Real Ballers Read

100. The Greatest Love of All with Dr. Pamela Ellis

Mon, 13 May 2024 01:32:19 -0400

In this live recording special, we talk with our mom about the book that changed her relationship to reading, Disappearing Acts by Terry McMillan. She takes us back to the '90s and surprises us with stories we've never heard before...

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99. Considering Genius, Jazz & the Sublime with Robert Menafee

Sun, 05 May 2024 10:55:00 -0400

In this episode, we talk with our dad, Robert Menafee, about jazz and all of the things that jazz shines a light on.

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98. A Real Ballers Read Freestyle

Sat, 04 May 2024 15:00:00 -0400

In this episode, we reflect on our incredible journey with this podcast. A true freestyle.

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97. Twenty-One Questions

Sat, 04 May 2024 03:52:47 -0400

We learned a lot about questions during this podcast, so we wanted to dedicate an episode to just asking each other fun questions and questions about questions. How many questions can you count?

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96. Song of Solomon with Danny Dunson

Sun, 10 Mar 2024 16:14:00 -0400

In this episode, we talk with our brilliant older brother, Danny Dunson.

Danny went to church on this one, sharing an interwoven story and analysis of his life and experience with Toni Morrison's classic work, Song of Solomon.

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95. Holy American Burnout with Sean Enfield

Sun, 10 Mar 2024 15:11:00 -0400

In this episode, we talk with the incredible writer, Sean Enfield about his debut collection of essays, Holy American Burnout.

Sean goes deep into the questions and experiences that shaped the writing of this book and still propel his thinking today.

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94. With Love, We Fight with Kendall Bryant

Sun, 10 Mar 2024 14:00:00 -0400

In this episode, we talk with the brilliant Kendall Bryant about a book that's in the hallowed halls of their personal canon, Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison.

The story of this book for Kendall is interwoven with their history, their conception of the present, and their vision for the future.

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93. Emergent Strategy with Justus Pugh

Sat, 09 Mar 2024 15:00:00 -0400

In this episode with our dear brother, Justus Pugh we talk about beavers, ducks, bird people, and all of the beauty of discovering the world anew through the lens of Emergent Strategy, adrienne marie brown's classic book. e

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92. No Apologies with Felton Kizer

Tue, 05 Mar 2024 01:14:23 -0400

Felton Kizer is an uncontainable creative and entrepreneur who we also know as a dear friend and brother.

In this episode, we talk about a book that is as raw and truthful as he is, Prelude to King.

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91. Exploring Health and the Meaning of Home with Sidney Miles

Sun, 11 Feb 2024 18:38:23 -0400

We got to chop it up with our good brother Sidney, a local Chicago legend, fitness coach, entrepreneur, artist, model, and community organizer. We talked with him about his story getting back into reading in college, the importance of books to his health practices, and what home and community means to him being raised and having family all over the world.

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90. Sand, Sweat & Poetry with Ashanee Kottage

Thu, 25 Jan 2024 01:56:31 -0400

In this episode, we are joined by our exceptionally talented friend, Ashanee Kottage. Ashanee is a multi-hyphenate artist and has just published her debut poetry collection, Sand & Sweat. We talk about Ashanee's creative process, exploring the blend of personal experiences, cultural influences, and literary inspirations that shape her poetry. This episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in poetry, creativity, and the journey of a young artist navigating the complexities of life and art.

Click this link to purchase a copy of Sand & Sweat!

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89. Exploring Césaire's "Return to My Native Land" with Mamadou.

Mon, 22 Jan 2024 02:13:32 -0400

In this episode, we talk with our good brother Mamadou about Aimé Césaire's book-length poem "Return to My Native Land" and how it has already shaped his thinking and storytelling. We make sense of what it means to be reading this poem in the present moment and why the poem is as relevant as ever!

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88. Being the Main Character with Cam Burton

Fri, 15 Dec 2023 23:29:44 -0400

Cam Burton is one of our brilliant friends who thinks deeply and humorously on a wide range of topics. In this episode, we talk about what he's been reading recently and the technological sci-fi landscape that we find ourselves in today. This one is for the main characters...

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87. The Future of Technology with Jadal Williams

Mon, 04 Dec 2023 04:12:11 -0400

In this episode, we talked with our friend, Jadal Williams, a genius studying robotics for his PhD at MIT. He just came back from an exciting trip abroad where he got to see the future of robotic technology and we talked about what this future may hold for all of us...

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86. When Black Boys Become Black Men with Donta

Mon, 20 Nov 2023 12:00:00 -0400

We sat down with the man, myth, and legend—Donta from the popular community, Gold Mouf Book Club. Through the lens of Richard Wright's memoir Black Boy, we talk about what it means to truly be radical now in 2023, the role of religion in the Black community, the power of anger, and what it means to be a Black man. You'll really enjoy getting to know Donta!

