Podcast appearances and mentions of octavia e butler

 I'm so excited to say that today's guest on the Great Women Artist Podcast is the esteemed curator, writer, broadcaster and cultural trailblazer, Ekow Eshun. Born in North-west London in 1968, Eshun has been at the forefront of creative culture for decades. Writing across subjects and presenting documentaries, Eshun has curated groundbreaking exhibitions. From the 2022 In the Black Fantastic, at the Hayward in London – to The Time Is Always Now, a study of the Black figure and its representation in contemporary art, that began at London's National Portrait Gallery, and has since travelled across the US. The author of multiple books: in 2006, he published his memoir: “Black Gold of the Sun: Searching for Home in England and Africa” an exploration of identity and race, that sees Eshun travelling through Ghana in search of his roots. And in 2024, The Strangers, a stunning work of creative nonfiction that tells the story of five pioneering Black men set against a vivid backdrop of art, culture, and resistance. So for this special episode we are going to deep dive into the women writers and artists who have influenced his life and career, including Morrison, the pioneering science fiction writer, Octavia E. Butler, Kenyan-American artist Wangechi Mutu, the Rotterdam based artist Ellen Gallagher, and photographer Liz Johnson Artur. Because, as Eshun himself says, “The great thing about working with artists is they don't walk a straight line or think along linear paths; they think in patterns, allowing us to approach long-established conversations from a novel perspective.” Octavia E. Butler (1947–2006) Hilary Mantel (1952–2022) Wangechi Mutu (b.1972) Ellen Gallagher (b.1965) Liz Johnson Artur (1964) Toni Morrison (1931–2019) Exhibitions mentioned: In the Black Fantastic, 2022, Hayward Gallery, London: https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/venues/hayward-gallery/past-exhibitions/in-the-black-fantastic/ The Time Is Always Now, 2024-present, touring: https://www.npg.org.uk/whatson/exhibitions/2024/the-time-is-always-now The Clearing, space Un gallery, Tokyo, November 2025; https://www.artweektokyo.com/en/institution-gallery/space-un/ Books mentioned: Octavia Butler - Parable of the Sower (1993) https://www.waterstones.com/book/parable-of-the-sower/octavia-e-butler/9781472263667 Octavia Butler - XenoGenesis trilogy; Dawn (1987), Adulthood Rites (1988), and Imago (1989) https://www.octaviabutler.com/xenogenesis-series Hilary Mantel - The Wolf Hall trilogy; Wolf Hall (2009), Bring Up the Bodies (2012), and The Mirror & the Light (2020) https://www.waterstones.com/book/wolf-hall/hilary-mantel/9780008381691 Ekow Eshun - Black Gold of the Sun: Searching for Home in England and Africa (2006): https://www.waterstones.com/book/9780141010960?sv1=affiliate&sv_campaign_id=117976&awc=3787_1761656125_d069bd054bf50de1a9bfc45991a52d17&utm_source=117976&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=Penguin+Books Ekow Eshun - The Strangers (2024): https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-strangers/ekow-eshun/9780241990698 Herman Melville - Moby Dick (1851) https://www.waterstones.com/book/moby-dick/herman-melville/andrew-delbanco/9780142437247 Toni Morrison - Beloved (1987) https://www.waterstones.com/book/beloved/toni-morrison/9780099760115

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (1818) vs Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler (1993)

It's episode 219 and time for us to talk about the genre(?) of Vampires! We discuss the difference between thralls and familiars, why vampires love math, whether it's possible to not read vampire stories, how much blood is too much blood, vegetarian vampires, books that mysteriously show up on our holds lists, and more! You can download the podcast directly, find it on Libsyn, or get it through Apple Podcasts or your favourite podcast delivery system. In this episode Anna Ferri | Meghan Whyte | Matthew Murray

Welcome back to the Create Podcast. Just in time for the fall season, I am joined by Pam Grossman, a writer, curator, teacher, and practicing witch whose work beautifully bridges creativity, culture, and magic. Pam is the host of The Witch Wave podcast (called “the Terry Gross of witches” by Vulture), the author of Waking the Witch: Reflections on Women, Magic, and Power, and co-editor of Taschen's Witchcraft volume in the Library of Esoterica series. Her essays have appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, TIME, and more. She has also organized exhibitions such as Language of the Birds: Occult and Art at NYU and spoken at institutions including MoMA and Columbia University. Her brand-new book, Magic Maker: The Enchanted Path to Creativity (Penguin Life & Hay House UK, October 14, 2025), is a guide to connecting with the creative force through ritual, history, and practice. It explores how artists and visionaries such as Hilma af Klint, David Bowie, Octavia E. Butler, and Leonora Carrington have used magic as part of their creative process, and how you can do the same in your own life. In This Episode, We Discuss Pam's creative roots and how she began merging her artistic and magical practices Misconceptions about witchcraft and how the archetype of the witch has evolved How Magic Maker links art and magic, showing that creativity itself can be a spiritual practice Practical rituals to protect your studio time and invite inspiration, from lighting candles to leaving offerings or simply asking for guidance The idea of “low frequency” and “high frequency” desires in art and business, and how to balance material needs with higher intentions Pam's experiences speaking at institutions like MoMA and casting a love spell on stage at Carnegie Hall with Jinkx Monsoon The role of research, fascination, and intuition when writing a book Artists who inspire her including Leonora Carrington, Remedios Varo, Hilma af Klint, Max Ernst, and Kurt Seligmann Resources and Mentions Books by Pam Grossman Magic Maker: The Enchanted Path to Creativity (Penguin Life & Hay House UK, 2025) → Pre-order here Waking the Witch: Reflections on Women, Magic, and Power (Simon & Schuster, 2019) What Is a Witch (Tin Can Forest Press, 2016) Witchcraft (Taschen's Library of Esoterica series, co-edited with Jessica Hundley, 2020) Podcast The Witch Wave – Pam's long-running podcast on art, culture, and magic Exhibitions and Projects Language of the Birds: Occult and Art (NYU, 2016) → languageofthebirds.org Art of the Occult by S. Elizabeth (recommended resource) The Spiritual in Art: Abstract Painting 1890–1985 (Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1986) Artists Mentioned Hilma af Klint David Bowie Octavia E. Butler Leonora Carrington Remedios Varo Max Ernst Kurt Seligmann Create! Magazine Open Call We are now accepting submissions for our fall curated exhibition and catalog: The Spirit World. This virtual show explores the mystical, eerie, and uncanny, making it the perfect theme for the season. Deadline: October 31, 2025 What selected artists receive: inclusion in the curated online exhibition, a feature in the professionally designed print and digital catalog, a blog post on Create! Magazine, and a spotlight across our international platforms.

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Im Jahr 2024 herrscht in den USA Trockenheit und Wassermangel. Rassismus und soziale Ungleichheit sind enorm angestiegen und die Menschen leben voneinander abgeschottet. In dieser düsteren Welt möchte Lauren Olamina eine neue Gemeinschaft gründen, die sich gegen Rassismus und Unterdrückung wendet und neue Formen des Zusammenlebens aufbaut. Wir diskutieren in unserer aktuellen Folge, warum dieses Buch durch die Black Lives Matter Bewegung neuen Aufschwung erlebt hat, in welcher Hinsicht wir uns dieser Dystopie bereits angenähert haben, und welche Aspekte Octavia E. Butler vielleicht übersehen hat. Außerdem sprechen wir über Schwarze Stimmen und Repräsentation im Science Fiction Bereich und warum die Autorin eine echte Pionierin ist, von der ihr gehört haben solltet.  Quellen: Sexism in the Writing and Publishing Industries, https://womanstats.wordpress.com/2020/10/05/sexism-in-the-writing-and-publishing-industries/ Women in speculative fiction, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_speculative_fiction?utm_source=chatgpt.com Black science fiction writers face 'universal' racism, study finds | Science fiction books | The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/aug/09/black-science-fiction-writers-universal-racism-study-finds-fireside-fiction-blackspecfic?utm_source=chatgpt.com

