Best Shrill Podcasts (2025)

1
Anni Domingo

8h ago

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The actor Anni Domingo, who returned from Sierra Leone to the UK as a teenager, recalls being told at an audition that she was too dark. ‘And that was it,’ says Anni. ‘I never opened my mouth. I never sang. I never danced.’

1
Almir Koldzic

5d ago

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Uprooted from the former Yugoslavia, Almir Koldzic doesn't have a place that he can really call back home.

1
Adiam Yemane

13d ago

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Adiam Yemane recalls her shock of arrival in Britain and discovering women no longer wore Victorian dresses and garments.

1
Robin Paine

20d ago

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Robin Paine eventually settled in Edinburgh having experienced the shock of moving from Kenya to London where she felt completely invisible.

1
Arizona's Urban Desert Miracle featuring Glenn Farley 27:20

23d ago27:20

27:20

Rapid economic and population growth in Arizona’s dry central valley has created tremendous wealth and opportunity. Rapid development also has caused many state and national leaders and several members of the media to declare the region “out of water” and to demand an end to growth as the solution. Like other southwestern states, it is clear the va…

1
Miguel Hernando Torres Umba

26d ago

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‘I will be very critical of this place, always, of empire, of their political history, of the way it behaves towards the rest of the world, but,' says Miguel Hernando Torres Umba, 'I do feel a massive level of appreciation for this place.’

1
Sheila Lam

1M ago

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Sheila Lam recalls her first impressions of London: 'It can be a really scary place, and scary things are happen. I'm not blind to that, but my personal day-to-day life has been so wonderful.'

1
Tamara Zimet

2M ago

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Tamara Zimet arrived in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic and feared she'd made a terrible mistake.

1
Ross Fitzsimons

2M ago

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More than forty years after moving to the UK from Ireland, Ross Fitzsimons is still haunted by the plight of the teenager Kevin Barry who was executed by the British government during the Irish War of Independence.

1
Where Is Our Transportation Funding Actually Going? featuring Ben Stein 31:37

2M ago31:37

31:37

Common Sense Institute recently published a study titled "Highway Detours: The Ongoing Shift of Transportation Dollars." It was authored by our Transportation Fellow Ben Stein, who, in 2006 became the Budget Director for the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT). At CDOT he oversaw the development and execution of the annual budget for the d…

1
Eric Ngalle Charles

2M ago

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Eric Ngalle Charles recalls how he came to the UK under an assumed identity, and with the passage of time, he has reclaimed his true name.

1
Colm Tohill

2M ago

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Colm Tohill recalls growing up during a time of violent conflict in Northern Ireland with a mix of stoicism and dark humour.

1
Joanna Surowiec

3M ago

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Joanna Surowiec found that performing stand-up comedy led her to create a deeper understanding of British culture and a closer connection to people.

1
Anne Tristine Nguyen

3M ago

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Anne Tristine Nguyen recalls her remarkable journey from a slum in Saigon, Vietnam to a Scottish castle.

1
SPECIAL EPISODE: Eggs and the Economy - March 4, 2025 53:54

3M ago53:54

53:54

In this special edition of Common Sense Digest, we feature discussion from one of our recent events. On Tuesday, March 4, Common Sense Institute hosted its quarterly Eggs & The Economy Event. This edition was titled "Over Easy or Overpriced? The Growing Cost of Living in Colorado." Our panelists included: Tamra Ryan - CSI Coors Economic Mobility Fe…

1
Dagmara Rudkin

3M ago

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Dagmara Rudkin recounts how she left Poland as a teenager and was prepared to work all the hours she could to pay for her education.

1
Abha Sharma

3M ago

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Abha Sharma confides that she is undecided as to whether she would prefer India, the UK, or neither of those as her home.

1
Iowa's DOGE Prototype and Its Results featuring Ben Murrey 27:33

3M ago27:33

27:33

The state of Iowa does not have a Department of Government Efficiency, however, Iowa lawmakers began improving government efficiency through a state initiative known as “alignment” more than a year before the American public ever heard of a “DOGE” at the federal level. Common Sense Institute commission a report that evaluates Iowa’s 2023 government…

1
Steve McCoy

3M ago

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When Steve McCoy moved from Malaysia to the UK as an A-level student in the 1970s, he thought of it as a homecoming.

1
Andrea Antonieta Schroeder

4M ago

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Andrea Antonieta Schroeder left Chile and moved to the UK with a broken heart to try to forget a man with whom she was in love.

1
Lynda-Marie Taurasi

4M ago

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Lynda-Marie Taurasi always felt Scottish and, in migrating to Edinburgh from the US, she felt she was fulfilling an ancestral need to return.

1
Claudia Rivera Echevarría

4M ago

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Claudia Rivera Echevarría on how she sometimes unconsciously dials down her Puerto Rican vitality while living in the UK.

1
Eve Grubin

4M ago

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Eve Grubin was so affected by the differences she found in the English language when she relocated to London from the US that she wrote a poem about them, 'American in England'.

1
Yu Yie

5M ago

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YuYie and her challenging transition from Thailand to the highlands of Scotland.

1
Anouk

5M ago

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Anouk, who was raised in Paris by Jewish parents from Algeria and Tunisia, talks with great affection about her community and recalls that she has felt less scrutinised in London than in Paris.

