Podcasts about Langston Hughes

Photography Historian and Curator Audrey Sands joins PhotoWork with Sasha Wolf to discuss her book, Lisette Model: The Jazz Pictures (Eakins Press Foundation). Drawing on years of research, Sands presents Lisette Model's rarely seen archive of photographs of 1950s jazz legends, including Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington, Percy Heath, Miles Davis, and Dizzy Gillespie. Sands and Wolf discuss the rise of fine art photography as a collectible medium in the latter half of the 20th century, the role of museums and institutions in shaping the narrative of photographic history, and the role of the historian in editing and interpreting an artist's work posthumously. https://harvardartmuseums.org/about/press-media/audrey-sands-appointed-associate-curator-of-photography-at-the-harvard-art-museums https://www.instagram.com/audreyleesands/  Audrey Sands is a historian of photography and curator who specializes in twentieth-century American photography.. She holds a Ph.D. and M.Phil. in the History of Art from Yale University, an M.St. in the History of Art and Visual Culture from the University of Oxford, and a B.A. in Art History from Barnard College. Since February 2025, Sands has served as the Richard L. Menschel Associate Curator of Photography at the Harvard Art Museums, where she oversees a collection of approximately 75,000 photographs and time-based media ranging from the early 19th century to the present. Her appointment followed a postdoctoral fellowship as Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Curatorial Fellow in the Department of Photographs at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. (2022–25), during which she contributed to the exhibitions Gordon Parks: Camera Portraits from the Corcoran Collection (2024–25) and the multi-venue Photography and the Black Arts Movement, 1955–1985 (2025–26). Prior to the NGA, from 2019 to 2022, Sands held the Norton Family Assistant Curator of Photography position at the Center for Creative Photography (CCP), University of Arizona—a joint appointment with Phoenix Art Museum—where her exhibitions included Freedom Must Be Lived: Marion Palfi's America, 1940–1978 (2021–22) and Farewell Photography: The Hitachi Collection of Postwar Japanese Photographs, 1961–1989 (2022). Earlier curatorial positions include the Department of Photographs at The Museum of Modern Art, the National Gallery of Art, and the J. Paul Getty Museum. Sands has been the lead scholar on the work of photographer Lisette Model for over a decade, beginning with her Yale dissertation, “Lisette Model and the Inward Turn of Photographic Modernism.” Her most recent publication, Lisette Model: The Jazz Pictures (Eakins Press Foundation, 2025), realized a suppressed collaboration between Model and Langston Hughes that had been shelved during the McCarthy era, publishing for the first time nearly 200 of Model's approximately 1,500 jazz negatives alongside Hughes's original essay and new scholarship by Sands. Her ongoing research on flash photography—supported by a 2021 Curatorial Research Fellowship from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts—is developing toward a publication and exhibition titled The Shape of Light: History, Ethics, and Aesthetics of Flash Photography.

 “They're all me. Every single one. I see them almost as if they're inoculated on various petri dishes, and the petri dishes are all put into this pressure-cooker situation — that of a missile alert.” — Vincent Yu So what would you do with the last 19 minutes of your life? That's the question Vincent Yu plays with in Seek Immediate Shelter. Triggered (so to speak) by a 2018 Hawaii missile alert of an apocalypse that fizzled, Yu's novel is about a false alarm that sent Asian-American residents of a small Massachusetts town into 19 minutes of existential panic. Seek Immediate Shelter really starts after the fictional all-clear. Because now everyone has revealed their cards. The real games begin. F. Scott Fitzgerald famously wrote that there are no second acts in American lives. Seek Immediate Shelter is really a novel about third acts, not second. The first act is normal life. The second is the nineteen minutes of terror. The third — the one that really matters — is the reckoning: the mother who used the alert as an excuse to cruelly insult her daughter; the man who hit the gas and sped away from his family; the woman who confessed her unrequited love. So all clear does not mean all right. The missile alert strips away all the lies of daily life. What's left is a truth as explosive as any missile. Five Takeaways •       The Third Act, Not the Second: F. Scott Fitzgerald said there are no second acts in American lives — and Yu's novel is a direct argument against that claim. But the book's real focus is the third act: not the nineteen minutes of terror (the second), but the aftermath. The mother who used the alert as permission to say something cruel. The man who sped away from his wife and child. The woman who confessed her love. These are the decisions people made when they thought it was the end. Now they have to live with them. All clear does not mean all right. •       The Petri Dish Method: Yu has a background in biology and no formal training in fiction. He approaches writing scientifically: characters as specimens on petri dishes, a missile alert as the experimental conditions. The pressure-cooker situation strips away the social armour and reveals the character beneath. His goal was not cruelty but pressure — there's a difference. He feels profound empathy for every character. When asked if any are based on real people: they're all me. Every single one. •       Asian American Silence and the Langston Hughes Principle: Yu originally wrote the characters without race. But honesty required him to make them Asian American — citing Langston Hughes's argument that a Black poet cannot write outside of race even if he wants to. Asian American fiction has long focused on immigrant trauma and the difficult parent-child relationship. Yu wants to push beyond that: third- and fourth-generation stories, people who are simply American. The missile alert forces the silence of striving and quiet excellence to break. What's underneath is the novel's real subject. •       Can AI Write This Kind of Novel? Yu has never used AI for his writing and — he admits — hasn't been curious enough to try. His verdict: AI is nowhere close to writing a novel like this. Some genres, with more uniform rubrics, are more vulnerable. But the distinctive cadences of AI writing are currently easy to detect. He is, however, optimistic: the proliferation of AI-generated plots may make readers more discerning, better at recognizing tropes, more hungry for genuinely fresh storytelling. AI might, paradoxically, sharpen the audience for literary fiction. •       The Cuban Missile Crisis, Trump, and COVID as Crucibles: Andrew's provocation: was the Cuban Missile Crisis actually good for America? Did it force a national reckoning? And might Trump and COVID do the same? Yu is reluctant to apply this logic to countries — he deals in characters. But at the individual level: yes. A crucible that forces you to confront what you most cannot bear to part with, what truly matters, can be clarifying. The novel's premise is that the missile alert was such a crucible. The broader lesson may be that we are all living through one. About the Guest Vincent Yu is a fiction writer and sales manager at W. W. Norton/Liveright. He is the winner of the 2021 Ashley Bourne Prize for fiction from Ploughshares and the author of Seek Immediate Shelter (Flatiron Books, May 5, 2026). His short fiction has been published in Prairie Schooner, StoryQuarterly, Ninth Letter, Able Muse, and elsewhere. He lives in Brooklyn, New York. References: •       Seek Immediate Shelter by Vincent Yu (Flatiron Books, May 5, 2026). •       The 2018 Hawaii missile alert — the real-life false alarm that inspired the novel. •       Langston Hughes, “The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain” (1926) — the essay Yu cites on writing within race. •       Episode 2898: James Lasdun on The Family Man — the companion episode on fiction's capacity to go where journalism cannot. About Keen On America Nobody asks more awkward questions than the Anglo-American writer and filmmaker Andrew Keen. In Keen On America, Andrew brings his pointed Transatlantic wit to making sense of the United States — hosting daily interviews about the history and future of this now venerable Republic. With nearly 2,900 episodes since the show launched on TechCrunch in 2010, Keen On America is the most prolific intellectual interview show in the history of podcasting. WebsiteSubstackYouTubeApple PodcastsSpotify Chapters: 

Exploring the Power and Evolution of Opera with Davóne Tines and 'The Black Clown'This episode delves into the making of The Black Clown, a groundbreaking opera piece inspired by Langston Hughes, co-created by renowned artist Davóne Tines. Discover how this work intertwines historical trauma, artistic innovation, and cultural storytelling, and what it reveals about diversity and expression in contemporary opera.Main Topics:The personal and artistic journey behind The Black ClownIntegrating historical narratives and emotional storytelling in operaChallenges of representing complex themes like oppression on stageThe importance of visual design and sensory experience in theaterBroader implications of diversity and inclusion within opera and performing artsKey Insights:Davóne Tines shares his transition from classical opera to experimental works blending multiple styles.The creation process of The Black Clown involved extensive collaboration, workshops, and thoughtful staging choices including silhouette imagery inspired by Kara Walker.The piece explores themes of resilience and identity, culminating in an uplifting gospel-inspired finale.The production emphasizes safeguarding mental health of performers during emotionally intense scenes.The visual aesthetic combines contemporary art influences with traditional theatrical elements to amplify storytelling.Attendees can expect an immersive experience, with a minimal but transformative set design and compelling lighting.The show reinforces the importance of listening and empathizing with diverse cultural voices in American history and art.Timestamps:(0:00) - Welcome and overview of The Black Clown's significance(1:21) - Davóne Tines introduces his multidisciplinary approach to art(3:28) - The evolving identity of opera and its expanding boundaries(5:30) - Addressing diversity gaps in traditional opera spaces(7:54) - Inspiration and conception of The Black Clown(10:25) - Musical adaptation based on Langston Hughes' poetry(11:44) - Development, workshop process, and the role of the American Repertory Theater(12:38) - Choosing a director and the importance of cultural perspective(14:00) - The emotional impact of staging and audience reception(15:02) - Navigating the depiction of oppression and trauma on stage(16:50) - Innovative solutions like silhouettes and visual symbolism(21:03) - The emotional and mental health practices among performers(22:33) - The journey from darkness to joy through Hughes' narrative arc(24:45) - Visual design and artistic influences shaping the production(25:12) - Audience takeaways: empathy, history, and emotional connection(26:02) - Call to experience The Black Clown at Opera Philadelphia from May 14-17Resources & Links:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Langston_Hugheshttps://kara-walker.com/https://www.instagram.com/alsoanoperasinger/FOR TICKETS AND INFORMATION:https://www.operaphila.org/whats-on/2526-season/the-black-clown/https://operaphila.org/about/news-press/pressroom/2026/the-black-clown/Follow us and our links here: https://bio.site/em3ry

J discusses MJ and Langston Hughes' negro paradox, casual racism, and ridiculous clips. 