A magnificent cultural biography, Positive Obsession: The Life and Times of Octavia E. Butler (Amistad, 2025) charts the life of one of our greatest writers, situating her alongside the key historical and social moments that shaped her work. As the first Black woman to consistently write and publish in the field of science fiction, Octavia Butler was a trailblazer. With her deft pen, she created stories speculating the devolution of the American empire, using it as an apt metaphor for the best and worst of humanity—our innovation and ingenuity, our naked greed and ambition, our propensity for violence and hierarchy. Her fiction charts the rise and fall of the American project—the nation's transformation from a provincial backwater to a capitalist juggernaut—made possible by chattel slavery—to a bloated imperialist superpower on the verge of implosion. In this outstanding work, Susana M. Morris places Butler's story firmly within the cultural, social, and historical context that shaped her life: the Civil Rights Movement, Black Power, women's liberation, queer rights, Reaganomics. Morris reveals how these influences profoundly impacted Butler's personal and intellectual trajectory and shaped the ideas central to her writing. Her cautionary tales warn us about succumbing to fascism, gender-based violence, and climate chaos while offering alternate paradigms to religion, family, and understanding our relationships to ourselves. Butler envisioned futures with Black women at the center, raising our awareness of how those who are often dismissed have the knowledge to shift the landscape of our world. But her characters are no magical martyrs, they are tough, flawed, intelligent, and complicated, a reflection of Butler's stories. Morris explains what drove Butler: She wrote because she felt she must. “Who was I anyway? Why should anyone pay attention to what I had to say? Did I have anything to say? I was writing science fiction and fantasy, for God's sake. At that time nearly all professional science-fiction writers were white men. As much as I loved science fiction and fantasy, what was I doing? Well, whatever it was, I couldn't stop. Positive obsession is about not being able to stop just because you're afraid and full of doubts. Positive obsession is dangerous. It's about not being able to stop at all.” Susana M. Morris is the Associate Professor of Literature, Media & Communication at the Georgia Institute of Technology. You can find Susana at her website, at Instagram; on Threads; and on Substack. Find host Sullivan Summer at her website, on Instagram, and on Substack, where she and Susana went after the show to explore the question What Would Octavia Do? in our present moment. 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

A magnificent cultural biography, Positive Obsession: The Life and Times of Octavia E. Butler (Amistad, 2025) charts the life of one of our greatest writers, situating her alongside the key historical and social moments that shaped her work. As the first Black woman to consistently write and publish in the field of science fiction, Octavia Butler was a trailblazer. With her deft pen, she created stories speculating the devolution of the American empire, using it as an apt metaphor for the best and worst of humanity—our innovation and ingenuity, our naked greed and ambition, our propensity for violence and hierarchy. Her fiction charts the rise and fall of the American project—the nation's transformation from a provincial backwater to a capitalist juggernaut—made possible by chattel slavery—to a bloated imperialist superpower on the verge of implosion. In this outstanding work, Susana M. Morris places Butler's story firmly within the cultural, social, and historical context that shaped her life: the Civil Rights Movement, Black Power, women's liberation, queer rights, Reaganomics. Morris reveals how these influences profoundly impacted Butler's personal and intellectual trajectory and shaped the ideas central to her writing. Her cautionary tales warn us about succumbing to fascism, gender-based violence, and climate chaos while offering alternate paradigms to religion, family, and understanding our relationships to ourselves. Butler envisioned futures with Black women at the center, raising our awareness of how those who are often dismissed have the knowledge to shift the landscape of our world. But her characters are no magical martyrs, they are tough, flawed, intelligent, and complicated, a reflection of Butler's stories. Morris explains what drove Butler: She wrote because she felt she must. “Who was I anyway? Why should anyone pay attention to what I had to say? Did I have anything to say? I was writing science fiction and fantasy, for God's sake. At that time nearly all professional science-fiction writers were white men. As much as I loved science fiction and fantasy, what was I doing? Well, whatever it was, I couldn't stop. Positive obsession is about not being able to stop just because you're afraid and full of doubts. Positive obsession is dangerous. It's about not being able to stop at all.” Susana M. Morris is the Associate Professor of Literature, Media & Communication at the Georgia Institute of Technology. You can find Susana at her website, at Instagram; on Threads; and on Substack. Find host Sullivan Summer at her website, on Instagram, and on Substack, where she and Susana went after the show to explore the question What Would Octavia Do? in our present moment. 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

A magnificent cultural biography, Positive Obsession: The Life and Times of Octavia E. Butler (Amistad, 2025) charts the life of one of our greatest writers, situating her alongside the key historical and social moments that shaped her work. As the first Black woman to consistently write and publish in the field of science fiction, Octavia Butler was a trailblazer. With her deft pen, she created stories speculating the devolution of the American empire, using it as an apt metaphor for the best and worst of humanity—our innovation and ingenuity, our naked greed and ambition, our propensity for violence and hierarchy. Her fiction charts the rise and fall of the American project—the nation's transformation from a provincial backwater to a capitalist juggernaut—made possible by chattel slavery—to a bloated imperialist superpower on the verge of implosion. In this outstanding work, Susana M. Morris places Butler's story firmly within the cultural, social, and historical context that shaped her life: the Civil Rights Movement, Black Power, women's liberation, queer rights, Reaganomics. Morris reveals how these influences profoundly impacted Butler's personal and intellectual trajectory and shaped the ideas central to her writing. Her cautionary tales warn us about succumbing to fascism, gender-based violence, and climate chaos while offering alternate paradigms to religion, family, and understanding our relationships to ourselves. Butler envisioned futures with Black women at the center, raising our awareness of how those who are often dismissed have the knowledge to shift the landscape of our world. But her characters are no magical martyrs, they are tough, flawed, intelligent, and complicated, a reflection of Butler's stories. Morris explains what drove Butler: She wrote because she felt she must. “Who was I anyway? Why should anyone pay attention to what I had to say? Did I have anything to say? I was writing science fiction and fantasy, for God's sake. At that time nearly all professional science-fiction writers were white men. As much as I loved science fiction and fantasy, what was I doing? Well, whatever it was, I couldn't stop. Positive obsession is about not being able to stop just because you're afraid and full of doubts. Positive obsession is dangerous. It's about not being able to stop at all.” Susana M. Morris is the Associate Professor of Literature, Media & Communication at the Georgia Institute of Technology. You can find Susana at her website, at Instagram; on Threads; and on Substack. Find host Sullivan Summer at her website, on Instagram, and on Substack, where she and Susana went after the show to explore the question What Would Octavia Do? in our present moment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/science-fiction

A magnificent cultural biography, Positive Obsession: The Life and Times of Octavia E. Butler (Amistad, 2025) charts the life of one of our greatest writers, situating her alongside the key historical and social moments that shaped her work. As the first Black woman to consistently write and publish in the field of science fiction, Octavia Butler was a trailblazer. With her deft pen, she created stories speculating the devolution of the American empire, using it as an apt metaphor for the best and worst of humanity—our innovation and ingenuity, our naked greed and ambition, our propensity for violence and hierarchy. Her fiction charts the rise and fall of the American project—the nation's transformation from a provincial backwater to a capitalist juggernaut—made possible by chattel slavery—to a bloated imperialist superpower on the verge of implosion. In this outstanding work, Susana M. Morris places Butler's story firmly within the cultural, social, and historical context that shaped her life: the Civil Rights Movement, Black Power, women's liberation, queer rights, Reaganomics. Morris reveals how these influences profoundly impacted Butler's personal and intellectual trajectory and shaped the ideas central to her writing. Her cautionary tales warn us about succumbing to fascism, gender-based violence, and climate chaos while offering alternate paradigms to religion, family, and understanding our relationships to ourselves. Butler envisioned futures with Black women at the center, raising our awareness of how those who are often dismissed have the knowledge to shift the landscape of our world. But her characters are no magical martyrs, they are tough, flawed, intelligent, and complicated, a reflection of Butler's stories. Morris explains what drove Butler: She wrote because she felt she must. “Who was I anyway? Why should anyone pay attention to what I had to say? Did I have anything to say? I was writing science fiction and fantasy, for God's sake. At that time nearly all professional science-fiction writers were white men. As much as I loved science fiction and fantasy, what was I doing? Well, whatever it was, I couldn't stop. Positive obsession is about not being able to stop just because you're afraid and full of doubts. Positive obsession is dangerous. It's about not being able to stop at all.” Susana M. Morris is the Associate Professor of Literature, Media & Communication at the Georgia Institute of Technology. You can find Susana at her website, at Instagram; on Threads; and on Substack. Find host Sullivan Summer at her website, on Instagram, and on Substack, where she and Susana went after the show to explore the question What Would Octavia Do? in our present moment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literary-studies