1
Anna Blasiak

5M ago

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‘If you ask me whether I feel British and how I identify, I would say I identify as confused,' says Anna Blasiak. 'When I go to Poland, I feel British; when I'm in Britain, I feel Polish'

1
The Cost of Crime in Oregon featuring Max Williams and Mark McMullen 43:26

6M ago43:26

43:26

Public concern over crime in Oregon has intensified, with a significant majority of residents expressing dissatisfaction with local government responses. A May 2024 poll revealed that 78% of Portland-area voters disapprove of how local authorities are handling crime, reflecting widespread unease across various demographics. This sentiment is furthe…

1
Claudia Lopez-Prieto

6M ago

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Claudia Lopez-Prieto recalls the trauma of leaving Colombia aged eleven and how she tried to recreate her homeland in Croydon.

1
Daniel Otu Vortiah Ahiankui

6M ago

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Daniel Otu Vortiah Ahiankui, who was born in Spain to Ghanaian parents, recalls a transformation when he arrived in the UK. He was an extrovert who became introverted.

1
Dulani Kulasinghe

6M ago

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Dulani Kulasinghe, who has experienced double migration after leaving Sri Lanka, registers that 'more open conversations in the UK about racism and empire have led to a massive backlash, maybe the last gasp of the beast.'

1
Tulela Pea

6M ago

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The Namibian forensic psychologist Tulela Pea turns a critical eye on the credits and deficits of life in the UK.

1
Nick Makoha

7M ago

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The poet and playwright Nick Makoha recalls his dramatic escape from Idi Amin's reign of terror in Uganda.

1
Boosting Iowa's Economy: The Childcare Solutions Fund featuring Sherri Penney 42:39

7M ago42:39

42:39

Like other states across the nation, Iowa faces a severe shortage of quality affordable childcare. Research by the Iowa Women’s Foundation found that the annual average cost of infant care in Iowa is 18.4% higher than in-state tuition at a four-year public college and 14.1% higher than annual housing costs. The fact is, childcare is prohibitively e…

1
Gabriela Raluco Andriesei

7M ago

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Gabriela Raluco Andriesi recalls leaving Romania, finding the freedom to be with her partner in Scotland and joining the police force

1
Neethu Sathyanathan

7M ago

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Neethu Sathyanathan reflects on leaving Kerala in India to come to the UK, and taking to the stage, after five years, to try and make English people laugh.

1
Mira Erdevički

7M ago

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The Yugoslav-born film director Mira Erdevički talks about how she came to the UK by accident and has stayed for thirty years.

1
The CSI 2024 Ballot Guide and Inflation Misery featuring Kelly Caufield and Zach Milne 32:51

7M ago32:51

32:51

The Common Sense Institute's 2024 Ballot Guide highlights the potential economic and fiscal impacts of key ballot measures in Colorado. Proposition 127, for instance, could lead to significant revenue losses for Colorado Parks and Wildlife and reduce overall economic output by $61.65 million. Other measures, such as school choice and law enforcemen…

1
Sonia Bell

8M ago

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Sonia Bell describes how early on when she moved to the UK, she hardly ever encountered British people

1
Krupa Mehta

8M ago

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Krupa Mehta reflects on leaving Chennai in India, going back briefly where she met the man who became her husband and her decision to return with him for a new life in the UK.

1
Reforming Arizona's Homeless Service Ecosystem featuring Julie Katsel and Ted Maxwell 33:02

8M ago33:02

33:02

Earlier this year, the Common Sense Institute released a thorough review of homelessness spending at all levels – non-profits, state and local governments, and federal grants and transfers. The report identified over 200 Arizona providers – public and private - who today spend a collective $1 billion per year on homelessness-related expenses. Despi…

1
Lisa Munga

8M ago

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Lisa Munga reflects on living in transit and coming to terms with a sense of absence in her life after leaving Cameroon.

1
Iowa's Healthcare Landscape featuring Dr. Chelsea Lensing 35:29

8M ago35:29

35:29

Iowa’s policymakers, providers, and insurers operate within a state comprised of an aging population and large rural areas. According to the Iowa Department of Justice, the state ranks 16th nationally for the number of residents 50-years-old and over. Approximately 18% of Iowa’s more-than-three-million residents are 65 years old and older while 23%…

1
Hassan Alia

8M ago

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Hassan Alia remembers the shock of arrival as a refugee from Syria and his dream of becoming a surgeon.

1
Goran Gocić

8M ago

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The Serbian writer Goran Gocić reflects on his feelings about the UK, similar to those you might have towards 'an old girl friend you don't want to stumble upon.'

1
Fang Wang

9M ago

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Fang Wang reflecting on leaving China, speaks of her fondness for big-nosed Englishmen and the joy of the crosses on the Hot Cross Bun.

1
The Potential Impacts of Oregon Ballot Measure 118 featuring Lynn Snodgrass 27:59

9M ago27:59

27:59

This November Oregon voters will decide on Ballot Measure 118, which would increase Oregon’s taxes on corporations six-fold, with the proceeds to be distributed equally across all eligible individuals. Under the proposal, Oregonians would face the most aggressive gross receipts tax in the nation by far. Host and Chairman Earl Wright welcomes Mark M…

1
Denisa Gannon

9M ago

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Denisa Gannon reflects on her irrepressible desire to escape prejudice in the Czech republic to become a pioneering Roma lawyer in the UK

1
SPECIAL EPISODE: Eggs & The Economy - September 10, 2024 1:01:51

9M ago1:01:51

1:01:51

In this special edition of Common Sense Digest, we feature discussion from one of our recent events. On Tuesday, September 10, Common Sense Institute hosted its quarterly Eggs & The Economy Event. This edition was titled: "Unscrambling the 2024 November Ballot" Our panelists included: Paul Pazen - CSI Public Safety Fellow and Former Denver Police C…