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85. The Intimacy of Audiobooks with Forrest Evans

Mon, 13 Nov 2023 05:16:49 -0400

In this episode, our first-ever guest on the show, Forrest Evans, returns!! Forrest brought the heat with talking about the intimate potential of audiobooks, observing what parts of herself she's been exploring in her reading recently, and demonstrating what it means to be a leader as a librarian in this era of censorship and book bans.

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84. Revolutionized Relationships with Mechiya Jamison

Mon, 06 Nov 2023 03:26:22 -0400

In this part 2 episode, we talked with Mechiya about the all the ins and outs of relationships: having emotional intelligence, processing hurt, dating, gender norms in the Black community, and friendship.

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83. Revolutionized Learning with Mechiya Jamison

Mon, 06 Nov 2023 03:15:07 -0400

We got to sit in person with the one and only Mechiya Jamison to talk about one of her favorite books, Assata. We talked about many aspects of liberation: organizing, education, our environment, class consciousness, climate, gender, and even the role of shame.

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82. Forget the Alamo with Travis Green and Jason Stanford

Fri, 03 Nov 2023 16:13:41 -0400

In this episode, we talk with Real Ballers Read legend Travis Green and his friend and co-author of the book, Forget the Alamo, Jason Stanford. We talk about the truth and myth of the Alamo, how foundational it is to Texas history, the difference between history and historiography, and how the Alamo is still relevant to this day.

History buffs, Texans, or Texan history buffs, this episode is for you!!

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81. Embracing the Sublime with Seanathan Polidore

Mon, 23 Oct 2023 00:39:06 -0400

In this episode, we are joined by the one and only Sean P! We talk about how he discovered his love of reading through the Navy, finding the positive in everything you read, coping with grief, and the golden age of Hip-Hop. Seanathan is a multi-talented autodidact who you'll love getting to know as much as we did! Welcome to the Sean P. Experience X Real Ballers Read...

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80. The Epic Story of The Black Fives with Claude Johnson

Mon, 16 Oct 2023 13:48:26 -0400

In this episode, we talk with Claude Johnson, the author of the triumphant 2022 book, The Black Fives: The Epic Story of Basketball's Forgotten Era. We discussed his world-spanning childhood, the incredible decades-long journey of writing his book, fatherhood, and the future of basketball. All fans of history and sports will love this one!

Check out The Black Fives on Bookshop here

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79. Art, Science, and Liberation with Delia West

Mon, 09 Oct 2023 01:30:00 -0400

Delia West is an art teacher and scientist who's thinking in revolutionary ways. In this episode, we talk with her about one of her favorite books, The Disordered Cosmos by Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, how she got back into reading, her deep passion for all things science, and what liberation looks like for her!

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78. Being Original with Chinelo Ikem

Thu, 05 Oct 2023 16:02:07 -0400

It might seem increasingly difficult to be original in these times, but Chinelo proves that to be original all you really have to be is honest. In this fun conversation, we talk about our sense of fashion, fantasy novels, and the nuance of everything we've been reading recently. We know you'll love this episode.

Be sure to check out Chinelo's IG page @interestedinblackbooks

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77. Soul Food with Onyi Ozoma

Sun, 01 Oct 2023 22:13:00 -0400

In this episode, we talk with a friend of ours, Onyi Ozoma, about a collage of different topics, including adjusting into adult life, Toni Morrison's Beloved, new music we've been enjoying, and what it possibly means to be a lost soul.

This conversation was soul food for us, without the subsequent itis.

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76. Why Willie Mae Thornton Matters with Lynnée Denise

Sun, 10 Sep 2023 12:40:00 -0400

Lynnée Denise filled the silence of her pandemic with the rich sounds and legacy of Willie Mae Thorton. The outcome of that deep listening, reading, and viewing practice is Lynnée's amazing new book, Why Willie Mae Thornton Matters.

In this interview, she talks about her interdisciplinary and interdependent approach to writing her book, how she came to love reading, and where she sees the legacy of Willie Mae Thornton today.

Buy Willie Mae Thornton Matters Here

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75. The Importance of the Black Working Class with Dr. Blair LM Kelley

Tue, 15 Aug 2023 03:11:57 -0400

In this episode, we talk with Dr. Blair LM Kelley, an award-winning historian, professor, and writer about her recent book, Black Folk.

We talked about how she made the study of history her own, how she thinks about progress in the Black community, her gratitude to Toni Morrison, and on whether Beyonce's "Break My Soul" is a Black working class anthem.

And we shared a lot of laughs along the way!