A magnificent cultural biography, Positive Obsession: The Life and Times of Octavia E. Butler (Amistad, 2025) charts the life of one of our greatest writers, situating her alongside the key historical and social moments that shaped her work. As the first Black woman to consistently write and publish in the field of science fiction, Octavia Butler was a trailblazer. With her deft pen, she created stories speculating the devolution of the American empire, using it as an apt metaphor for the best and worst of humanity—our innovation and ingenuity, our naked greed and ambition, our propensity for violence and hierarchy. Her fiction charts the rise and fall of the American project—the nation's transformation from a provincial backwater to a capitalist juggernaut—made possible by chattel slavery—to a bloated imperialist superpower on the verge of implosion. In this outstanding work, Susana M. Morris places Butler's story firmly within the cultural, social, and historical context that shaped her life: the Civil Rights Movement, Black Power, women's liberation, queer rights, Reaganomics. Morris reveals how these influences profoundly impacted Butler's personal and intellectual trajectory and shaped the ideas central to her writing. Her cautionary tales warn us about succumbing to fascism, gender-based violence, and climate chaos while offering alternate paradigms to religion, family, and understanding our relationships to ourselves. Butler envisioned futures with Black women at the center, raising our awareness of how those who are often dismissed have the knowledge to shift the landscape of our world. But her characters are no magical martyrs, they are tough, flawed, intelligent, and complicated, a reflection of Butler's stories. Morris explains what drove Butler: She wrote because she felt she must. “Who was I anyway? Why should anyone pay attention to what I had to say? Did I have anything to say? I was writing science fiction and fantasy, for God's sake. At that time nearly all professional science-fiction writers were white men. As much as I loved science fiction and fantasy, what was I doing? Well, whatever it was, I couldn't stop. Positive obsession is about not being able to stop just because you're afraid and full of doubts. Positive obsession is dangerous. It's about not being able to stop at all.” Susana M. Morris is the Associate Professor of Literature, Media & Communication at the Georgia Institute of Technology. You can find Susana at her website, at Instagram; on Threads; and on Substack. Find host Sullivan Summer at her website, on Instagram, and on Substack, where she and Susana went after the show to explore the question What Would Octavia Do? in our present moment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/biography

Abu⁠⁠⁠ and Obssa complete their read-through of ⁠⁠⁠Parable of the Sower⁠ by Octavia Butler. They explore how Lauren Olamina embodies an ideal leader, the evolution of religion in the face of scientific understanding, and the importance of community and connection in survival. Get bonus content and helpful reading materials: ⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/scifibookclubpod⁠⁠ Keep the conversation going in our free Discord: ⁠⁠https://discord.gg/bVrhwWm7j4⁠⁠ Watch the video version of this episode: ⁠⁠www.youtube.com/@loreparty⁠⁠ Keep up with this season's reading schedule: ⁠⁠https://tinyurl.com/sfbc-season3⁠ (00:00) Intro (02:37) Chapter Summaries (11:17) Our Impressions (21:17) Lauren's Leadership Style (32:54) How Science Reshapes Religion (35:53) Does Religion Need Mysticism? (42:39) Survival Through Community (53:32) This Is More Important Than Survival (01:00:36) Final Ratings (01:03:37) What We're Reading Next Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Writing barriers, intense habits, and Octavia's life, oh my! Shaun Duke is joined by scholar and biographer Susan M. Morris to talk about her new book, Positive Obsession: The Life and Times of Octavia E. Butler! In this riveting conversation, they discuss some of the fascinating aspects of Butler's life, Morris' approach to writing a biography of such a celebrated writer, and much more! Thanks for listening. We hope you enjoy the episode! Show Notes: Don't forget to catch our live format every Friday at 7 PM Central on Twitch at AlphabetStreams! If you have a question you'd like us to answer, feel free to shoot us a message on our contact page. Our new intro and outro music comes from Holy Mole. You can support his work at patreon.com/holymole. See you later, navigator!

In this final episode of the Whiteness as Shape-Shifter series, Maureen turns the finger inward. From the loudness of fascism to the subtle betrayals of liberalism, this series has traced how whiteness hides and adapts. Here, the focus is on the most difficult terrain: the reflexes that live inside the body, the mind, and the spirit.Drawing wisdom from Audre Lorde, bell hooks, Paulo Freire,  Richard Brody's reading of Sinners, and Octavia E. Butler's Wild Seed, Maureen asks: what has to die inside me for me to evolve, to transform, to transmute?The episode is inspired by Annie's devastating choice in Sinners as a metaphor for radical boundaries, while weaving in ancestral and feminist lineages where shapeshifting is not sinister, but sacred. Diedra Barber reminds us that patriarchy and white supremacy stole this gift of the goddess—and that reclaiming it is a return to power-with, not power-over.This conversation is not about shame, but about practicing transparency, vulnerability, and love as acts of liberation.This week's reflection:What does my body do when I'm protecting whiteness?What part of me feels like it will die if I don't?And what might be born in me if I let that part go?When discomfort rises—in parenting, teaching, art-making, activism, or healing—how do my somatic cues shape my choices?This episode is a closing invitation to pause, notice, and reclaim the sacred power to shapeshift—not to disappear, but to appear more fully in alignment with love, accountability, and collective liberation.Support the showThis episode was created with deep love, and deep thanks to the frameworks and tools within Cultivating Intersectional Leadership, a course I co-created with Diedra Barber. CIL isn't just a training. It's a transformative journey—one that supports individuals and organizations in making the systemic, strategic, and spiritual shifts needed to build something different. Something rooted in justice. Something aligned with who we say we want to be. You're invited to learn more or inquire about participation at:

Abu⁠⁠ and Obssa begin their read-through of ⁠⁠Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler. They reflect on the relevance of Butler's work in today's society, highlighting the prophetic nature of her writing and the urgent themes that resonate with contemporary issues. In their takeaways, they analyze the character of Lauren as an unreliable narrator, and the dangers of denial in the face of change. Get bonus content and helpful reading materials: ⁠https://www.patreon.com/scifibookclubpod⁠ Keep the conversation going in our free Discord: ⁠https://discord.gg/bVrhwWm7j4⁠ Watch the video version of this episode: ⁠www.youtube.com/@loreparty⁠ Keep up with this season's reading schedule: ⁠https://tinyurl.com/sfbc-season3 (00:00) Intro (03:17) Chapter Summaries (16:11) First Impressions (26:43) Octavia Butler's Career (33:52) The Danger of Denial (43:53) Lauren is an Unreliable Narrator (01:00:30) Up Next and Goodbye Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week's episode, Kayla and Taylor discuss Octavia E. Butler's 1979 novel Kindred. Topics include Torrey Pines and Tawny Port, nuts, Nazi Germany vs. American slavery, why white people have such a hard time acknowledging history,  Rufus the Doofus and Tom Weylin who have 1 ¼ moral between them, (we need to talk about) Kevin, and Dana's Conundrum. Plus, we get tipsy and talk about Keanu Reeves. And, George the Cat makes an appearance and brings some much-needed levity.This week's drink: the Octavia E. Butler via BuzzworthyINGREDIENTS:2 shots bourbon1 shot tawny port3 dashes Angostura bittersGarnish: lemon peelINSTRUCTIONS:Pour bourbon and port into a mixing glass, and add bittersAdd ice and stir with a bar spoon for about 20 secondsStrain into a coup glass and garnish with a thick-cut piece of lemon peelCurrent/recommended reads, links, etc.:Trust by Hernan DiazThe Safekeep by Yael van der WoudenThe Paris Apartment by Lucy FoleyFun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison BechdelO Caledonia by Elspeth BarkerEleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail HoneymanThe Language of Trees: A Rewilding of Literature and Landscape (Katie Holten, ed.)Follow us on Instagram @literatureandlibationspod.Visit our website: literatureandlibationspod.com to submit feedback, questions, or your own takes on what we are reading. You can also see what we are reading for future episodes! You can email us at literatureandlibationspod@gmail.com.Please leave us a review and/or rating! It really helps others find our podcast…and it makes us happy!Purchase books via bookshop.org or check them out from your local public library. Join us next time as we read House Made of Dawn by N. Scott Momaday