Today we feature "The Negro Mother" by Langston Hughes. Please send your submissions to be featured on the podcast to poetryinmedicine@gmail.com. "In whatever you do, read a poem." Honored to have been named one of the top 10 medical podcasts in the state of Georgia by Feedspot: podcasts.feedspot.com/georgia_medical_podcasts/ Honored to be named one of the Top 100 Poetry Podcasts by Feedspot Blog Reader. podcast.feedspot.com/poetry_podcast…featured_email

Today is the last day of U.S. National Poetry Month which has been given the additional observance of Poem in Your Pocket Day where poetry lovers are asked to carry and share a poem. Today is also International Jazz Day – and so I chose this poem, "Drum"  by Langston Hughes, the pioneering Jazz poet, and his poem that reminds all of us that the rhythm of life asks us to take our beat, take our light, take the dancing words, and to briefly shine. The Parlando Project takes various words (mostly literary poetry) and combines them with original music in differing styles. We've done over 900 of these combinations, and you can hear any of them and read about our encounters with the words at our blog and archives located at frankhudson.org  

Iscriviti al periodo di prova ad un euro al mese su shopify.it Hai un sogno che continui a rimandare a un "momento perfetto" che non arriva mai? In questa puntata della nostra rubrica dedicata alle parole, esploriamo la parola SOGNO. Spesso pensiamo che per realizzare un desiderio servano grandi spazi di tempo o condizioni ideali, ma la verità è che il tempo non si trova: il tempo si crea. Aspettare di essere "pronti" è spesso un modo elegante per non affrontare la paura di metterci alla prova.✨ Il sogno come direzione (e perché aggrapparsi ai sogni, come scriveva Langston Hughes). ✨ Quando il sogno diventa un rifugio o un'illusione che ci tiene fermi. ✨ Perché i sogni sono indizi della nostra identità profonda.✨ Come dare spazio a ciò che conta con il metodo dei piccoli passi. Non serve una rivoluzione per onorare il proprio potenziale. Bastano 15 minuti al giorno per trasformare ciò che è immaginato in qualcosa di reale. E tu, qual è la cosa più piccola che farai oggi per il tuo sogno?

Hosts: Jill Winkowski and Prue SalaskyDate: April 10, 2026Length: 37 minutesPublication Frequency: Fourth Friday (approx) of each monthIn this episode we explore African American English, its history, features, and variations, including in Hampton Roads, aka the 757. We interview three black academics in the region to learn about AAE and what defines it. We talk to Dr. Iyabo Osiapem, teaching professor of Africana Studies and Linguistics at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg. Founded in 1693, It's the only university in the state to offer an undergraduate major in linguistics. At Hampton University in Hampton, the city where the first African indentured servants and slaves arrived in North America in 1619, we speak to Dr. Darylyn Dance, a specialist in rhetoric and composition. We also talk to Dr. Travis Harris, a hip hop scholar who teaches at Norfolk State University in Norfolk. From them we learned about the distinctive syntactical and pronunciation features of the AAE dialect; various theories of its development, including from West African languages; some distinctive local vocabulary; the influence of hip hop in its evolution; and its controversial history related to education, including the 1979 Ann Arbor case and the 1997 Oakland decision.We learn about its labels over the years, including “non-standard Negro English” used by white linguist William Labov, “the father of sociolinguistics,” who pioneered research into AAE in the 1960s, We learn about the work of African American linguist John Baugh in exposing linguistic profiling and the development of the ebonics label by educational psychologist Robert Williams,     inventor of the BITCH test which highlighted cultural bias in standardized testing. Finally, we discuss attitudes to language variation. Here are some of the books and authors the three professors recommended for AAE: Olaudah Equiano (18th century)(enslaved, freed, went to UK) slave narratives, letters, poems;essayist and journalist Charles Chesnutt (turn of the 20th century) The Goophered Grapevine;Poetry by Frances Ellen Watkins (19th century); by Paul Laurence Dunbar (19th century); by Countee Cullen (early 20th century); by Langston Hughes (20th century); George Schuyler journalist, columnist, critic (20th century); Phyllis Wheatley, born in Africa, writing in second language; Imami All Mine by Connie Porter (This American Girl series); Zora Neale Hurston,  Their Eyes are Watching God; Alice Childress, Rainbow Jordan;  The Color Purple by Alice Walker;  Dutchman (1964 play) by Amiri Baraka; Sonia Sanchez (20th century) poet, playwright, professor; Maya Angelou; Toni Morrison;Gil Scott-Heron, “The Revolution will not be Televised” (“godfather of rap”); academic articles by Vershawn Ashanti Young (contemporary); Bernice McFadden, “Sugar” (2000)For those interested in hip-hop, the W&M Hip Hop Collection, started in the 1980s,  is part of Swem Library's Special Collections and includes recordings, publications, and ephemera from Virginia based hip hop artists. Local stars include Pharell and Clipse (the brothers Pusha T and No Malice).Send your questions and feedback to languagingHR@gmail.com; and for more information and to listen to previous episodes, check out our website, www.languaginghr.wordpress.com.

Transformative poetry swirls around the joys and hardships of working-class black lives from James Mercer Langston Hughes - an American poet, leader of the Harlem Renaissance, and father of what came to be known as “jazz poetry.” Featuring selections from Hughes' early poetry collection “The Weary Blues”, evocatively rendered by acclaimed DC theatre artist, Ricardo Frederick Evans and the imaginative jazz compositions of Chicago trumpeter Markus Rutz, along with his musical collaborators, The Markus Rutz Trio & Quartet.

The "I Dream A World" Youth Choral Showcase is bringing together three groups of talented young local singers to perform a variety of pieces centering the work of Langston Hughes and Boston's own Phillis Wheatley, the first published African-American poet. The performance includes the world premiere of a composition by B.E. Boykin performed by all three choirs combined. We speak with Boykin, the showcase's organizer and a young singer who will take the stage at the showcase.

In her highly acclaimed debut, distinguished cosmologist and particle physicist Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein shared with her audience an abiding sense of wonder at the cosmos, while imagining a world without the entrenched injustice that plagues her field. Now, in The Edge of Space-Time, she embraces that cosmic wonder, taking readers on a mind-altering journey to the boundaries of the universe, inviting us to spend time at the edge of what we know about space-time and about ourselves.Guided by her conviction that for humanity to go forward we must know our cosmic past, and drawing on poetry and popular culture—from Langston Hughes, Queen Latifah, and Lewis Carroll, to Big K.R.I.T., Sun Ra, and Star Trek—Prescod-Weinstein renders accessible some of the most abstract concepts of theoretical physics to tell fascinating stories about the history and fundamental nature of our universe. Here we meet the quantum cat that is both dead and alive, learn the difference between dark matter and dark energy, explore the inner workings of black holes, and investigate the possibility of a unified theory of quantum gravity, following our guide out to the far reaches of the cosmic event horizon and down to the tiniest (and queerest) neutrino. Along the way, she calls on us to resist colonial approaches to space exploration and instead imagine a better path forward in our pursuit of humanity's undeniable connection with the stars.Through Prescod-Weinstein's clear-eyed and unique perspective, and informed by her deep knowledge of postcolonial history and Black feminist thought, The Edge of Space-Timeargues that physics is an essential way for everyone to look at the universe and presents a compelling case that “the edge” is a powerful vantage point from which to see the big picture.Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://peculiarbookclub.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Newsletter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://subscribepage.io/schillacenews⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠VIP Membership: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://payhip.com/PeculiarBookClub⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Youtube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@PeculiarBookClub/streams⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Bluesky: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@peculiarbookclub.bsky.social⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠facebook.com/groups/peculiarbooksclub⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@thepeculiarbookclu

