
“Can I check in about how that felt to share?”

Those small moments tell the guest: your comfort matters more than my content calendar.

Curiosity > Certainty

White supremacist patriarchy loves certainty. But curiosity is more powerful and liberating.

Rather than coming to an interview with a script in mind, show up genuinely curious. “I don’t know what will emerge here, but I’m willing to be changed by it.”

That’s what makes interviews alive and collaborative. Not expertise, but humility; not control, but connection.

Relationship > Results

The decolonized interview process doesn’t end when recording stops. It also includes editing (resisting the urge to smooth over “imperfections”) and follow up (giving guests the chance to review quotes or share concerns).

It’s also how we honor our guests after:

• Tag them in posts that amplify their work.

• Share links that help them grow.

• Send a thank-you that doesn’t sound like marketing copy.

• Involve them in pod-versary celebrations in the future.

If we truly believe in community over competition, we can’t just take people’s stories and move on.

We must stay in relationship with them.

The Future of Interviewing

What if every interview became an opportunity for liberation, not extraction? What if we stopped asking, “How do I get the best soundbite?” and started asking, “How do I make this a space where truth feels possible?”

With only a little extra consideration, we can decolonize the interview. We can treat every conversation as sacred, every story as shared power, and every guest as a collaborator in the future we’re building.

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📈 Podcast Tip

Podcasting is for everyone, but only if you can afford the technology it takes to create a show. We’re advocates for accessibility, and that’s why we love this post from The Podcast Tech Stack. Get your show out in the world, and don’t let money be a barrier!

How To Build a Zero-Cost Podcast Tech Stack in 2025 For Indie Podcasters

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🚨 Featured member show
The Empowered & Embodied Show

What if we stopped with the facade and started sharing what it genuinely means to be gloriously, messily human? That question motivated Kim Romain and Louise Neil to start The Empowered & Embodied show in 2022.

“We wanted to be an example for going deep in conversation without having to always find the answers,” Kim says. “The joy is in finding the meaning and being in the process.”

This isn’t your standard self-help podcast, it’s an unfiltered exploration of the laughter, tears, and “what the heck just happened?” moments that define our lives.

Listen wherever you get podcasts, or find it here.

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🎙️ New episodes for your playlist…

• From Scarcity to Enough: Rewriting the Money Stories We Inherited on Disrupt Your Money with Meg K. Wheeler

• How to Overcome Stage Fright as a Woman Leader on Gratitude Geek with Kandas Rodarte

• The Ivanhoe Gambit by Simon Hawke: Time Travel Meets Medieval History on Sci-Fi Book Pod with Kandas Rodarte

• We’re All Living in Different Realities (Literally) on PsyberSpace with Leslie Poston

• No Effs Left To Give? on The Empowered & Embodied Show with Kim Romain

• Messy, Not Wrong: Embracing Multiplicity and Liberation in Business on Messy Liberation with Becky Mollenkamp and Taina Brown

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💻 A TOOL WE LOVE

Our hosting platform of choice is Transistor.fm where you can have unlimited podcasts, plus get a private podcast, for the same price. It’s perfect for beginners or teams manage several shows. Learn more

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