In this week's episode, Kayla and Taylor discuss Thomas Olde Heuvelt's 2024 novel Bore-acle Snore-acle Oracle. Topics include Dr. Pepper, a horrible translation that pretty much ruined the book for us, incoherent plotting, algae, Austin Powers, and the utter laziness of having the male characters call every woman a bitch multiple times. Plus, we do a deep dive into the origins of the “c”-word (and introduce a new segment of the pod: C*nt Corner).This week's drink: Flying Dutchman via liquor.comINGREDIENTS:1 1/2 ounces Bols genever3/4 ounce Benedictine3/4 ounce yellow Chartreuse3/4 ounce lemon juice, freshly squeezedINSTRUCTIONS:Add the genever, Benedictine, yellow Chartreuse and lemon juice into a shaker with ice and shake until well-chilled.Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.(Or you can be like Kayla and have Dr. Pepper and rum)Current/recommended reads, links, etc.:Hex by Thomas Olde Heuvelt (we just can't quit you!)The New Yorker magazineFollow us on Instagram @literatureandlibationspod.Visit our website: literatureandlibationspod.com to submit feedback, questions, or your own takes on what we are reading. You can also see what we are reading for future episodes! You can email us at literatureandlibationspod@gmail.com.Please leave us a review and/or rating! It really helps others find our podcast…and it makes us happy!Purchase books via bookshop.org or check them out from your local public library. Join us next time as we read Kindred by Octavia E. Butler

The Age of Aquarius is associated with themes of technological innovation, freedom, humanitarianism, and a shift from individual identity to a more collective focus. President Obama was the response and the beginning, but Donnie and the Obstructionists, because they are super villains and the conservative response to this age. The reaction is the leftward swing Zohran Mamdani, who is more African American than I...the drama coming out of NYC is refreshing! Stack your money and not FOMO. Crypto and NFTs are your way to financial freedom, and the topic of the upcoming bonus episode is available via NFT. (Yeah, pay to play baby!)   Parable of the Talents A writer who darkly imagined the future we have destined for ourselves in book after book, and also one who has shown us the way toward improving on that dismal fate, OCTAVIA E. BUTLER (1947–2006) is recognized as among the bravest and smartest of contemporary fiction writers. A 1995 MacArthur Award winner, Butler transcended the science fiction category even as she was awarded that community's top prizes, the Nebula and Hugo Awards. She reached readers of all ages, all races, and all religious and sexual persuasions. For years the only African-American woman writing science fiction, Butler has encouraged many others to follow in her path. Reviews "This work stands out as a testament to the author's enormous talent, and to the human spirit." —Publishers Weekly "Butler sets the imagination free, blending the real and the possible." —United Press International    Beyoncé brought fun and artistry to ATL. #RHOC, #RHOM, The Valley...Injected underfed pretending to eat reality stars...I am so tired of ya'll, do better. A lot of side-eye and shade at the #RHOA reunion... not holding the episode to watch # ShameAmorton side-eye # PorshaWilliams and not correct her. And listen to fake fairy Phae Phae lie about the jump off and how she moves. But the Lerwks stunning for the most part. Support ourselves with shelter, safe food,  and money all legally. Giving thanks always keeps concern and arrogance away Blessings will flow easier Contact Us on: https://linktr.ee/tnfroisreading Blue Sky: @tvfoodwinegirl.bsky.social Threads: www.threads.net/@tnfroisreading Instagram: @tnfroisreading Facebook: TNFroIsReading Bookclub   You know your girl is on her hustle, support the show by navigating to: Yes, I can...Create my coin...Our rituals involve burning zeroes. Read about the financial revolution #AfroDruids $ROOTS    #CryptoTrading #CryptoAirdrop #CryptoAlert  @akrapheal   

Episode 984- Jason Interviews Damien Duffy Parable of the TalentsThis gripping graphic novel adaptation of Octavia E. Butler's groundbreaking dystopian novel stands beside the acclaimed previous graphic novel adaptations, Kindred, a #1 New York Times bestseller, and Parable of the Sower, winner of the Hugo AwardSet against a background of a war-torn continent under the control of a Christian fundamentalist fascist state, Parable of the Talents is a modern masterpiece that resonates powerfully.This graphic novel adaptation is brought to life thrillingly by Damian Duffy and John Jennings, the creative team behind the #1 New York Times bestselling adaptation of Kindred.Parable of the Talents is told in the voice of Lauren Olamina's daughter, Asha Vere—from whom she has been separated for most of the girl's life—interspersed with sections in the form of Lauren's own journals.Asha searches for answers about her past while struggling to reconcile with her mother's legacy—caught between her duty to her chosen family and her calling to lead humankind into a better future among the stars.Octavia E. Butler's bestselling literary science-fiction masterpieces are essential works in feminist, Afrofuturist, and fantasy genres, and this compelling graphic novel adaptation of Parable of the Talents is a major event.Buy It: https://www.amazon.com/Parable-Talents-Graphic-Novel-Adaptation/dp/141974948XTheme Songs by Drew: Seeds in the Ashes & Starlit PathLike & Subscribe on Youtube www.youtube.com/@comicsforfunandprofit5331Patreon https://www.patreon.com/comicsfunprofit Merch https://comicsfunprofit.threadless.comYour Support Keeps Our Show Going On Our Way to a Thousand EpisodesDonate Here https://bit.ly/36s7YeLAll the C4FaP links you could ever need  https://beacons.ai/comicsfunprofit Listen To the Episode Here: https://comcsforfunandprofit.podomatic.com/

University of Georgia professor, Rafiki Jenkins, joins Doc and Mike to discuss the origins of human monstrosity (can a human be monstrous?) and how horror fictions presents and complicates history and American culture. We hope you have a fortunate Friday the 13th!   Jerry Rafiki Jenkins is Assistant Director of the Institute for African American Studies at the University of Georgia. Rafiki holds a doctorate in Literature from the University of California, San Diego, and his research focuses on Black speculative fiction and film, with an emphasis on horror, and future human studies. Rafiki is the author of Anti-Blackness and Human Monstrosity in Black American Horror Fiction (Ohio State UP, 2024) and The Paradox of Blackness in African American Vampire Fiction (Ohio State UP, 2019), and he co-edited, with Martin Japtok, Human Contradictions in Octavia E. Butler's Work (Palgrave Macmillan, 2020) and Authentic Blackness/Real Blackness: Essays on the Meaning of Blackness in Literature and Culture (Peter Lang, 2011). Rafiki has also authored several book chapters, and his peer-reviewed articles appear in Pacific Coast Philology, Screening Noir, African American Review, Journal of Children's Literature, and Science Fiction Studies.     About this podcast: MONSTERS! They haunt our days and chill our dreaming nights, to paraphrase Emily Dickinson. There's not a population on earth that does not have its own unique monster stories to tell to frighten, but also to instruct on the nature of good and evil, right and wrong. But what happens when monsters get out of control, when the monstrous imagination starts to bleed over into the real world? What are the effects of monsters on real people's real lives? This podcast examines the histories and mysteries of some of our favorite monsters to unlock their secrets and expose their influence on our lives.   About the hosts: Michael Chemers (MFA, PhD) is a Professor of Dramatic Literature in the Department of Theater Arts at UC Santa Cruz. His work on monsters includes The Monster in Theatre History: This Thing of Darkness (London, UK: Routledge 2018). Dr. Chemers is the Founding Director of The Center for Monster Studies. Formerly the Founding Director of the Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dramaturgy Program at Carnegie Mellon University, he joined the faculty of UCSC in 2012. He is also the author of Ghost Light: An Introductory Handbook for Dramaturgy (Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press, 2010) and Staging Stigma: A Critical Examination of the American Freak Show (New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2007). Dr. Chemers is also an actor, a juggler, and a writer of drama. Mike Halekakis is an entrepreneur, business owner, internet marketer, software engineer, writer, musician, podcaster, and hardcore situational enthusiast. He is the co-founder of What We Learned, a company that specializes in compassionate training courses on complex adult subjects such as caregiving for people who are sick, planning for death, and administering after the loss of a loved one. He is also the CEO of Moneyfingers Inc., a company that trains people on how to successfully create, market, and sell products on the internet. When not burning the candle at both ends with a blowtorch, Mike loves video games, outdoor festivals, reading comics and novels, role-playing, writing and playing music, hanging out with the world's best cats, and spending time with his amazing wife and their collective worldwide friend-group.