Robert meets Sir Isaac Julien at Victoria Miro gallery in London to explore 4 decades of making art. We also meet Julien's long term collaborator Mark Nash to explore his major five-screen film installation All That Changes You. Metamorphosis, 2025 and new photographic works. All That Changes You. Metamorphosis is a vivid, sweeping, visual poem about change, what it means to transform, to adapt and to survive. Commissioned to celebrate 500 years of Palazzo Te, Mantua, Italy (where it is currently on view) and exhibited here for the first time as a five-screen installation, Julien's latest work moves between science fiction, philosophy, ecology and art, imagining new forms of life and identity beyond the human.All That Changes You. Metamorphosis draws inspiration from thinkers who explore how transformation shapes who we are and how we live, including writers Octavia Butler, Naomi Mitchison, Ursula K. Le Guin and philosopher Donna Haraway. Their ideas weave through the film's layered images and lyrical dialogue. Two protagonists are at the heart of the film, played by internationally acclaimed actors Sheila Atim and Gwendoline Christie.Isaac Julien is as acclaimed for his fluent, arresting films as for his vibrant and inventive gallery installations. One of the objectives of his work is to break down the barriers that exist between different artistic disciplines, drawing from and commenting on film, dance, photography, music, theatre, painting and sculpture, and uniting them to construct a powerfully visual narrative.Julien came to prominence in the film world with his 1989 drama-documentary Looking for Langston, gaining a cult following with this poetic exploration of Langston Hughes and the Harlem Renaissance. During the past three decades he has made work largely, though not exclusively, for galleries and museums, using multi-screen installations to express fractured narratives exploring memory and desire.Julien's major film installations include Once Again . . . (Statues Never Die), 2022, commissioned by the Barnes Foundation in celebration of its centennial, an immersive five-screen installation exploring the relationship between Dr Albert C. Barnes, who was an early US collector and exhibitor of African material culture, and the famed philosopher and cultural critic Alain Locke, known as the ‘Father of the Harlem Renaissance'; Lessons of the Hour – Frederick Douglass, 2019, a meditation on the life, words, and actions of Frederick Douglass (1818–1895), the visionary African American abolitionist and freed slave, and on the issues of social justice that shaped his life's work; Lina Bo Bardi – A Marvellous Entanglement, 2019, reflecting on the iconic work and on the legacy of the visionary modernist architect and designer (1914–1992); PLAYTIME, 2014, which explores the dramatic and nuanced subject of financial capital; Ten Thousand Waves, 2010, exploring China's ancient past and rapidly transforming present through a series of interlocking narratives. Follow @IsaacJulienIsaac Julien's major retrospective opens in Bergamo at gresart671 on 10th April 2026 and he will also showing a single screen version of All That Changes You. Metamorphosis at The Cosmic House in London from 22nd April, learn more here. Special thanks to Victoria Miro gallery. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

April is National Poetry Month, so Mary and Rachel discuss a wide variety of poems written by poets from all walks of life. Check out what we talked about: "Beautiful Chaos: On Motherhood, Finding Yourself and Overwhelming Love" by Jessica Urlichs with readalike "Paper Flowers: Poetry on the Mother Wound" by Jessica Jocelyn. "Dream Boogie: Variation" by Langston Hughes with readalike "We Real Cool" by Gwendolyn Brooks. "Night Sky with Exit Wounds" and "On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous" by Ocean Vuong with readalikes "Bright Dead Things" by Ada Limón and "Crank" by Ellen Hopkins. "The Divine Comedy" including "Inferno," "Purgatory," and "Paradise" by Dante Alighieri with readalike "Paradise Lost" by John Milton. "Portrait of a Dog as an Older Guy" from "Cossacks and Bandits" by Katia Kapovich and "There are Birds Here" from "The Big Book of Exit Strategies" by Jamaal May. "In Memoriam A. H. H." by Alfred Lord Tennyson with readalike "Anacreon's Grave" by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Submit an original work of your own to the annual OCPL Poetry Contest and/or register for our Poetry Open Mic Night on May 29, 2026: oakcreeklibrary.org/events To access complete transcripts for all episodes of Not Your Mother's Library, please visit: oakcreeklibrary.org/podcast Check out books, movies, and other materials through the Milwaukee County Federated Library System: countycat.mcfls.org wplc.overdrive.com oakcreeklibrary.org

In this episode we take Maya Angelou's Still I Rise as inspiration and catalyst. We chat about writing as protest, appropriation, and the status of Maya Angelou as phenomenal woman.Writers discussed include Amanda Gorman, Langston Hughes, WS Merwin, Bob Dylan, Colston Whitehead and Lucy Hannah.Contributors are poet Mark Lewis, bookseller Lorna Lee and psychologist Philippa Davies. Music : Attribution Code"Spy Glass" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Why did Langston Hughes's translations of Mexican and Cuban stories go unpublished for nearly a century? A landmark book—the first complete publication of Langston Hughes's translations of thirty-three stories by eighteen Mexican and Cuban writers In late 1934, Langston Hughes, already established as a leading voice of literary Black America, traveled to Mexico City, where he stayed for more than five months and began translating short fiction by prominent Mexican and Cuban writers. These stories, as he wrote to a friend, explore “the revolutions and uprisings, sugar cane, Negroes, Indians, corrupt generals, [and] American imperialists,” and are “mostly all left stories, because practically all the writers down here are left these days.” But when Hughes proposed publishing the stories as a book, to be titled Troubled Lands: Stories of Mexico and Cuba as Translated by Langston Hughes (Princeton University Press, 2026), his agent discouraged him from further pursuing the project and it remained unpublished, until now, with only a handful of the translations making their way into contemporary magazines. This volume presents Hughes's translations of these stories together for the first time as he originally envisioned. Edited by Ricardo Wilson, the book also features an introduction and brief biographies of the included writers. Troubled Lands features thirty-three stories by eighteen writers, including Rafael Felipe Muñoz, Nellie Campobello, Lino Novás Calvo, Luis Felipe Rodríguez, Germán List Arzubide, Pablo de la Torriente-Brau, and Juan de la Cabada. The collection depicts Mexico in the wake of its revolution and Cuba in the years between the brutal regimes of Machado and Batista. Hughes was a noted translator of poetry, but his commitment to translating fiction is less well known. Troubled Lands provides a window into this important dimension of his work and illuminates his deep interest in Mexico and Cuba. Ricardo A. Wilson II is a creative writer and scholar. He is associate professor of English at Williams College and founder and executive director of The Outpost Foundation. Caleb Zakarin is CEO and Publisher of the New Books Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/african-american-studies

Why did Langston Hughes's translations of Mexican and Cuban stories go unpublished for nearly a century? A landmark book—the first complete publication of Langston Hughes's translations of thirty-three stories by eighteen Mexican and Cuban writers In late 1934, Langston Hughes, already established as a leading voice of literary Black America, traveled to Mexico City, where he stayed for more than five months and began translating short fiction by prominent Mexican and Cuban writers. These stories, as he wrote to a friend, explore “the revolutions and uprisings, sugar cane, Negroes, Indians, corrupt generals, [and] American imperialists,” and are “mostly all left stories, because practically all the writers down here are left these days.” But when Hughes proposed publishing the stories as a book, to be titled Troubled Lands: Stories of Mexico and Cuba as Translated by Langston Hughes (Princeton University Press, 2026), his agent discouraged him from further pursuing the project and it remained unpublished, until now, with only a handful of the translations making their way into contemporary magazines. This volume presents Hughes's translations of these stories together for the first time as he originally envisioned. Edited by Ricardo Wilson, the book also features an introduction and brief biographies of the included writers. Troubled Lands features thirty-three stories by eighteen writers, including Rafael Felipe Muñoz, Nellie Campobello, Lino Novás Calvo, Luis Felipe Rodríguez, Germán List Arzubide, Pablo de la Torriente-Brau, and Juan de la Cabada. The collection depicts Mexico in the wake of its revolution and Cuba in the years between the brutal regimes of Machado and Batista. Hughes was a noted translator of poetry, but his commitment to translating fiction is less well known. Troubled Lands provides a window into this important dimension of his work and illuminates his deep interest in Mexico and Cuba. Ricardo A. Wilson II is a creative writer and scholar. He is associate professor of English at Williams College and founder and executive director of The Outpost Foundation. Caleb Zakarin is CEO and Publisher of the New Books Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/latin-american-studies

