Getting through 2020 and Beyond: Stacey Copeland

By Amplify Team Date: April 21, 2021 Tags: Podcasting

Looking back at our first year as a network, we asked some of our members to reflect on the podcasts that got them through the global pandemic, the revolution-filled year that was 2020 and beyond. One of the many things podcasts do well is help us cope with the unpredictability and constant changes that life can throw our way, especially in a year like the one we just had. In this series, we ask: What podcasts are helping you get through? What podcasts are inspiring you? What are your all-time favorites? 

We hope each post will give you a glimpse into the individual team members that make up The Amplify Network. If you have a podcast that helped you get through 2020, share it with us at @AmplifyPodcasts on Twitter or send us an email, we’d love to hear from you. 

In our last Favorite Podcasts post, Amplify co-director Siobhan McMenemy shared their favorite podcasts which invite them “to listen to new voices and ideas and to think and learn about life beyond my restrictive domestic workspace and past the limitations of my perspective”.

Next up in our Favourite Podcasts series, we hear from Amplify project manager and supervising producer Stacey Copeland. 

Stacey Copeland

2020 was a year that brought so much upheaval, reflection, grief and change to the world – and for me it was also the year I moved across the country (again). Every road trip needs a playlist and there’s nothing better than a good podcast playlist to get you through multiple days of driving during a pandemic. 

First Up – The Secret Life of Canada hosted by Leah-Simone Bowen and Falen Johnson. The show explores the complicated history of Canada through “stories that probably didn’t make it into your high school textbook”. What better way to reflect on the beauty of the landscape outside my car window, than to binge learn the histories and lives that shaped it? A stand out episode was “Where is Japantown?”. I think I learned more about Canada’s history of Japanese internment camps through this episode than I ever had in the Ontario school system. I wish this show existed back then, but i’m so glad it exists now!

Second Play – The Heart. For those who know me this podcast choice comes as no surprise. The Heart was my constant pre-2020 and will likely get me through 2021 too.  The creators behind The Heart do intimate audio storytelling like no one else. Their Race Traitor series dropped just before our trip so of course it was downloaded and cued up before I even finished packing. In a year of protest and police brutality Race Traitor invites us into a more personal and resonant way of thinking through and taking action on white supremacy in our everyday lives.

Bonus Listen – For those long drives that require a bit more levity and a lot more ‘silly’ – Why Won’t You Date Me?. A chat podcast from comedian Nicole Byer on relationships and her perpetual singledom.

Keep your eyes peeled and your ears tuned in the months to come for more Favorite Podcasts posts from the Amplify Podcast Network.