In Episode 694 this week, Damien Duffy from Parable of the Talents talks about his recently released sequel to Octavia E. Butler's Parable of the Sower! Damien was chosen to continue his successful work of translating Butler's prose into the comics format, once again working with artist John Jennings. It's described this way: “This series follows Lauren Olamina, a preacher's daughter who develops a new religion, Earthseed, while traveling the dangerous and dystopian country. Duffy and Jennings bring the sci-fi classic to life with a beautifully drawn graphic novel adaptation. Parable of the Talents continues Butler's masterful story set against a background of a war-torn continent under the control of Christian fundamentalist fascist state.” We discuss how this book came to be, who the various characters are, and what else we can expect from this high-power writer/artist team in the months ahead! Published by Abrams ComicsArt, this graphic novel can be found in local comics shops, in your local bookstore, or here on Amazon.com. Don't miss it! Subscribe to the Major Spoilers Podcast Network Master Feed! Major Spoilers Podcast Network Master Feed RSS Feed Show your thanks to Major Spoilers for this episode by becoming a Major Spoilers Patreon member. It will help ensure Wayne's Comics Podcast continues far into the future!  

Episode 172 is a book club book! This month we're talking about Gen's pick, Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler. The novel follows Lauren through her journal entries as she is forced from her home and navigates a hostile world ravaged by climate change and social inequality.Show NotesGen has been putting off this book for a long time because it takes place largely in the mid-late 2020s and that felt a little too close to home.Parable of the Sower is the first book in a planned series that Octavia Butler unfortunately didn't have the chance to finish, as she died of a stroke in 2006. The second book is Parable of the Talents, which was published in 1998. The planned third book was to be called Parable of the Trickster.As you can probably guess, a lot of what happens in this book was distressingly familiar.Did Suzanne Collins read Parable of the Sower? Inquiring minds would like to know. There are definitely some common themes with The Hunger Games series.Our next book club selection is Jette's pick, Scorched Grace by Margot Douaihy. It's about a tattooed, queer nun who solves mysteries! What more could you ask for? This is the first book of the Sister Holiday mysteries and we'll be talking about it in July.Next episode is a(nother) spring hangout episode. We'll be talking about everything else we've been reading, which is always a fun time.Keep an eye out for our annual Coach House episode. We'll be reading their forthcoming publication, Born by Heather Birrell.Other Books MentionedKindred by Octavia ButlerThe Handmaid's Tale by Margaret AtwoodOryx and Crake by Margaret AtwoodThe Hunger Games Series by Suzanne Collins

Jace is joined by author Damian Duffy to talk about his recently released graphic novel adaption of Octavia E. Butler's classic science fiction novel, Parable of the Talents. Butler is incredible prescient in her ability to predict the current cultural and political state of the world in 2025, even though her novel was published in 1998. It deals of concepts of personal, religious and economic freedoms as well as Afro-Futurism. With evocative art by John Jennings this adapation faithfully captures the feel fo the prose work. Damian talks about the challenges of adapting such a rich work and gives his thoughts on how Butler was so accurately able to predict the future.

Today we bring you a masterclass in audiobook narration and acting with acclaimed actor, casting director, audiobook narrator and audiobook director, Robin Miles. Miles has narrated over 500 audiobooks, collecting numerous industry awards and, in 2017, was added to the Audible Narrator Hall of Fame. She's the most recognizable voice in literary Afrofuturism, having interpreted books by Octavia E. Butler, Nalo Hopkinson, N.K. Jemisin, and Nnedi Okorafor. Miles holds a BA and an MFA from Yale. She has taught young actors and narrators at conservatories across the country and she has an amazing talent for doing accents—something we really dig deep into on this podcast. In this conversation we talk about technique, the audiobook industry, and the politics of vocal representation. How do we avoid the misrepresentation of marginalized people on the one hand and vocal typecasting on the other? For our Patrons we have almost an hour of additional content, including our What's Good segment where Robin unsurprisingly makes some really great book recommendations! If you want hear all the bonus content, just go to patreon.com/phantompower. Membership starts at just three dollars a month and helps pay the expenses of producing the show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/performing-arts

Today we bring you a masterclass in audiobook narration and acting with acclaimed actor, casting director, audiobook narrator and audiobook director, Robin Miles. Miles has narrated over 500 audiobooks, collecting numerous industry awards and, in 2017, was added to the Audible Narrator Hall of Fame. She's the most recognizable voice in literary Afrofuturism, having interpreted books by Octavia E. Butler, Nalo Hopkinson, N.K. Jemisin, and Nnedi Okorafor. Miles holds a BA and an MFA from Yale. She has taught young actors and narrators at conservatories across the country and she has an amazing talent for doing accents—something we really dig deep into on this podcast. In this conversation we talk about technique, the audiobook industry, and the politics of vocal representation. How do we avoid the misrepresentation of marginalized people on the one hand and vocal typecasting on the other? For our Patrons we have almost an hour of additional content, including our What's Good segment where Robin unsurprisingly makes some really great book recommendations! If you want hear all the bonus content, just go to patreon.com/phantompower. Membership starts at just three dollars a month and helps pay the expenses of producing the show. 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

Today we bring you a masterclass in audiobook narration and acting with acclaimed actor, casting director, audiobook narrator and audiobook director, Robin Miles. Miles has narrated over 500 audiobooks, collecting numerous industry awards and, in 2017, was added to the Audible Narrator Hall of Fame. She's the most recognizable voice in literary Afrofuturism, having interpreted books by Octavia E. Butler, Nalo Hopkinson, N.K. Jemisin, and Nnedi Okorafor. Miles holds a BA and an MFA from Yale. She has taught young actors and narrators at conservatories across the country and she has an amazing talent for doing accents—something we really dig deep into on this podcast. In this conversation we talk about technique, the audiobook industry, and the politics of vocal representation. How do we avoid the misrepresentation of marginalized people on the one hand and vocal typecasting on the other? For our Patrons we have almost an hour of additional content, including our What's Good segment where Robin unsurprisingly makes some really great book recommendations! If you want hear all the bonus content, just go to patreon.com/phantompower. Membership starts at just three dollars a month and helps pay the expenses of producing the show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literary-studies

Today we bring you a masterclass in audiobook narration and acting with acclaimed actor, casting director, audiobook narrator and audiobook director, Robin Miles. Miles has narrated over 500 audiobooks, collecting numerous industry awards and, in 2017, was added to the Audible Narrator Hall of Fame. She's the most recognizable voice in literary Afrofuturism, having interpreted books by Octavia E. Butler, Nalo Hopkinson, N.K. Jemisin, and Nnedi Okorafor. Miles holds a BA and an MFA from Yale. She has taught young actors and narrators at conservatories across the country and she has an amazing talent for doing accents—something we really dig deep into on this podcast. In this conversation we talk about technique, the audiobook industry, and the politics of vocal representation. How do we avoid the misrepresentation of marginalized people on the one hand and vocal typecasting on the other? For our Patrons we have almost an hour of additional content, including our What's Good segment where Robin unsurprisingly makes some really great book recommendations! If you want hear all the bonus content, just go to patreon.com/phantompower. Membership starts at just three dollars a month and helps pay the expenses of producing the show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/sound-studies

En este episodio del podcast os hablo, sin spoilers, de la gran experiencia de leer esta novela distópica y, me atrevería a decir: terrorífica. La Parábola del Sembrador, de Octavia Butler, es un libro de ciencia ficción escrito en 1993 que nos muestra un futuro nada halagüeno que tiene lugar entre 2024 y 2027. Además, […] The post #212 LA PARÁBOLA DEL SEMBRADOR, OCTAVIA E. BUTLER first appeared on Sons Podcasts.