Why did Langston Hughes's translations of Mexican and Cuban stories go unpublished for nearly a century? A landmark book—the first complete publication of Langston Hughes's translations of thirty-three stories by eighteen Mexican and Cuban writers In late 1934, Langston Hughes, already established as a leading voice of literary Black America, traveled to Mexico City, where he stayed for more than five months and began translating short fiction by prominent Mexican and Cuban writers. These stories, as he wrote to a friend, explore “the revolutions and uprisings, sugar cane, Negroes, Indians, corrupt generals, [and] American imperialists,” and are “mostly all left stories, because practically all the writers down here are left these days.” But when Hughes proposed publishing the stories as a book, to be titled Troubled Lands: Stories of Mexico and Cuba as Translated by Langston Hughes (Princeton University Press, 2026), his agent discouraged him from further pursuing the project and it remained unpublished, until now, with only a handful of the translations making their way into contemporary magazines. This volume presents Hughes's translations of these stories together for the first time as he originally envisioned. Edited by Ricardo Wilson, the book also features an introduction and brief biographies of the included writers. Troubled Lands features thirty-three stories by eighteen writers, including Rafael Felipe Muñoz, Nellie Campobello, Lino Novás Calvo, Luis Felipe Rodríguez, Germán List Arzubide, Pablo de la Torriente-Brau, and Juan de la Cabada. The collection depicts Mexico in the wake of its revolution and Cuba in the years between the brutal regimes of Machado and Batista. Hughes was a noted translator of poetry, but his commitment to translating fiction is less well known. Troubled Lands provides a window into this important dimension of his work and illuminates his deep interest in Mexico and Cuba. Ricardo A. Wilson II is a creative writer and scholar. He is associate professor of English at Williams College and founder and executive director of The Outpost Foundation. Caleb Zakarin is CEO and Publisher of the New Books Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literary-studies

Why did Langston Hughes's translations of Mexican and Cuban stories go unpublished for nearly a century? A landmark book—the first complete publication of Langston Hughes's translations of thirty-three stories by eighteen Mexican and Cuban writers In late 1934, Langston Hughes, already established as a leading voice of literary Black America, traveled to Mexico City, where he stayed for more than five months and began translating short fiction by prominent Mexican and Cuban writers. These stories, as he wrote to a friend, explore “the revolutions and uprisings, sugar cane, Negroes, Indians, corrupt generals, [and] American imperialists,” and are “mostly all left stories, because practically all the writers down here are left these days.” But when Hughes proposed publishing the stories as a book, to be titled Troubled Lands: Stories of Mexico and Cuba as Translated by Langston Hughes (Princeton University Press, 2026), his agent discouraged him from further pursuing the project and it remained unpublished, until now, with only a handful of the translations making their way into contemporary magazines. This volume presents Hughes's translations of these stories together for the first time as he originally envisioned. Edited by Ricardo Wilson, the book also features an introduction and brief biographies of the included writers. Troubled Lands features thirty-three stories by eighteen writers, including Rafael Felipe Muñoz, Nellie Campobello, Lino Novás Calvo, Luis Felipe Rodríguez, Germán List Arzubide, Pablo de la Torriente-Brau, and Juan de la Cabada. The collection depicts Mexico in the wake of its revolution and Cuba in the years between the brutal regimes of Machado and Batista. Hughes was a noted translator of poetry, but his commitment to translating fiction is less well known. Troubled Lands provides a window into this important dimension of his work and illuminates his deep interest in Mexico and Cuba. Ricardo A. Wilson II is a creative writer and scholar. He is associate professor of English at Williams College and founder and executive director of The Outpost Foundation. Caleb Zakarin is CEO and Publisher of the New Books Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/caribbean-studies

Why did Langston Hughes's translations of Mexican and Cuban stories go unpublished for nearly a century? A landmark book—the first complete publication of Langston Hughes's translations of thirty-three stories by eighteen Mexican and Cuban writers In late 1934, Langston Hughes, already established as a leading voice of literary Black America, traveled to Mexico City, where he stayed for more than five months and began translating short fiction by prominent Mexican and Cuban writers. These stories, as he wrote to a friend, explore “the revolutions and uprisings, sugar cane, Negroes, Indians, corrupt generals, [and] American imperialists,” and are “mostly all left stories, because practically all the writers down here are left these days.” But when Hughes proposed publishing the stories as a book, to be titled Troubled Lands: Stories of Mexico and Cuba as Translated by Langston Hughes (Princeton University Press, 2026), his agent discouraged him from further pursuing the project and it remained unpublished, until now, with only a handful of the translations making their way into contemporary magazines. This volume presents Hughes's translations of these stories together for the first time as he originally envisioned. Edited by Ricardo Wilson, the book also features an introduction and brief biographies of the included writers. Troubled Lands features thirty-three stories by eighteen writers, including Rafael Felipe Muñoz, Nellie Campobello, Lino Novás Calvo, Luis Felipe Rodríguez, Germán List Arzubide, Pablo de la Torriente-Brau, and Juan de la Cabada. The collection depicts Mexico in the wake of its revolution and Cuba in the years between the brutal regimes of Machado and Batista. Hughes was a noted translator of poetry, but his commitment to translating fiction is less well known. Troubled Lands provides a window into this important dimension of his work and illuminates his deep interest in Mexico and Cuba. Ricardo A. Wilson II is a creative writer and scholar. He is associate professor of English at Williams College and founder and executive director of The Outpost Foundation. Caleb Zakarin is CEO and Publisher of the New Books Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literature

Why did Langston Hughes's translations of Mexican and Cuban stories go unpublished for nearly a century? A landmark book—the first complete publication of Langston Hughes's translations of thirty-three stories by eighteen Mexican and Cuban writers In late 1934, Langston Hughes, already established as a leading voice of literary Black America, traveled to Mexico City, where he stayed for more than five months and began translating short fiction by prominent Mexican and Cuban writers. These stories, as he wrote to a friend, explore “the revolutions and uprisings, sugar cane, Negroes, Indians, corrupt generals, [and] American imperialists,” and are “mostly all left stories, because practically all the writers down here are left these days.” But when Hughes proposed publishing the stories as a book, to be titled Troubled Lands: Stories of Mexico and Cuba as Translated by Langston Hughes (Princeton University Press, 2026), his agent discouraged him from further pursuing the project and it remained unpublished, until now, with only a handful of the translations making their way into contemporary magazines. This volume presents Hughes's translations of these stories together for the first time as he originally envisioned. Edited by Ricardo Wilson, the book also features an introduction and brief biographies of the included writers. Troubled Lands features thirty-three stories by eighteen writers, including Rafael Felipe Muñoz, Nellie Campobello, Lino Novás Calvo, Luis Felipe Rodríguez, Germán List Arzubide, Pablo de la Torriente-Brau, and Juan de la Cabada. The collection depicts Mexico in the wake of its revolution and Cuba in the years between the brutal regimes of Machado and Batista. Hughes was a noted translator of poetry, but his commitment to translating fiction is less well known. Troubled Lands provides a window into this important dimension of his work and illuminates his deep interest in Mexico and Cuba. Ricardo A. Wilson II is a creative writer and scholar. He is associate professor of English at Williams College and founder and executive director of The Outpost Foundation. Caleb Zakarin is CEO and Publisher of the New Books Network.

Why did Langston Hughes's translations of Mexican and Cuban stories go unpublished for nearly a century? A landmark book—the first complete publication of Langston Hughes's translations of thirty-three stories by eighteen Mexican and Cuban writers In late 1934, Langston Hughes, already established as a leading voice of literary Black America, traveled to Mexico City, where he stayed for more than five months and began translating short fiction by prominent Mexican and Cuban writers. These stories, as he wrote to a friend, explore “the revolutions and uprisings, sugar cane, Negroes, Indians, corrupt generals, [and] American imperialists,” and are “mostly all left stories, because practically all the writers down here are left these days.” But when Hughes proposed publishing the stories as a book, to be titled Troubled Lands: Stories of Mexico and Cuba as Translated by Langston Hughes (Princeton University Press, 2026), his agent discouraged him from further pursuing the project and it remained unpublished, until now, with only a handful of the translations making their way into contemporary magazines. This volume presents Hughes's translations of these stories together for the first time as he originally envisioned. Edited by Ricardo Wilson, the book also features an introduction and brief biographies of the included writers. Troubled Lands features thirty-three stories by eighteen writers, including Rafael Felipe Muñoz, Nellie Campobello, Lino Novás Calvo, Luis Felipe Rodríguez, Germán List Arzubide, Pablo de la Torriente-Brau, and Juan de la Cabada. The collection depicts Mexico in the wake of its revolution and Cuba in the years between the brutal regimes of Machado and Batista. Hughes was a noted translator of poetry, but his commitment to translating fiction is less well known. Troubled Lands provides a window into this important dimension of his work and illuminates his deep interest in Mexico and Cuba. Ricardo A. Wilson II is a creative writer and scholar. He is associate professor of English at Williams College and founder and executive director of The Outpost Foundation. Caleb Zakarin is CEO and Publisher of the New Books Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/language

