Alumni Tune In: Alumni-Hosted Podcasts Offer Something for Everyone Stories You May Like Dragon Day ’24: Snapshots from a Serpentine Celebration Racing Toward her Second Olympics, Taylor Knibb ’20 Preps for Paris Meet the Interim President, a ‘Citizen of the University’ Your fellow Cornellians can keep you entertained and informed—with shows on topics from science to sports and beyond By Cornellians Staff If you’re looking for a new podcast, why not stream one by a fellow Cornellian? Big Red alumni are hosting shows on a dizzying variety of topics—from pop culture to current affairs, sports to science. Here’s a sampling of podcasts—those on general-interest topics, not ones specifically focused on the University—that we here at Cornellians have heard about, many via a mention in Class Notes. Do you have a podcast we don’t know about? Tell us in the comments! Editor’s note: We’re spotlighting shows that are more or less currently active—meaning they’ve released new episodes within the past six months or so—or that have produced dozens or even hundreds of episodes, so there’s a deep bench of available content. And while there are numerous platforms on which to stream them, we’re including links to two of the most popular: Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Sisters Who Watch Shelby Holland ’18 & Laura Holland ’22 The title is descriptive: the two alums—Shelby from Arts & Sciences, Laura from ILR—view movies and TV shows and chat about them. Recent content includes their take on the seventh season of “Love Island USA” and why “Hacks” is comedy gold. Film-wise, they’ve contemplated whether Tom Cruise is past his prime (in a review of the final entry in the Mission Impossible franchise), how well Thunderbolts* assembles a new generation of Avengers, and much more. Listen on Apple Podcasts • Listen on Spotify Anxiety Matters Bonnie Zucker ’93 The former CALS communication major is a clinical psychologist specializing in anxiety and cognitive-behavioral therapy. She cohosts her podcast with a colleague—also named Bonnie Zucker, and also specializing in anxiety and CBT. The hosts—who call themselves the “Bonnies”—have covered such issues as social anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, the impact of smartphones on mental health, coping with anxiety as a parent, and the impact of pets on mental health. Listen on Apple Podcasts • Listen on Spotify Good Game with Sarah Spain Sarah Spain ’02 A longtime journalist at ESPN, Spain hosts the first-ever daily podcast devoted to women’s sports. Produced for the iHeart Radio network, the show features Spain’s wide-ranging conversations with her guests—on topics from life after pro soccer to the allure of a WNBA fantasy league. She also delves into social issues, on subjects like mental health, juggling athletics and motherhood, and the intersection of women’s sports and LGBTQ rights. Listen on Apple Podcasts • Listen on Spotify @Betches Jordana Abraham '11, BS ’10, Aleen Kuperman Dreksler ’12, BS ’11 & Sami Fishbein Sage ’11 While still undergrads, the three friends co-founded Betches Media, a popular, women-focused platform. It now comprises a website, numerous podcasts, and other multimedia offerings. Their flagship weekly podcast, with a backlist of around 500 episodes, features the three dishing on pop culture subjects, from diet culture to fashion trends to celebrity weddings. Listen on Apple Podcasts • Listen on Spotify Infectious Science Camille Ledoux ’21, BS ’20 The CALS alum, who holds a doctorate in human pathophysiology, is a co-host of the show, which aims to offer health and science information in plain, accessible language. (The other hosts are a veterinarian-virologist, a physician, and a medical student.) Recent topics have included Alzheimer’s research, the re-emergence of the measles, what ancient mummies reveal about disease history, and how Google searches can be a public health tracking tool. Listen on Apple Podcasts • Listen on Spotify Cidiot Mat Zucker ’92 Now in its eighth season, Zucker’s award-winning podcast explores life in New York’s Hudson Valley, from the perspective of a transplanted urbanite. With more than 100 episodes to date, it has been featured in major media like the “Today” show and even sells its own merch. Zucker has welcomed a wide variety of guests—addressing topics from culture to food to aging—and even released a music single that’s the podcast’s anthem: “One part clueless, half an ounce of an idiot. / Ordered a Manhattan, and they called me a cidiot. / At first it hurt my feelings, but it’s kind of got a ring to it.” Listen on Apple Podcasts • Listen on Spotify ShiftMakers Marianne Schnall ’89 Schnall penned What Will It Take to Make a Woman President?: Conversations About Women, Leadership and Power. Her podcast features guests and archival interviews in which thought leaders share insights into how to make positive change in the world. Past interviewees include Anita Hill, Arianna Huffington, Dolly Parton, Jane Goodall, Melinda Gates, Nancy Pelosi, Gloria Steinem, Jane Fonda, and Oprah Winfrey. Listen on Apple Podcasts • Listen on Spotify What if Instead? Alejandro Juárez Crawford ’95, BA ’96 & Miriam Plavin-Masterman ’93 The show is, per its description, “about everyday people reimagining the way things work—and tackling the obstacles they face.” Its varied guests have addressed a wide range of innovation-based topics, from the importance of interacting with people who have different points of view to the limits of our current system of philanthropy. In October 2025, the pair is set to publish the book One Size Fits None: Time for an Entrepreneurial Revolution. Listen on Apple Podcasts • Listen on Spotify The Ball Boys Paul Munkholm ’99 The Arts & Sciences alum describes his show as a “gay snarky tennis podcast”—combining his love for the sport with comedy and queer culture. Episodes include a round-up of a certain famed British tournament (“We’re so Wimbledone”) and a debate about the merits of playing on grass (“Agreein’ to Dis a Green”). He and his cohost also chat about players, travel, tennis culture, and antics on and off the court. Stories You May Like Dragon Day ’24: Snapshots