Greetings Glocal Citizens! Over the week/weekend just passed, the world recognized International Women's Day (https://www.internationalwomensday.com) as well as Ghana's 68th Independence Day (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFioERq8Xfc). Both happenings inspire thoughts, reflections, and movement in my heart and mind especially as I, we sit in constant review of the world we are making, remaking and re-imagining for our now. My conversation this week, in our continued March Herstories Month series is with British-Ghanaian, Elvina Quaison (https://glocalcitizens.fireside.fm/guests/elvina-quaison), is with a diaspora working intently with and within communities engaged in this re-imagining. Now based back in the London after relocating to Brussels since our last conversation, where she supported diaspora and government representatives as Diaspora Engagement Specialist for the EU Global Diaspora Facility (EUDiF), a pilot project funded by the European Commission and implemented by the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD), Elvina recently took on the role of CEO with Shabaka (https://shabaka.org), a values-driven consulting and research organization focused on diaspora and migrants' humanitarian preparedness, response and recovery. Elvina has worked in the international development field, with a focus on African diaspora, for over 20 years with experience spanning diaspora engagement in humanitarianism, development, private and public sector as well as within civil society. She specializes in diaspora and private sector investment with a focus on the utilization of diaspora investment to enhance economic growth in countries of heritage and residence. Our conversation is a wonderful flash forward offering a hopeful persective on how #dynamicdiasporans are engaging with the concept and a #borderlessmindset, and #manifestinganewworld. Where to find Elvina? On LinkedIn (https://uk.linkedin.com/in/elvina-quaison) On Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/sesa4life/) What's Elvina reading? Kindred by Octavia E. Butler (https://www.loa.org/books/643-kindred-fledgling-collected-stories/) Other topics of interest: Notes on serving on boards (https://blog.boardsource.org/blog/recruiting-for-board-diversity-with-respect) On Belgium's Human Zoo (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/apr/16/belgium-comes-to-terms-with-human-zoos-of-its-colonial-past) Brussel's AfricaMuseum (https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/13/belgium-museum-wrestles-with-colonial-past-with-40000-objects-tainted-with-violence) On the brutality of Belgium's King Leopold (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-53017188) On Onyekachi Wambu (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onyekachi_Wambu) A conversation with Sophia Stewart, creator of The Terminator and The Matrix (https://youtu.be/tjrpMZXPyKY?si=rIyrvNgrBDosz2yY) Shifters Play UK (https://www.bushtheatre.co.uk/event/shifters-west-end/) About Supacell (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supacell) Special Guest: Elivina Quaison.

Octavia E. Butler was a groundbreaking science fiction writer who defied genre conventions and societal expectations to become one of the most influential voices in speculative fiction. From her early struggles with dyslexia to her journey as a self-taught writer crafting Afrofuturist masterpieces, Octavia's work explored themes of power, race, gender, and survival in ways that continue to resonate today. We'll explore her iconic works like Kindred, Parable of the Sower, and Dawn, and discuss how her prescient storytelling still shapes the way we think about the future. Plus, we'll talk about how her predictions of the future in Parable of the Sower have become reality in 2025.  Follow us on IG: @homance_chronicles Connect with us: linktr.ee/homance Send us a Hoe of History request: homancepodcast@gmail.com

Subscriber-only episodeSend us a textOctavia E. Butler's prescient dystopian novel Parable of the Sower may or may not be the perfect book to kick off 2025, as Amy discusses in this week's bonus episode. On the other hand, if it's escapism you're after, consider the cutlass-wielding scalawags of Robert Louis Stevenson's classic Treasure Island and learn about a new book that explores the impact Stevenson's wife Fanny (a writer herself) had on his literary output.Mentioned in this episode:Kindred by Octavia E. ButlerParable of the Sower by Octavia E. ButlerParallels between 2025 and Octavia E. Butler's workTreasure Island by Robert Louis StevensonKidnapped by Robert Louis StevensonA Wilder Shore by Camille PeriFanny StevensonThe Dynamiter by Robert Louis Stevenson and Fanny StevensonFor episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.comDiscuss episodes on our Facebook Forum. Follow us on instagram @lostladiesoflit. Follow Kim on twitter @kaskew. Sign up for our newsletter: LostLadiesofLit.com Email us: Contact — Lost Ladies of Lit Podcast

In this episode - their first one recorded in 2025! - Steve and Tananarive talk about how Octavia E. Butler and Ray Bradbury confronted their times with art to help inspire themselves and others. (Includes a clip from a 2000 interview with Octavia Butler).  They also talk about their upcoming hybrid class on Writing Science Fiction/Afrofuturism (1/25) and how artists can turn fear into power through storytelling! (Learn more about the class at www.writerwebinar.com)  LEAVE US A VOICEMAIL at https://www.speakpipe.com/LifewritingPodcast (We might play your message!) Join Tananarive's mailing list at https://tananarivelist.com Join Steve's mailing list at https://stevenbarneslist.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As wildfires continue to burn in Los Angeles, some wealthy residents are shelling out thousands each day to hire private firefighters to protect their homes and businesses. But some argue that the market for these private crews diminishes public firefighting resources. We’ll get into it. And, renowned science fiction author Octavia Butler predicted many of our modern problems, including catastrophic wildfires. We’ll explain how looking to the past helped her write about the future. Plus, Kimberly gives us some advice for throwing better parties in 2025. Here’s everything we talked about today: “‘Will Pay Any Amount': Private Firefighters Are in Demand in L.A.” from The New York Times “I Will Pay Any Amount to Not Pay My Taxes” from McSweeney’s Internet Tendency “N.K. Jemisin on the prescience and brilliance of Parable of the Sower” from New Scientist “A Few Rules For Predicting The Future by Octavia E. Butler” from Common Good Collective “The LA Fires Aren’t a Surprise If You Study History and Climate Change. So Now What?” from Teen Vogue “Americans Need to Party More” from The Atlantic “Here’s how single women are successfully navigating an otherwise brutal market for first-time homebuyers” from Business Insider We love to hear from you. Email us at makemesmart@marketplace.org or leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART.

As wildfires continue to burn in Los Angeles, some wealthy residents are shelling out thousands each day to hire private firefighters to protect their homes and businesses. But some argue that the market for these private crews diminishes public firefighting resources. We’ll get into it. And, renowned science fiction author Octavia Butler predicted many of our modern problems, including catastrophic wildfires. We’ll explain how looking to the past helped her write about the future. Plus, Kimberly gives us some advice for throwing better parties in 2025. Here’s everything we talked about today: “‘Will Pay Any Amount': Private Firefighters Are in Demand in L.A.” from The New York Times “I Will Pay Any Amount to Not Pay My Taxes” from McSweeney’s Internet Tendency “N.K. Jemisin on the prescience and brilliance of Parable of the Sower” from New Scientist “A Few Rules For Predicting The Future by Octavia E. Butler” from Common Good Collective “The LA Fires Aren’t a Surprise If You Study History and Climate Change. So Now What?” from Teen Vogue “Americans Need to Party More” from The Atlantic “Here’s how single women are successfully navigating an otherwise brutal market for first-time homebuyers” from Business Insider We love to hear from you. Email us at makemesmart@marketplace.org or leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART.