Why did Langston Hughes's translations of Mexican and Cuban stories go unpublished for nearly a century? A landmark book—the first complete publication of Langston Hughes's translations of thirty-three stories by eighteen Mexican and Cuban writers In late 1934, Langston Hughes, already established as a leading voice of literary Black America, traveled to Mexico City, where he stayed for more than five months and began translating short fiction by prominent Mexican and Cuban writers. These stories, as he wrote to a friend, explore “the revolutions and uprisings, sugar cane, Negroes, Indians, corrupt generals, [and] American imperialists,” and are “mostly all left stories, because practically all the writers down here are left these days.” But when Hughes proposed publishing the stories as a book, to be titled Troubled Lands: Stories of Mexico and Cuba as Translated by Langston Hughes (Princeton University Press, 2026), his agent discouraged him from further pursuing the project and it remained unpublished, until now, with only a handful of the translations making their way into contemporary magazines. This volume presents Hughes's translations of these stories together for the first time as he originally envisioned. Edited by Ricardo Wilson, the book also features an introduction and brief biographies of the included writers. Troubled Lands features thirty-three stories by eighteen writers, including Rafael Felipe Muñoz, Nellie Campobello, Lino Novás Calvo, Luis Felipe Rodríguez, Germán List Arzubide, Pablo de la Torriente-Brau, and Juan de la Cabada. The collection depicts Mexico in the wake of its revolution and Cuba in the years between the brutal regimes of Machado and Batista. Hughes was a noted translator of poetry, but his commitment to translating fiction is less well known. Troubled Lands provides a window into this important dimension of his work and illuminates his deep interest in Mexico and Cuba. Ricardo A. Wilson II is a creative writer and scholar. He is associate professor of English at Williams College and founder and executive director of The Outpost Foundation. Caleb Zakarin is CEO and Publisher of the New Books Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why did Langston Hughes's translations of Mexican and Cuban stories go unpublished for nearly a century? A landmark book—the first complete publication of Langston Hughes's translations of thirty-three stories by eighteen Mexican and Cuban writers In late 1934, Langston Hughes, already established as a leading voice of literary Black America, traveled to Mexico City, where he stayed for more than five months and began translating short fiction by prominent Mexican and Cuban writers. These stories, as he wrote to a friend, explore “the revolutions and uprisings, sugar cane, Negroes, Indians, corrupt generals, [and] American imperialists,” and are “mostly all left stories, because practically all the writers down here are left these days.” But when Hughes proposed publishing the stories as a book, to be titled Troubled Lands: Stories of Mexico and Cuba as Translated by Langston Hughes (Princeton University Press, 2026), his agent discouraged him from further pursuing the project and it remained unpublished, until now, with only a handful of the translations making their way into contemporary magazines. This volume presents Hughes's translations of these stories together for the first time as he originally envisioned. Edited by Ricardo Wilson, the book also features an introduction and brief biographies of the included writers. Troubled Lands features thirty-three stories by eighteen writers, including Rafael Felipe Muñoz, Nellie Campobello, Lino Novás Calvo, Luis Felipe Rodríguez, Germán List Arzubide, Pablo de la Torriente-Brau, and Juan de la Cabada. The collection depicts Mexico in the wake of its revolution and Cuba in the years between the brutal regimes of Machado and Batista. Hughes was a noted translator of poetry, but his commitment to translating fiction is less well known. Troubled Lands provides a window into this important dimension of his work and illuminates his deep interest in Mexico and Cuba. Ricardo A. Wilson II is a creative writer and scholar. He is associate professor of English at Williams College and founder and executive director of The Outpost Foundation. Caleb Zakarin is CEO and Publisher of the New Books Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/book-of-the-day

4. Guest Author: James Shapiro James Shapiro explores the complex reactions to the "Voodoo Macbeth," noting subtle racism in white critical reviews. Black intellectuals like Langston Hughes remained ambivalent, questioning if the project truly told Black stories or merely placed Black performers in "white" roles. The focus then shifts to Sinclair Lewis's *It Can't Happen Here*. Although MGM initially planned a film adaptation, they scrapped it to avoid losing the German market and to appease censors. Hallie Flanagan seized the opportunity, convincing Lewis to adapt the story for a simultaneous theatrical opening in twenty cities. (4)1928

Today we have Joseph Illidge back on the pod. Mr. Illidge is someone I hold in high regard as one of the many architects that gave us Milestone Comics with characters such as Hardware, Icon, Rocket, The Blood Syndicate, and Static. The New History of the DC Universe was release in late February, but around late January Mr. Illidge put on a 100k unit selling challenge to embolden the many fans of Milestone to come and show support for a book that some may deem the powers that be may be against. Joe, breaks down the miseducation of comic book fans in real time and further discussed the meaning of Final Order Cutoff's that most comic fans barely know about. The objective was to create demand because a company like DC/Warner Bros. sees profit, there becomes a reason to gain from it. Meaning make more books! It was announced recently that a second printing for the book is in pre order now with a cover of Static by Dan Mora. The story itself serves as an allegory throughly struck by the books opening line a quote from Langston Hughes poem "Harlem". What is a dream deferred? Beacon is sent into the past to correct a nexus event that under government force, suppressed Dakota's Heroes so they had no choice but to never use their powers again. Mr. Illidge focuses on fans reluctance to support a book and yet wonder why they haven't seen those heroes for months or years on end. The fans have been misled in not knowing their own power of doing enough to keep their favorite stories alive. As the story shows us, its a story of survival not if you survive, but how you survive.Written by Joseph Illidge, Morgan Hampton, Stephanie Williams, and Nikolas Draper-IveyArtwork by Edwin Galmon, Fico Ossio, Carlo Pagulayan, and Valenine DeLandro

On the eve of World War II, a handsome young scholar arrived in Paris. The queer, Black son of a housecleaner, who had nevertheless been decorated in the halls of Harvard and Columbia, Reed Peggram flirted with Leonard Bernstein, sat for portraits by famous artists, charmed minor royalty and became like a little brother to famed researcher and writer Jan Gay. Finally in Europe and on the same prestigious scholarship as literary luminaries Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes before him, he ignored the increasingly alarmed calls to return home to a repressive, segregated America and a constrained life as a second class citizen. And as tensions grew and gas masks were distributed in the City of Lights, Reed turned instead to the new life he'd made: with Arne, a tall and dashing Danish scholar with whom he had formed a deep bond.Award-winning historian Ethelene Whitmire unearthed a trove of Reed's letters when she met one of his descendants at a lecture, awed that she'd heard so little of this charismatic man and his fascinating true story of love and war. In The Remarkable Life of Reed Peggram (Viking, 2026), she introduces us to an unforgettable character who fled from country to country as fighting advanced, was captured by Nazis and outwitted them in a daring escape, and risked it all in a personal fight for a life of love, freedom, beauty and dignity in a world set against him. Ethelene Whitmire is a respected historian and professor for the Department of African American Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Her research has won awards and funding from the Ford Foundation, the Fulbright Program, and the American Library Association, and she has been invited to writers residencies including Yaddo, UCross, Hedgebrook, and Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. Reighan Gillam is Associate Professor in the Department of Latin American, Latino, and Caribbean Studies at Dartmouth College. Her research examines the ways in which Afro-Brazilian media producers foment anti-racist visual politics through their image creation. She is the author of Visualizing Black Lives: Ownership and Control in Afro-Brazilian Media (University of Illinois Press). She is currently working on the book Diasporic Connections: How Afro-Brazilians Use African American Culture to Challenge Racial Exceptionalism.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/african-american-studies

On the eve of World War II, a handsome young scholar arrived in Paris. The queer, Black son of a housecleaner, who had nevertheless been decorated in the halls of Harvard and Columbia, Reed Peggram flirted with Leonard Bernstein, sat for portraits by famous artists, charmed minor royalty and became like a little brother to famed researcher and writer Jan Gay. Finally in Europe and on the same prestigious scholarship as literary luminaries Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes before him, he ignored the increasingly alarmed calls to return home to a repressive, segregated America and a constrained life as a second class citizen. And as tensions grew and gas masks were distributed in the City of Lights, Reed turned instead to the new life he'd made: with Arne, a tall and dashing Danish scholar with whom he had formed a deep bond.Award-winning historian Ethelene Whitmire unearthed a trove of Reed's letters when she met one of his descendants at a lecture, awed that she'd heard so little of this charismatic man and his fascinating true story of love and war. In The Remarkable Life of Reed Peggram (Viking, 2026), she introduces us to an unforgettable character who fled from country to country as fighting advanced, was captured by Nazis and outwitted them in a daring escape, and risked it all in a personal fight for a life of love, freedom, beauty and dignity in a world set against him. Ethelene Whitmire is a respected historian and professor for the Department of African American Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Her research has won awards and funding from the Ford Foundation, the Fulbright Program, and the American Library Association, and she has been invited to writers residencies including Yaddo, UCross, Hedgebrook, and Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. Reighan Gillam is Associate Professor in the Department of Latin American, Latino, and Caribbean Studies at Dartmouth College. Her research examines the ways in which Afro-Brazilian media producers foment anti-racist visual politics through their image creation. She is the author of Visualizing Black Lives: Ownership and Control in Afro-Brazilian Media (University of Illinois Press). She is currently working on the book Diasporic Connections: How Afro-Brazilians Use African American Culture to Challenge Racial Exceptionalism.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