from a Serpentine Celebration Racing Toward her Second Olympics, Taylor Knibb ’20 Preps for Paris Listen on Apple Podcasts • Listen on Spotify The Aspiring Spirit Kenann McKenzie ’98 An Africana Studies major on the Hill, McKenzie holds a PhD in education policy analysis from Columbia and now works as a consultant, college administrator, and motivational speaker. She penned Learning, Listening & Leading, a guided journal for professional development. McKenzie started her podcast in memory of her son, Ian. It’s focused on promoting kindness, civic engagement, and connection across differences. Listen on Apple Podcasts • Listen on Spotify Travel with Purpose Aileen Webster Hale ’87 Hale, a former government major in Arts & Sciences, holds a doctorate in international education from the University of San Francisco. A consultant, she advises travelers on planning trips during which they can perform service or otherwise connect and make meaningful contributions. Her podcast showcases guests who run nonprofits, own companies that offer purpose-driven travel opportunities, are longtime overseas volunteers, and more. Listen on Apple Podcasts • Listen on Spotify Fixing Healthcare … From the Trenches Alejandro Badia ’85 A Miami-based orthopedic surgeon, Badia founded the podcast as a spinoff from his book, Healthcare from the Trenches. On it, the former biological sciences major talks to fellow surgeons, physicians, academics, administrators, policymakers, entrepreneurs, and others. “The U.S. healthcare system is in crisis,” notes the show’s description. “We are facing skyrocketing healthcare costs, lack of patient access, and inefficient delivery.” Listen on Apple Podcasts • Listen on Spotify Morning Announcements Sami Fishbein Sage ’11 As noted above, Sage is one of three Cornellian co-founders of Betches Media; she has long hosted the platform's current-events podcast. Streamed every weekday—and with more than 1,200 episodes in the hopper—it encapsulates the news in 10 minutes or less. In 2024, Sage published Democracy in Retrograde: How to Make Changes Big and Small in Our Country and in Our Lives. Listen on Apple Podcasts • Listen on Spotify The Orchid Diaries Angel Orengo ’90, BS ’91 Offering episodes in both English and Spanish, the podcast is hosted by the Hum Ec alum and his wife. It’s inspired by their novel, The Orchid: The Secret Code of Modern Goddesses, about a group of women who attend a female-only retreat seeking healing and inspiration. Each episode features a guest who shares a real-life story of personal transformation, offering insights on how she has overcome challenges with work, family, personal life, health, and other issues. Listen on Apple Podcasts • Listen on Spotify The Pediatrician Next Door Wendy Meredith Hunter ’96 The Human Ecology grad holds an MD from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. She combines medical science with the everyday realities of parenting on the show, in which she “answers the questions you forgot or were too embarrassed to ask at the doctor’s office.” Her more than 100 episodes have addressed such topics as allergies, bedwetting, mental health, screen time, vaccines, sleep, babyproofing a home, and breastfeeding. Listen on Apple Podcasts • Listen on Spotify Succession Stories Laurie Appel Barkman ’93 The ILR alum—a consultant who calls herself a “business transition sherpa”—authored The Business Transition Handbook: How to Avoid Succession Pitfalls and Create Valuable Exit Options. Her podcast, per its description, “explores the entrepreneurial stages of a business from growth to maturity.” Past topics have included the challenges of Millennials taking over a family business from Boomer founders, and how successful companies have gone from start-up to sale. She also hosts a related podcast, The Entrepreneur Gene. Listen on Apple Podcasts • Listen on Spotify U Up? Jordana Abraham '11, BS ’10 Another offering from Betches Media, it teams Abraham with a male comedian for confabs on the vicissitudes of modern dating life. Over the course of more than 800 episodes, they've addressed topics both serious and lighthearted. The hosts and their guests have helped singles overhaul their dating profiles; showcased advice from a professional matchmaker; contemplated all manner of breakup scenarios; and much more. Listen on Apple Podcasts • Listen on Spotify Business Confidential Now Hanna Hasl-Kelchner, MBA ’78 Hasl-Kelchner, who holds a JD from Rutgers, wrote Seeking Fairness at Work: Cracking the New Code of Greater Employee Engagement, Retention & Satisfaction. Its hundreds of episodes feature expert guests offering practical advice and insights for owners, executives, managers, and entrepreneurs. “Our topics vary from week to week because business is multi-faceted,” says the description, “and the higher you climb in your organization, the more information you need to effectively lead your company and keep all of its moving parts aligned and moving forward.” Listen on Apple Podcasts • Listen on Spotify The Kids’ Table Katelyn Fletcher ’15 The Hum Ec alum holds a doctorate in developmental psychology from NYU; her co-host is a policy analyst. Their show features guests with expertise in issues related to the intersection of their two fields. Past shows have explored dyslexia, the workings of federal education policy on Capitol Hill, how media consumption impacts child development, and the social and developmental challenges facing youth who are immigrants. Listen on Apple Podcasts • Listen on Spotify (Top: Illustration by Ashley Osburn / Cornell University.) Published July 29, 2025 Comments Laura (Pearlman) Kaufman, Class of 1989 3 Aug, 2025 You missed Thrive Loud with Lou Diamond (‘92?)! Reply Leave a Comment Cancel replyOnce your comment is approved, your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *Comment * Name * Class Year Email * Save my name, email, and class year in this browser for the next time I comment. Δ Other stories You may like Chime In Genealogy Research Helped Me Find My Cornellian Cousins Campus & Beyond Cornell Cinema Still Lights Up the Silver Screen Students From Food Network to TikTok, Hotelie Is a Gen-Z Culinary Star