As wildfires continue to burn in Los Angeles, some wealthy residents are shelling out thousands each day to hire private firefighters to protect their homes and businesses. But some argue that the market for these private crews diminishes public firefighting resources. We’ll get into it. And, renowned science fiction author Octavia Butler predicted many of our modern problems, including catastrophic wildfires. We’ll explain how looking to the past helped her write about the future. Plus, Kimberly gives us some advice for throwing better parties in 2025. Here’s everything we talked about today: “‘Will Pay Any Amount': Private Firefighters Are in Demand in L.A.” from The New York Times “I Will Pay Any Amount to Not Pay My Taxes” from McSweeney’s Internet Tendency “N.K. Jemisin on the prescience and brilliance of Parable of the Sower” from New Scientist “A Few Rules For Predicting The Future by Octavia E. Butler” from Common Good Collective “The LA Fires Aren’t a Surprise If You Study History and Climate Change. So Now What?” from Teen Vogue “Americans Need to Party More” from The Atlantic “Here’s how single women are successfully navigating an otherwise brutal market for first-time homebuyers” from Business Insider We love to hear from you. Email us at makemesmart@marketplace.org or leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART.

As wildfires continue to burn in Los Angeles, some wealthy residents are shelling out thousands each day to hire private firefighters to protect their homes and businesses. But some argue that the market for these private crews diminishes public firefighting resources. We’ll get into it. And, renowned science fiction author Octavia Butler predicted many of our modern problems, including catastrophic wildfires. We’ll explain how looking to the past helped her write about the future. Plus, Kimberly gives us some advice for throwing better parties in 2025. Here’s everything we talked about today: “‘Will Pay Any Amount': Private Firefighters Are in Demand in L.A.” from The New York Times “I Will Pay Any Amount to Not Pay My Taxes” from McSweeney’s Internet Tendency “N.K. Jemisin on the prescience and brilliance of Parable of the Sower” from New Scientist “A Few Rules For Predicting The Future by Octavia E. Butler” from Common Good Collective “The LA Fires Aren’t a Surprise If You Study History and Climate Change. So Now What?” from Teen Vogue “Americans Need to Party More” from The Atlantic “Here’s how single women are successfully navigating an otherwise brutal market for first-time homebuyers” from Business Insider We love to hear from you. Email us at makemesmart@marketplace.org or leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART.

Today on the show, Paul and Ben talk about Ben's Buffoon character for the first half of the show, their wardrobe, American Primeval, Weekend, Octavia E. Butler, and Getty and Shutterstock merging.

In Stay Black and Die: On Melancholy and Genius (Duke UP, 2023), I. Augustus Durham examines melancholy and genius in black culture, letters, and media from the nineteenth century to the contemporary moment. Drawing on psychoanalysis, affect theory, and black studies, Durham explores the black mother as both a lost object and a found subject often obscured when constituting a cultural legacy of genius across history. He analyzes the works of Frederick Douglass, Ralph Ellison, Marvin Gaye, Octavia E. Butler, and Kendrick Lamar to show how black cultural practices and aesthetics abstract and reveal the lost mother through performance. Whether attributing Douglass's intellect to his matrilineage, reading Gaye's falsetto singing voice as a move to interpolate black female vocality, or examining the women in Ellison's life who encouraged his aesthetic interests, Durham demonstrates that melancholy becomes the catalyst for genius and genius in turn is a signifier of the maternal. Using psychoanalysis to develop a theory of racial melancholy while “playing” with affect theory to investigate racial aesthetics, Durham theorizes the role of the feminine, especially the black maternal, in the production of black masculinist genius. 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

In Stay Black and Die: On Melancholy and Genius (Duke UP, 2023), I. Augustus Durham examines melancholy and genius in black culture, letters, and media from the nineteenth century to the contemporary moment. Drawing on psychoanalysis, affect theory, and black studies, Durham explores the black mother as both a lost object and a found subject often obscured when constituting a cultural legacy of genius across history. He analyzes the works of Frederick Douglass, Ralph Ellison, Marvin Gaye, Octavia E. Butler, and Kendrick Lamar to show how black cultural practices and aesthetics abstract and reveal the lost mother through performance. Whether attributing Douglass's intellect to his matrilineage, reading Gaye's falsetto singing voice as a move to interpolate black female vocality, or examining the women in Ellison's life who encouraged his aesthetic interests, Durham demonstrates that melancholy becomes the catalyst for genius and genius in turn is a signifier of the maternal. Using psychoanalysis to develop a theory of racial melancholy while “playing” with affect theory to investigate racial aesthetics, Durham theorizes the role of the feminine, especially the black maternal, in the production of black masculinist genius. 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

In Stay Black and Die: On Melancholy and Genius (Duke UP, 2023), I. Augustus Durham examines melancholy and genius in black culture, letters, and media from the nineteenth century to the contemporary moment. Drawing on psychoanalysis, affect theory, and black studies, Durham explores the black mother as both a lost object and a found subject often obscured when constituting a cultural legacy of genius across history. He analyzes the works of Frederick Douglass, Ralph Ellison, Marvin Gaye, Octavia E. Butler, and Kendrick Lamar to show how black cultural practices and aesthetics abstract and reveal the lost mother through performance. Whether attributing Douglass's intellect to his matrilineage, reading Gaye's falsetto singing voice as a move to interpolate black female vocality, or examining the women in Ellison's life who encouraged his aesthetic interests, Durham demonstrates that melancholy becomes the catalyst for genius and genius in turn is a signifier of the maternal. Using psychoanalysis to develop a theory of racial melancholy while “playing” with affect theory to investigate racial aesthetics, Durham theorizes the role of the feminine, especially the black maternal, in the production of black masculinist genius. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literary-studies

In Stay Black and Die: On Melancholy and Genius (Duke UP, 2023), I. Augustus Durham examines melancholy and genius in black culture, letters, and media from the nineteenth century to the contemporary moment. Drawing on psychoanalysis, affect theory, and black studies, Durham explores the black mother as both a lost object and a found subject often obscured when constituting a cultural legacy of genius across history. He analyzes the works of Frederick Douglass, Ralph Ellison, Marvin Gaye, Octavia E. Butler, and Kendrick Lamar to show how black cultural practices and aesthetics abstract and reveal the lost mother through performance. Whether attributing Douglass's intellect to his matrilineage, reading Gaye's falsetto singing voice as a move to interpolate black female vocality, or examining the women in Ellison's life who encouraged his aesthetic interests, Durham demonstrates that melancholy becomes the catalyst for genius and genius in turn is a signifier of the maternal. Using psychoanalysis to develop a theory of racial melancholy while “playing” with affect theory to investigate racial aesthetics, Durham theorizes the role of the feminine, especially the black maternal, in the production of black masculinist genius. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/critical-theory

In Stay Black and Die: On Melancholy and Genius (Duke UP, 2023), I. Augustus Durham examines melancholy and genius in black culture, letters, and media from the nineteenth century to the contemporary moment. Drawing on psychoanalysis, affect theory, and black studies, Durham explores the black mother as both a lost object and a found subject often obscured when constituting a cultural legacy of genius across history. He analyzes the works of Frederick Douglass, Ralph Ellison, Marvin Gaye, Octavia E. Butler, and Kendrick Lamar to show how black cultural practices and aesthetics abstract and reveal the lost mother through performance. Whether attributing Douglass's intellect to his matrilineage, reading Gaye's falsetto singing voice as a move to interpolate black female vocality, or examining the women in Ellison's life who encouraged his aesthetic interests, Durham demonstrates that melancholy becomes the catalyst for genius and genius in turn is a signifier of the maternal. Using psychoanalysis to develop a theory of racial melancholy while “playing” with affect theory to investigate racial aesthetics, Durham theorizes the role of the feminine, especially the black maternal, in the production of black masculinist genius. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/intellectual-history

Support, protect and believe in Black women! This episode celebrates influential and innovative Black women. Lori shares the story of inventor Mary Kenner, and Sheena covers award-winning sci-fi writer Octavia E. Butler. Hannah covers punk icon Poly Styrene.

