KWSB, the podcast you should all be listening to every other Wednesday. If you miss a show or miss a couple you can binge listen on Soundcloud, a day or so after it has been aired!
I know loads of people, myself included, who spend a large amount of time listening to podcasts during their day or evening as they do music. If you are not one of these people (yet) and have an interest in diving into the listening world of radio and podcasts or perhaps you are looking for something new to get hooked to as Shoda Rhimes’ amazing How To Get Away With Murder is done for a while, and you simply cannot bear to watch anything else -here’s an awesome radio show/ podcast to keep you occupied. (If you don’t know anything about the show I just referenced, where have you been?)
Knowledge With a Side of Bants or KWSB if you’re fancy, is on air every other Wednesday on CSFRM. The show predominately features two Politics and International Relations final year students, Gillian Stringer and Akin Coker, who at times bring in guest speakers to share views, opinions and awareness on a range of topics. The two distinctively North London voices talk about anything and everything from race, religion, politics, pop culture, music, sports, mental health, third year angsts and much more.
Creator and host Gillian reveals the origins of the topically diverse radio show: ‘KWSB was borne out of my snapchat in all honesty, where I decided to share my views, encourage interaction and be open. Anyway ten second snaps were becoming inadequate, my stories were super long…’ (Millennial problems) ‘My vision is beyond radio if I’m honest. I just want to share knowledge, start conversations and have a laugh.’ More often than not listeners start conversations of their own via social media platforms such as Twitter and Snapchat. It is needless to say that her vision has become a successful reality, she does all this and more in just sixty minutes.
Gillian took inspiration from her snapchat followers but instead of creating a YouTube channel to showcase her views as she was urged to do, she created a radio show which developed into a podcast on Soundcloud. With the help of close friend Akin and Kent Union’s CSRFM, the two chatterboxes started KWSB where they openly agree, disagree and exhibit honest doubts about most things that run wild in our minds, things that go unsaid, things that make us laugh and/or cry. The hosts always provide their listeners with vivid commentaries and genuine laughs – hence the side of bants. The title of this show is more than valid. We receive an hour of Knowledge With a Side of Bants, some may argue that we gain more than a side of banter but I digress. We gain knowledge on an array of topics and issues we may not have even considered discussing.
You should listen if: You want to hear discussions on topics that invade on our everyday lives, more suited to young adults but any listener of any age can benefit. Who wouldn’t want to eavesdrop on a conversation between two intelligent, chatty friends where there is no topic that is beyond their creative investigation?
Where to press play: Every single show on Soundcloud is worth pressing play for. But if you want to dive into something more pressing in the minds of final years, then check out ‘Were we sold a dream?’ where the hosts reflect on their university experiences, provide advice on graduate schemes and discuss politics affecting millennial students. If you want something more pop culture orientated then ‘Music, Violence and Ya MCM’ may be for you and a personal favourite of mine ‘The Power of Publishing…Trump & Brexit’ -pretty self-explanatory.
(The podcasts are organized with the oldest shows at the bottom of the page.)
As summarized by Gillian ‘I think the show is a laugh because really and truly I am a clown, with some knowledge on lots of random stuff,’ and if that doesn’t tantalize your eardrums I don’t know what will! Make sure to have a listen and don’t forget to tune into CSRFM this Wednesday at 7pm for more from Gillian Stringer and Akin Coker.
https://soundcloud.com/kwsbpodcast
In case I forgot to mention the show is hosted by two of my closest friends who are doing amazing things, but it’s not as if you need any more reason to tune in and check them out.
Follow them on their Twitter and Soundcloud handles and join in on their weekly conversations: Gillian @kwsbpodcast/ Akin @AyoCoker_25/ https://soundcloud.com/kwsbpodcast