Check out Real Ballers Read here

Learn More About Dr. Kelley Here

Buy Black Folk Here

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74. American Whitelash with Wesley Lowery

Sat, 01 Jul 2023 04:06:00 -0400

Our guest today is an incredible reporter and journalist—Wesley Lowery.

In this episode we talk with him about his recently released book, American Whitelash, and how he approaches his writing.

Check out Real Ballers Read here

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73. The New Black Aesthetic with Trey Ellis

Fri, 23 Jun 2023 18:16:31 -0400

Our guest today is a true writer's writer - novelist, essayist, playwright, and screenwriter Trey Ellis!

Trey Ellis is the author of four books and is currently a professor at Columbia University. In this episode we talk with him about his early inspiration as a reader and writer, the New Black Aesthetic and more.

Check out Real Ballers Read here

Check out Trey's website here

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72. From Precocious to the Pulitzer with Dr. Marcia Chatelain

Fri, 02 Jun 2023 13:00:49 -0400

Dr. Marcia Chatelain is a professor of History and African American Studies at Georgetown University and the author of two books: South Side Girls: Growing Up in the Great Migration, and the Pulitzer Prize winning Franchise: The Golden Arches in Black America.

In this episode, we first learn from Dr. Chatelain about her upbringing in Chicago - all the books she could get her hands on, and all the McDonald's she could enjoy. Although Super Size Me convinced her to give up the Golden Arches for good in 2005, her explorations of gender, race, and capitalism in American history inspired her instant classic book about McDonald's years later.

Class is in session with Dr. Chatelain as she shares insights on the changing landscape of Black America!

Get your copy of Franchise at Mahogany Books!

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71. On Our Resilience and Brilliance with Dr. Daniel Black

Wed, 31 May 2023 13:52:10 -0400

Dr. Daniel Black is a professor of African American Studies at Clark Atlanta University and the author of seven novels and the new collection of essays, Black on Black: On Our Resilience and Brilliance in America.

In this episode featuring him and two of his friends, Dr. Black brought us to church, brought us to the water, and brought us home to ourselves. Our conversation spans from his experiences as a young reader, to queerness and double consciousness, the problem of Black self-hatred, and naming yourself as an act of love.

Dr. Black is a dynamic speaker and thinker which makes for an incredibly exciting interview!

Get your copy of Black On Black at Mahogany Books!

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70. The Color of Science with Dr. Frederic Bertley

Tue, 25 Apr 2023 00:11:06 -0400

Dr. Frederic Bertley is an Emmy-Award-winning science educator and immunologist from Montreal, Canada. He currently serves as the president of the nation's #1 science museum, COSI (Center of Science and Industry) in Columbus, Ohio.

In this episode, we talk with Dr. Bertley about how he came to love reading, how he fell in love with science, and ask him all sorts of fun questions about science!!

Dr. Bertley is a one-of-a-kind guest that brought his incredible energy and intelligence to our show and we know you'll love this episode!

Check out Dr. B's Awesome show QED here

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69. Race Matters: Talking About Cornel West's Classic

Tue, 11 Apr 2023 17:00:27 -0400

This April was the 30th anniversary of Race Matters by Cornel West. It's a great book that I wanted to just sit on the couch to talk to y'all about!

Highly recommend reading through the book if you haven't, it's not as academic as it may seem.

You can check out the book with this link.

:40 How I found the book

1:39 A little context for the book

4:33 Nihilism in Black America

6:32 What does hope mean to you?

10:45 Marvin Gaye Interview

14:46 Those darn market forces!

16:27 “The Crisis of Black Leadership”

19:30 The three types of leaders

23:46 BLM and the Obama Era

26:21 Courage

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68. The Unexpected and Fun History of "Simple" with Dr. Donna Akiba Sullivan Harper

Thu, 30 Mar 2023 20:33:19 -0400

In this episode, we were honored to talk with educator, teacher and writer extraordinaire, Dr. Donna Akiba Sullivan Harper. She taught at Spelman for 32 years and was the Fuller E. Calloway Professor of English. She is also a world renowned expert on Langston Hughes and his Simple stories.

We talked about her longtime love and scholarship of Langston Hughes, the story of how Simple came to be, and the legacy of the stories today. Dr. Harper shares so many awesome stories and we shared many laughs! It was so great to talk about Simple for the third time and y’all better start reading these stories after this one!

1:12 When Dr. Harper was first introduced to Langston Hughes

4:08 Dr. Harper’s relationship with her professor

7:02 Her undergraduate thesis on Langston Hughes

10:19 How her classes on Langston Hughes changed over time

19:32 How Langston Hughes wrote about women

22:52 “The Need for Heroes”

26:12 The Origin Story for the character of Simple

30:01 Black literacy and the Black press in Langston Hughes’ time

35:41 People thought Simple was a real person!