Do you ever feel the need to “gather” someone online? Or maybe someone in your life? It's perfectly human! But maybe we should think twice about how we go about making that correction - and how we can make it in the most loving way possible. To help you and us do that, we've got adrienne maree brown back on the pod! Following her 2020 visit to Getting Curious, adrienne is here to talk all about the ideas in her new book, Loving Corrections, and help all of us give and receive feedback better! adrienne maree brown grows healing ideas in public. Through her writing, which includes short- and long-form fiction, nonfiction, spells, tarot decks and poetry; her music, which includes songwriting, singing and immersive musical rituals; and her podcasts, including How to Survive the End of the World, Octavia's Parables and The Emergent Strategy Podcast, adrienne has nurtured Emergent Strategy, Pleasure Activism, Radical Imagination and Transformative Justice as ideas, frameworks, networks and practices for transformation. Her work is informed by 25 years of social and environmental justice facilitation primarily supporting Black liberation, her path of teaching somatics, her love of Octavia E Butler and visionary fiction, and her work as a doula. She is the author/editor of several published texts including “Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change,” “Changing Worlds” (2017), “Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good” (2019), and “Grievers” (2021) and “Maroons” (2023), the first two novellas of her speculative fiction trilogy. Her newest book, “Loving Corrections,” will be published in August 2024. After a multinational childhood, adrienne lived in New York, Oakland and Detroit before landing in her current home of Durham, NC. She has been featured in all types of media, from “We Can Do Hard Things” with Glennon Doyle and “On Being with Krista Tippett,” to New York Magazine's The Cut, atmos, Vulture, Shondaland, Lifekit, BBC, Bon Apétit, and many others -- including of course on our show back in 2020. Her new book: Loving Corrections, is out now. Related materials:  "The Four Parts of Accountability & How To Give A Genuine Apology" by Mia Mingus You can follow adrienne on Instagram @adriennemareebrown and on adrienne's website adriennemareebrown.net. Follow us on Instagram @CuriousWithJVN to join the conversation. Jonathan is on Instagram @JVN. Transcripts for each episode are available at JonathanVanNess.com. Find books from Getting Curious guests at bookshop.org/shop/curiouswithjvn. Our senior producer is Chris McClure. Our editor & engineer is Nathanael McClure. Production support from Julie Carillo, Anne Currie, and Chad Hall. Our theme music is “Freak” by QUIÑ; for more, head to TheQuinCat.com& Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today's poem is In Jerusalem by Mahmoud Darwish, translated by Fady Joudah, with special guest adrienne maree brown. Through her writing, which includes short- and long-form fiction, nonfiction, spells, tarot decks and poetry; her music, which includes songwriting, singing and immersive musical rituals; and her podcasts, including How to Survive the End of the World, Octavia's Parables and The Emergent Strategy Podcast, adrienne has nurtured Emergent Strategy, Pleasure Activism, Radical Imagination and Transformative Justice as ideas, frameworks, networks and practices for transformation. Her work is informed by 25 years of social and environmental justice facilitation primarily supporting Black liberation, her path of teaching somatics, her love of Octavia E. Butler and visionary fiction, and her work as a doula. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, adrienne shares… “For me, poetry is how I get to be my whole human self in a given moment, and really, connect to that river — I always talk about [how] there's this river of love and justice that's flowing from the beginning of time to the end and it flows through us to different degrees. We're supposed to do that kind of work, but it has to be able to hold the whole complexity of a given moment. It has to be able to hold life and death — really life and death — over and over again in a variety of ways.” Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

It's The Stacks Book Club Day, and we are discussing the classic post-apocalyptic novel Parable of the Sower, which is set now, in July 2024. We're joined again by Lessons for Survival author Emily Raboteau. We talk about what we think of Lauren, the book's main character, and what we make of the religious and romantic elements in the story. We also contextualize the book's iconic author, Octavia E. Butler.Be sure to listen to the end of today's episode to find out what our August book club pick will be.You can find everything we discuss on today's show on The Stacks' website:https://thestackspodcast.com/2024/07/31/ep-330-parable-of-the-sowerConnect with Emily: Instagram | Twitter | WebsiteConnect with The Stacks: Instagram | Twitter | Shop | Patreon | Goodreads | Substack | SubscribeSUPPORT THE STACKSJoin The Stacks Pack on PatreonTo support The Stacks and find out more from this week's sponsors, click here.Purchasing books through Bookshop.org or Amazon earns The Stacks a small commission.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Author Mateo Askaripour is back on The Stacks to talk about his sophomore novel, This Great Hemisphere, a work of speculative fiction about an invisible woman on a mission to solve a high profile political murder. Mateo explains how he built the book's world - set 500 years in the future - and why he doesn't think about genre with his work. We also discuss the performance of political discourse and how this book compares to his debut, Black Buck. The Stacks Book Club pick for July is Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler. We will discuss the book on July 31st with Emily Raboteau. You can find everything we discuss on today's show on The Stacks' website:https://thestackspodcast.com/2024/07/24/ep-329-mateo-askaripourConnect with Mateo: Instagram | Twitter | WebsiteConnect with The Stacks: Instagram | Twitter | Shop | Patreon | Goodreads | Substack | SubscribeSUPPORT THE STACKSJoin The Stacks Pack on PatreonTo support The Stacks and find out more from this week's sponsors, click here.Purchasing books through Bookshop.org or Amazon earns The Stacks a small commission.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We are joined by journalist and author Adam Higginbotham, whose new book is Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space. Adam explains why he wanted to tell the story of the Challenger, and the importance of focusing on its crew. He also reveals how he kept all the people and puzzle pieces straight, and tells a wild story about an unpublished memoir that he discovered in his research.The Stacks Book Club pick for July is Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler. We will discuss the book on July 31st with Emily Raboteau. You can find everything we discuss on today's show on The Stacks' website:https://thestackspodcast.com/2024/07/17/ep-328-adam-higginbothamConnect with Adam: Twitter | WebsiteConnect with The Stacks: Instagram | Twitter | Shop | Patreon | Goodreads | Substack | SubscribeSUPPORT THE STACKSJoin The Stacks Pack on PatreonTo support The Stacks and find out more from this week's sponsors, click here.Purchasing books through Bookshop.org or Amazon earns The Stacks a small commission.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We are joined by Katherine Lewin, founder of the hosting shop Big Night in NYC, to discuss her new cookbook Big Night: Dinners, Parties & Dinner Parties. Katherine explains how she makes hosting feel easy and welcoming and shares the keys to having a successful Big Night. We also learn about her development process and how she decided on which recipes to include in the book.The Stacks Book Club pick for July is Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler. We will discuss the book on July 31st with Emily Raboteau. You can find everything we discuss on today's show on The Stacks' website:https://thestackspodcast.com/2024/07/10/ep-327-katherine-lewinConnect with Katherine: Instagram | Website | Big Night IGConnect with The Stacks: Instagram | Twitter | Shop | Patreon | Goodreads | Substack | SubscribeSUPPORT THE STACKSJoin The Stacks Pack on PatreonTo support The Stacks and find out more from this week's sponsors, click here.Purchasing books through Bookshop.org or Amazon earns The Stacks a small commission.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today author and essayist Emily Raboteau joins The Stacks to discuss her book Lessons for Survival: Mothering Against "The Apocalypse." Emily explains what has changed for her since writing this meditation on justice, race and the environment. And we learn why it's so important to talk about climate change with the people in our lives. The Stacks Book Club pick for July is Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler. We will discuss the book on July 31st with Emily Raboteau. You can find everything we discuss on today's show on The Stacks' website:https://thestackspodcast.com/2024/07/03/ep-326-emily-raboteauConnect with Emily: Instagram | Twitter | WebsiteConnect with The Stacks: Instagram | Twitter | Shop | Patreon | Goodreads | Substack | SubscribeSUPPORT THE STACKSJoin The Stacks Pack on PatreonTo support The Stacks and find out more from this week's sponsors, click here.Purchasing books through Bookshop.org or Amazon earns The Stacks a small commission.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.