On the eve of World War II, a handsome young scholar arrived in Paris. The queer, Black son of a housecleaner, who had nevertheless been decorated in the halls of Harvard and Columbia, Reed Peggram flirted with Leonard Bernstein, sat for portraits by famous artists, charmed minor royalty and became like a little brother to famed researcher and writer Jan Gay. Finally in Europe and on the same prestigious scholarship as literary luminaries Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes before him, he ignored the increasingly alarmed calls to return home to a repressive, segregated America and a constrained life as a second class citizen. And as tensions grew and gas masks were distributed in the City of Lights, Reed turned instead to the new life he'd made: with Arne, a tall and dashing Danish scholar with whom he had formed a deep bond.Award-winning historian Ethelene Whitmire unearthed a trove of Reed's letters when she met one of his descendants at a lecture, awed that she'd heard so little of this charismatic man and his fascinating true story of love and war. In The Remarkable Life of Reed Peggram (Viking, 2026), she introduces us to an unforgettable character who fled from country to country as fighting advanced, was captured by Nazis and outwitted them in a daring escape, and risked it all in a personal fight for a life of love, freedom, beauty and dignity in a world set against him. Ethelene Whitmire is a respected historian and professor for the Department of African American Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Her research has won awards and funding from the Ford Foundation, the Fulbright Program, and the American Library Association, and she has been invited to writers residencies including Yaddo, UCross, Hedgebrook, and Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. Reighan Gillam is Associate Professor in the Department of Latin American, Latino, and Caribbean Studies at Dartmouth College. Her research examines the ways in which Afro-Brazilian media producers foment anti-racist visual politics through their image creation. She is the author of Visualizing Black Lives: Ownership and Control in Afro-Brazilian Media (University of Illinois Press). She is currently working on the book Diasporic Connections: How Afro-Brazilians Use African American Culture to Challenge Racial Exceptionalism.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history

On the eve of World War II, a handsome young scholar arrived in Paris. The queer, Black son of a housecleaner, who had nevertheless been decorated in the halls of Harvard and Columbia, Reed Peggram flirted with Leonard Bernstein, sat for portraits by famous artists, charmed minor royalty and became like a little brother to famed researcher and writer Jan Gay. Finally in Europe and on the same prestigious scholarship as literary luminaries Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes before him, he ignored the increasingly alarmed calls to return home to a repressive, segregated America and a constrained life as a second class citizen. And as tensions grew and gas masks were distributed in the City of Lights, Reed turned instead to the new life he'd made: with Arne, a tall and dashing Danish scholar with whom he had formed a deep bond.Award-winning historian Ethelene Whitmire unearthed a trove of Reed's letters when she met one of his descendants at a lecture, awed that she'd heard so little of this charismatic man and his fascinating true story of love and war. In The Remarkable Life of Reed Peggram (Viking, 2026), she introduces us to an unforgettable character who fled from country to country as fighting advanced, was captured by Nazis and outwitted them in a daring escape, and risked it all in a personal fight for a life of love, freedom, beauty and dignity in a world set against him. Ethelene Whitmire is a respected historian and professor for the Department of African American Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Her research has won awards and funding from the Ford Foundation, the Fulbright Program, and the American Library Association, and she has been invited to writers residencies including Yaddo, UCross, Hedgebrook, and Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. Reighan Gillam is Associate Professor in the Department of Latin American, Latino, and Caribbean Studies at Dartmouth College. Her research examines the ways in which Afro-Brazilian media producers foment anti-racist visual politics through their image creation. She is the author of Visualizing Black Lives: Ownership and Control in Afro-Brazilian Media (University of Illinois Press). She is currently working on the book Diasporic Connections: How Afro-Brazilians Use African American Culture to Challenge Racial Exceptionalism.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/biography

On the eve of World War II, a handsome young scholar arrived in Paris. The queer, Black son of a housecleaner, who had nevertheless been decorated in the halls of Harvard and Columbia, Reed Peggram flirted with Leonard Bernstein, sat for portraits by famous artists, charmed minor royalty and became like a little brother to famed researcher and writer Jan Gay. Finally in Europe and on the same prestigious scholarship as literary luminaries Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes before him, he ignored the increasingly alarmed calls to return home to a repressive, segregated America and a constrained life as a second class citizen. And as tensions grew and gas masks were distributed in the City of Lights, Reed turned instead to the new life he'd made: with Arne, a tall and dashing Danish scholar with whom he had formed a deep bond.Award-winning historian Ethelene Whitmire unearthed a trove of Reed's letters when she met one of his descendants at a lecture, awed that she'd heard so little of this charismatic man and his fascinating true story of love and war. In The Remarkable Life of Reed Peggram (Viking, 2026), she introduces us to an unforgettable character who fled from country to country as fighting advanced, was captured by Nazis and outwitted them in a daring escape, and risked it all in a personal fight for a life of love, freedom, beauty and dignity in a world set against him. Ethelene Whitmire is a respected historian and professor for the Department of African American Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Her research has won awards and funding from the Ford Foundation, the Fulbright Program, and the American Library Association, and she has been invited to writers residencies including Yaddo, UCross, Hedgebrook, and Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. Reighan Gillam is Associate Professor in the Department of Latin American, Latino, and Caribbean Studies at Dartmouth College. Her research examines the ways in which Afro-Brazilian media producers foment anti-racist visual politics through their image creation. She is the author of Visualizing Black Lives: Ownership and Control in Afro-Brazilian Media (University of Illinois Press). She is currently working on the book Diasporic Connections: How Afro-Brazilians Use African American Culture to Challenge Racial Exceptionalism.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/american-studies

Jo and Charlotte turn their attention to Nobel Laureate Kenzaburo Oe's mindblowing A Personal Matter and Troubled Lands: Stories of Mexico and Cuba, a collection translated by Langston Hughes, before they're joined by Gothic-literature-loving writer-of-all-modes Nicholas Russell, who puts the spotlight on Algernon Blackwood's unsettling preoccupation with mysterious forces in the natural world. Nicholas Russell is a writer and critic from Las Vegas. His work has been featured in McSweeney's, The Baffler, Conjunctions, The Nation, and Orion, among other publications. He's a long-time bookseller, a contributing writer at Defector, and managing editor at Still Alive magazine. His debut novel Observer will be published by Ecco at HarperCollins on September 15th. Please consider supporting our work on Patreon, where you can access additional materials and send us your guest and book coverage requests! Books discussed on all seasons of the podcast are aggregated here on Bookshop. Questions and comments can be directed to readingwriterspod at gmail dot com. Outro music by Marty Sulkow and Joe Valle.Charlotte Shane's most recent book is An Honest Woman. Her essay newsletter, Meant For You, can be subscribed to or read online for free, and her social media handle is @charoshane.  Jo Livingstone is a writer who teaches at Pratt Institute. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

About the Lecture: This talk examines Soviet engagement with Black American literature by tracing unexpected continuities between Imperial Russian and Soviet approaches to race and cultural diplomacy. Through close analysis of literary criticism published in Soviet journals from the 1930s through the 1960s, particularly reviews of works by Langston Hughes, Richard Wright, James Baldwin, and W.E.B. Du Bois in "International Literature" (Internatsional'naia literatura) and "Foreign Literature" (Inostrannaia literatura), this lecture demonstrates how Soviet critics developed formulaic reading practices that served remarkably similar functions to Tsarist-era engagement with American racial issues and western colonialism. Both regimes used American racism as a mirror to reflect their own moral superiority and projected paternalistic leadership over distant oppressed peoples, from Imperial Russia's relationship with Ethiopia in the nineteenth century to the Soviet Union's post-war interest in a rapidly decolonizing Africa. The talk reveals how literary criticism functioned as ideological instruction in the Soviet Union, with critics constructing a carefully curated canon of acceptable Black literature that taught readers how to “properly understand” Black American life, reinforcing the state's anti-racist credentials while serving Cold War propaganda goals. By attending to these continuities rather than taking revolutionary rhetoric at face value, the lecture offers new insights into Soviet cultural politics and the enduring patterns of Russian soft-power projection that remain relevant to understanding contemporary Russian foreign policy. About the Speaker: Jesse Kruschke is a PhD Candidate and Teaching Assistant in the Department of German, Nordic, and Slavic+ at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her research focuses on the Soviet reception of twentieth-century American literature, with particular attention to how literary journals published, translated, and framed the work of leftist Black

Jo and Charlotte turn their attention to Nobel Laureate Kenzaburo Oe's mindblowing A Personal Matter and Troubled Lands: Stories of Mexico and Cuba, a collection translated by Langston Hughes, before they're joined by Gothic-literature-loving writer-of-all-modes Nicholas Russell, who puts the spotlight on Algernon Blackwood's unsettling preoccupation with mysterious forces in the natural world. Nicholas Russell is a writer and critic from Las Vegas. His work has been featured inMcSweeney's, The Baffler, Conjunctions, The Nation, and Orion, among other publications. He's a long time bookseller, a contributing writer at Defector, and managing editor at Still Alive magazine. His debut novel Observer will be published by Ecco at HarperCollins on September 15th. Please consider supporting our work on Patreon, where you can access additional materials and send us your guest and book coverage requests! Books discussed on all seasons of the podcast are aggregated here on Bookshop. Questions and comments can be directed to readingwriterspod at gmail dot com. Outro music by Marty Sulkow and Joe Valle.Charlotte Shane's most recent book is An Honest Woman. Her essay newsletter, Meant For You, can be subscribed to or read online for free, and her social media handle is @charoshane. Jo Livingstone is a writer who teaches at Pratt Institute. To support the show, navigate to https://www.patreon.com/ReadingWriters Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1:  In this enlightening episode of Nichel Anderson Short Stories And Beyond, host Nichel Anderson explores the origins and impact of the Harlem Renaissance, the cultural movement that reshaped art, literature, and identity in America. Nichel takes listeners on a journey through the early years of Dr. W.E.B. Du Bois, his groundbreaking concept of the Talented Tenth, and his pivotal role in founding the NAACP's magazine, The Crisis — a publication that became the voice of a generation. She also highlights the contributions of the Opportunity Magazine Organization and other key figures who worked together to formalize what would later be named by Langston Hughes as The Harlem Renaissance. This episode serves as a quick yet powerful study of how collaboration, intellect, and artistry converged to create one of the most extraordinary cultural movements in history. As part of Power of Reading Week, Nichel connects the legacy of the Harlem Renaissance to today's creative revolution — the Direct‑to‑Consumer (DTC) movement. She draws parallels between Du Bois's prophetic essay “Of the Wings of Atlanta” and the modern shift toward global independence and creative freedom. The torch that once burned in Harlem now shines in Atlanta and beyond, symbolizing a new renaissance of expression, empowerment, and innovation.

Power of Reading Week – The Harlem Renaissance and the New Age of Creativity Host Nichel Anderson dives deep into the history and brilliance of the Harlem Renaissance, tracing its roots through the vision of Dr. W.E.B. Du Bois and the pioneering artists, writers, and thinkers who defined an era. This episode examines the early formation of the Talented Tenth, the creation of the NAACP's The Crisis magazine, and the collaborative efforts of the Opportunity Magazine Organization that helped shape the cultural awakening known as The Harlem Renaissance — a term later coined by Langston Hughes. Nichel celebrates this period as a cornerstone of Power of Reading Week, emphasizing how books, art, and music became tools of liberation and self‑expression. Through her insightful commentary, she reveals how Du Bois's essay “Of the Wings of Atlanta” foreshadowed a future where Atlanta would carry the creative torch once held by Harlem. Fast‑forward to today, Nichel connects that prophecy to the rise of the DTC (Direct‑to‑Consumer) movement — a modern renaissance that transcends boundaries, empowering creators worldwide to share their voices freely. This episode is both a tribute to the past and a celebration of the present, reminding listeners that the spirit of the Harlem Renaissance lives on in every act of independent creativity and cultural innovation.

Against a backdrop of violent anti-semitic and anti-indigenous attacks and the relaxation of police restraints in response to them, Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras organizers are faced with twin controversies: the withdrawal of the Jewish group Dayenu from the event and demands for the expulsion of the New South Wales Police contingent. Veteran activist Ken Davis explains the situation (Barry McKay reports). New Yorkers defy the Trump administration and replace the rainbow flag the government “disappeared” from the Stonewall National Monument (Paul DeRienzo of WBAI reports). A Black History Month Rainbow Rewind honors Langston Hughes (produced by Sheri Lunn and Brian DeShazor). And in NewWrap: the European Parliament approves a resolution specifically calling for “the full recognition of trans women as women,” HIV-positive enlistees are once again banned from serving in the U.S. military, intersex children are now protected from undergoing unnecessary medical procedures without their informed consent in the Australian state of Victoria, Kansans can now sue if they're upset after sharing a bathroom with a trans person, U.S. Olympic women's ice hockey team captain Hilary Knight leads her team to gold and plans to lead speed skater Brittany Bowe to the altar, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Nico Raquel and Ret (produced by Brian DeShazor). All this on the February 23, 2026 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at thiswayout.org/donate/.

Date February 22, 2026 Synopsis In this sermon, we explore the tension between our modern obsession with certainty and the ancient invitation to walk by faith. Using the story of Jesus in the wilderness, we see how the tempter's demand for proof is a trap designed to replace intimacy with control. True reenchantment isn't found in five-star guarantees or "crystal stairs," but in the dark corners where we finally stop demanding data and start reaching for a hand to hold. If you've been waiting for a sign before you're willing to believe, this is an invitation to loosen your grip, embrace the mystery, and find the new life that only begins in the dark. References Scripture: Matthew 4:1-11 About The Local Church For more information about The Local Church, visit our website. Feedback? Questions? Comments? We'd love to hear it. Email Brent at brent@thelocalchurchpbo.org. To invest in what God's doing through The Local Church and help support these podcasting efforts and this movement of God's love, give online here.

Check out our upcoming tour dates in February at https://www.drunkblackhistory.com/upcoming-shows! We'll be hosting shows in LA, Boston, Austin, Brooklyn, and more!   Don't forget to follow us on Instagram at officialdrunkblackhistory!Host Brandon (@frodo_blackins) is joined by actor, performer, and social media star TravQue (@travque) to discuss the legacy of Langston Hughes, his incredible work, and how he influences them as Black creatives. DBH Links:- https://www.instagram.com/officialdrunkblackhistory- https://www.drunkblackhistory.com/ - https://www.youtube.com/@drunkblackhistory- https://www.teepublic.com/t-shirt/16706941-dbh-logoGuest:TravQueHosts:Brandon Collins"Drunk Black History" is a production of Casa de Collins LLC.

Send a textIn the 20th century, segregation in Colorado prevented many Black artists and families from staying at hotels, eating in restaurants and finding respite. A little known plot of land in Gilpin County called Lincoln Hills was the only place many African Americans could go for this.At the time, Lincoln Hills was the only leisure destination west of the Mississippi owned by and made for Black Americans. Artists like Duke Ellington, Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston spent time communing and creating here to get away from segregation and find peace in the Colorado Mountains.For Black History month, Mountain-Ear reporter Mindy Leary is writing a series of profiles covering the time these artists spent at the Gilpin County refuge. Today, she joins us on the podcast to tell us about Gilpin's forgotten Black History.AlsoAsbestos testing to finally begin at the Caribou Village Shopping Center fire wreckageNed BOT pursues $1 million in funding for local improvementsVery Nice Brewing Gilpin hosts annual crawfish boilRead the first story in Mindy's Lincoln Hills series about Langston Hughes here.Her Feb. 19 piece will feature jazz artist Duke Ellington, followed by a feature on actress and activist Lena Horne on Feb. 26. Support the showThank you for listening to The Mountain-Ear Podcast, featuring news and culture from peak to peak! Additional pages are linked below.If you want to be involved in the podcast or paper, contact: Barbara Hardt, our editor-in-chef, at info@themountainear.com Tyler Hickman, podcast host, at tyler@themountainear.com Jamie Lammers, podcast host, at media@themountainear.com General inquiries: frontdesk@themountainear.com Head to our website for all of the latest news. Subscribe online and use the coupon code PODCAST for a 10% discount for all new subscribers. Submit local events to promote them in the paper and on our website. Find us on Facebook @mtnear and Instagram @mtn.ear Listen and watch on YouTube today. Share this podcast by scrolling to the bottom of our website home page or by heading to our main hub on Buzzsprout.Thank you for listening!

Between the 1930s and '50s, Chicago was a hub for Black writers, poets and creatives – an era known as the Chicago Black Renaissance. A number of great literary, music and art names came out of Chicago during this renaissance – including Gwendolyn Brooks, Richard Wright, Margaret Walker, Nat King Cole, Langston Hughes and many more. In the Loop dives into Chicago's poetry scene then and now, with Chicago Public Library's division chief of Archives and Special Collections Chianta Dorsey, Chicago's first Poet Laureate avery r. young and Sudanese-American poet and archivist Israa Abbas. For a full archive of In the Loop interviews, head over to wbez.org/intheloop.

A 1963 conversation with one of the queer pillars of the Harlem Renaissance features Langston Hughes reading his short story, “Thank You, Ma'am” (interviewed by Eve Corey, produced by Brian DeShazor). Alice Walker's birthday and notable LGBTQ February events are celebrated in the “Rainbow Rewind.” And in NewsWrap: the first case against a gay man for violating Uganda's so-called “Kill the Gays” law is dismissed after the damage has already been done, transgender female athletes receiving hormone therapy have no physical advantage over their cisgender counterparts according to new research, fewer transgender people were murdered around the world between October 2024 and September 2025 with the numbers still alarming, a Christian teacher is fighting a losing battle against the Montgomery County Maryland Public School District's policy on using the chosen names and pronouns of her trans and nonbinary students, a record number of proud LGBTQ athletes are competing in the 2026 Winter Olympics, thousands hit the streets of Melbourne on February 1st for the 31st annual Midsumma Pride March, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Michael Taylor Gray and Tanya Kane-Parry (produced by Brian DeShazor). All this on the February 9, 2026 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at thiswayout.org/donate/.

The Harlem Renaissance was a vibrant 1920s-1930s Black cultural movement centered in Harlem, a hub for African American creativity, literature (Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston), music (jazz, blues), and art (Aaron Douglas), fueled by the Great Migration and a desire to redefine Black identity that forged a new sense of Black Pride. In this program, we hear less well known artists such as James (“Big Jim”) Reese Europe who led an orchestra of 120 musicians. We also hear iconic songs of the era including Fats Waller's “Ain't Misbehavin'”, Mamie Smith's massive 1920 hit “Crazy Blues,” Cab Colloway's “St. James Infirmary” and more. Along the way, we'll enjoy the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra featuring Louis Armstrong on trumpet and vocals and Coleman Hawkins on sax, Ethel Waters, James P. Johnson, and Willie the Lion Smith. Harlem also drew the top Cuban orchestras who came to New York by steamship to record, calyso singers, and Haitian vodou music and theater. Harlem was famous for its rent parties and a wide open attitude to defying Prohibition where revelers danced to the shimmy, the black bottom, and the Charleston from down south. Relive the glory! APWW #226 Produced by Ned Sublette

An anti-fascist spy handed American officials evidence of murderous intent from a Nazi planning server — and they declined to act.About the GuestChristopher Mathias is a journalist covering the far right, formerly a senior reporter at HuffPost, with work appearing in The Guardian, The Nation, MSNBC, Zeteo, and WNYC. His reporting has helped unmask white supremacist cops, soldiers, teachers, and politicians, and he was a Deadline Awards finalist for feature writing. He is originally from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania and lives in New York. His new book, To Catch a Fascist: The Fight to Expose the Radical Right (Atria Books), is out now.About the EpisodeDays after Jonathan Rauch's influential Atlantic essay announced he'd moved from fascism skeptic to fascism believer, Christopher Mathias joins the show to discuss his new book — a deeply reported investigation into the decentralized network of anti-fascist activists who infiltrate, monitor, and expose neo-Nazis and white supremacists operating in positions of power across America.The conversation quickly moves beyond whether Trump is a fascist to the harder questions his book raises: Who gets to decide who is exposed? What rights to privacy do members of extremist groups retain? Is unmasking community self-defense or vigilantism? And does the same logic that justifies exposing a neo-Nazi EMT extend to the tens of thousands of ICE agents now conducting raids on American streets?Timeline00:00 Introduction Jonathan Rauch's Atlantic essay and the renewed fascism debate01:10 Meet Christopher Mathias Introducing the book and the journalist behind it01:45 The Greenville Moment When Mathias first used “fascist” in a headline after watching Trump whip a crowd into chanting “Send her back”02:40 Defining the F-Word Fascism as a right-wing politics of domination; Langston Hughes recognizing it in the 1930s before the word arrived04:15 The Hard Question If MAGA is a fascist movement, are the 70-plus million who voted for Trump fascists too?05:55 The Worst of the Worst Why the book targets explicit neo-Nazis in positions of power, not ordinary Trump supporters08:15 Who Decides? Privacy, accountability, and whether everyone at Charlottesville deserves exposure10:45 Antifascist Amnesty Leave the movement and we leave you alone; return and we publish12:30 The Equivalence Trap Why Mathias rejects the idea that this is just radicals exposing radicals14:05 From Neo-Nazis to ICE How anti-fascist tactics are now used to identify masked federal agents17:15 Where Does It End? Drawing lines between violent enforcement and bureaucratic participation19:40 “Just Following Orders” Why some orders shouldn't be followed, and the occupation of Minneapolis21:30 The Battle Over Shame Competing databases, surveillance, and what America should be ashamed of23:15 The Spy Who Warned Charlottesville An infiltrator uncovers plans for violence that officials ignore26:00 Minneapolis as Model “We protect us” and a blueprint for grassroots resistance28:45 The Underground War Intelligence, counterintelligence, and the personal cost of exposure30:30 Closing Fascism as a snake eating its own tail and the urgent task of limiting the damageLinks & ReferencesMentioned in this episode:Jonathan Rauch, “Yes, It's Fascism” — The Atlantic (January 2026)To Catch a Fascist: The Fight to Expose the Radical Right by Christopher Mathias (Atria Books, February 2026)Christopher Mathias reporting archiveFollow Christopher Mathias: BlueSky | XAbout Keen On America Nobody asks more impertinent questions than the Anglo-American writer, filmmaker and Silicon Valley entrepreneur Andrew Keen. In Keen On America , Andrew brings his sharp Transatlantic wit to the forces reshaping the United States — hosting daily interviews with leading thinkersand writers about American history, politics, technology, culture, and business. With nearly 2,800 episodes since the show launched on TechCrunch in 2010, Keen On America is the most prolific intellectual interview show in the history of podcasting.Website | Substack | YouTubeWebsite | Substack | YouTube

In this sermon on Nehemiah 4:1–14, When Hope Meets Resistance, we reflect on the reality that faithful obedience does not guarantee ease. Drawing on Scripture, prayer, and the wisdom of voices like Langston Hughes and Archbishop Óscar Romero, this message explores how hope is sustained through resistance, how prayer becomes a form of faithful action, and how God calls communities to keep building—one stone, one prayer, one faithful step at a time.

Please Support Breaking Form!Review the show on Apple Podcasts here.Aaron's STOP LYING is available from the Pitt Poetry Series. And BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE is available from Bridwell Press. James's ROMANTIC COMEDY is available from Four Way Books. Show Notes:Read the London Review of Books praising Aracelis Girmay's volume, How to Carry Water: Selected Poems by Lucille Clifton. Watch Girmay read Clifton's poem "praise song."Learn more about Lucille Clifton here, here, and here. Explore more about The Clifton House, and learn more about Clifton's life in Baltimore. Watch Debby Boone sing her 1977 hit, "You Light Up My Life" Listen to Deborah Ann Gibson sing "On My Own" from Les Misérables. Here is the trailer for Boxing Helena, directed by Jennifer Lynch.Read more about the friendship between Toni Morrison and James Baldwin.For more about Clifton's children's book series, Everett Anderson, read here.Here is a partial list of the poems we read and discuss on the show:"my friends""a poem written for many moynihans""5/23/67 RIP" (for Langston Hughes)"alabama 9/15/63" (which appeared in a 1999 special folio of Callalo)"jasper Texas 1998" in Ploughshares Issue #78 Spring 1999https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/49491/jasper-texas-1998"If I should (to clark kent)""further note to clark""hag riding""to my last period" 

Recorded by Academy of American Poets staff for Poem-a-Day, a series produced by the Academy of American Poets. Published on February 1, 2026. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.poets.org⁠

Join us as we bring two nationally renowned Black poets conversation with a new generation of Black poets. This episode features former Virginia Poet Laureate and Old Dominion University poetry professor Tim Seibles talking with rising poetry star Ariana Benson about alien life, good grammar, and the dreams of Langston Hughes.  Later in the show: Poets Elizabeth Alexander and Nicole Sealey discuss the treasures of archives, the work of a generation, and the resonant truth you feel in your bones. Former Yale professor Elizabeth Alexander is President of the Mellon Foundation and the author of the New York Times best selling memoir, The Light of the World. Alexander and Tim Seibles are Furious Flower Poetry Lifetime Achievement honorees.

In this Martin Luther King, Jr. Day episode of The Learning Curve, co-hosts U-Ark Prof. Albert Cheng and Alisha Searcy of the Center for Public Schools speak with Dr. Lerone Martin, Martin Luther King, Jr. Centennial Professor at Stanford University, and Dr. Jason Miller, Distinguished Professor of English at North Carolina State University. They explore […]

In this Martin Luther King, Jr. Day episode of The Learning Curve, co-hosts U-Ark Prof. Albert Cheng and Alisha Searcy of the Center for Public Schools speak with Dr. Lerone Martin, Martin Luther King, Jr. Centennial Professor at Stanford University, and Dr. Jason Miller, Distinguished Professor of English at North Carolina State University. They explore the religious, literary, and historical foundations of MLK's thought and rhetoric, highlighting his vision of saving the soul of America and promoting human dignity. Dr. Martin discusses MLK's early spiritual leadership in Montgomery, AL, the influence of the Old Testament prophets, and the role of largely female-led grassroots activism in the 1955–56 Bus Boycott. Dr. Miller examines Langston Hughes's poetry, including “Harlem (A Dream Deferred)” and “Mississippi –1955,” and how it shaped King's sermons, speeches, and approach to civil rights leadership. Their conversation also covers key moments in King's career, including co-founding of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), the Freedom Rides, the 1963 March on Washington, and his Nobel Peace Prize. In closing, Dr. Miller reads a passage from his book, Origins of the Dream: Hughes's Poetry and King's Rhetoric.

Host Meg Wolitzer presents three stories about people inserting themselves into the lives of others—in their own best interests. In Simon Rich's “Relapse,” friends rally 'round when one of their numbers heeds the call of the muse. It's read by Ophira Eisenberg. In Langston Hughes' “Thank You, M'am,” read by Pauletta Washington, a fierce old lady sets a young man straight. And a young woman finds an ingenious way to cheer up retirees—and herself—in Miranda July's “The Swim Team,” read by Parker Posey. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.