38:35 Dr. Harper’s 3 favorite Simple Stories

43:46 What makes Simple so relevant?

48:27 Why do many people still not know Simple?

49:23 The Danny Glover Story

55:23 Looking for Langston and Langston Hughes’ sexuality

1:02 The Boondocks comparison to Simple

1:04 The Importance of Laughter

1:06 Further reading for Langston Hughes

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67. How and Why to Start a Podcast

Wed, 22 Mar 2023 15:01:29 -0400

We don't know everything about podcasting, but we do know that it's one of the most fun and fulfilling things we've ever done. Everyone who enjoys listening to podcasts should at least *consider* producing one because it's a great opportunity for personal growth and community-building. Here in this episode, Jan shares some of the origin story of Real Ballers Read, and offers 5 simple steps to starting your own.

Connect with us on our Instagram and website.

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66. The Tale of Two Magazine Covers: Discussing Black Men in Popular Media

Mon, 13 Mar 2023 01:08:39 -0400

So in the last couple of weeks there was a small controversy on Twitter about two magazine covers, one with Jonathan Majors and another with ASAP Rocky and Rihanna. The controversy was over whether or not there is an agenda to effeminize Black men in popular media.

In this episode, I wanted to talk about to two writers who had a similar debate before—Frances Cress Welsing and Essex Hemphill.

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65. Continuing Our Exploration of "Simple" with Uncle Chris

Fri, 24 Feb 2023 14:46:17 -0400

Real Ballers Read returns to Langston Hughes’s legendary but long-forgotten character, Jess B. Semple in this week’s podcast episode! This time with our hilarious and brilliant Uncle Chris “CockaRue” Wesson.

Last summer, Uncle Chris asked if we knew Jess B. Semple and his favorite book series Simple Speaks His Mind, Simple Takes A Wife, and Simple Stakes A Claim.

We had never heard of Simple, or even knew that Langston Hughes wrote more than poetry. But today we share our conversation with Uncle Chris, where he tells the story of how Simple turned him into a lifelong reader and relatable storyteller.

This episode is full of laughs and wisdom, just like the Simple stories, so make sure to check it out this weekend wherever you listen to podcasts!

1:03 Chris’ backstory

2:30 Chris’ story of how he lost and found his love of reading

6:21 The Basketball Diaries

8:39 Bobby Seale

10:00 Discovering Langston Hughes

12:39 Buying his first copy of Simple

15:39 Miles and Jan’s favorite Simple stories

18:17 The story of Chris’ name

18:40 Simple: The American Folk Tale in Real Life

20:49 Look at my feet

22:54 Reading from “Feet Have a Life of Their Own”

25:12 The Bars Simple drank in vs. now

28:06 Simple, Politics and American History

32:25 “Dig and be dug”

33:19 Richard Pryor and Mudbone

35:06 When you run into the random cousin 😂

39:00 Reading “The Word from Town & Country”

46:59 How Langston Hughes impacted a career change for Chris

51:06 The Poet of the People

56:25 Gifting his love of Simple

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64. We Are The Trayvon Generation

Sat, 18 Feb 2023 00:47:21 -0400

“I call the young people who grew up in the past twenty-five years the Trayvon Generation. They always knew these stories. These stories formed their world view. These stories helped instruct young African-Americans about their embodiment and their vulnerability. The stories were primers in fear and futility. The stories were the ground soil of their rage. These stories instructed them that anti-black hatred and violence were never far.” - Elizabeth Alexander, The Trayvon Generation This week is dedicated to all the young Black people who’ve grown up in the Trayvon Generation. Elizabeth Alexander’s essay and book of the same name guide this week’s episode about what it’s like living in times of anti-Black violence and not-guilty verdicts. We share how February 26, 2012 changed everything for us as Black boys, and ushered in a decade of constant fear, anger and cynicism. We address the struggles to better define what freedom might mean, with the help of many of our favorite books. Check out Growing Up in the Trayvon Generation this weekend anywhere you listen to podcasts. 1:37 Introducing the Trayvon Generation 2:57 What we remember from 2012 6:21 The Timeline of the Justice system 8:20 The medium in which we hear the news 9:21 Respectability politics 15:38 Becoming Disillusioned with politics 20:40 Turning away from social media 25:58 What does it mean to be free black man? 30:00 The Story of Herman Wallace 33:08 Finding freedom in prison? 36:50 What is freedom really? 40:00 Other books that come to mind 44:00 Time traveling to 1919 47:37 Surprise and Connectedness --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/realballersread/support

63. Who is Simple?? Talking About Langston Hughes' Beloved Character

Fri, 10 Feb 2023 22:24:40 -0400

“Usually over a glass of beer, he tells me his tales, mostly in high humor, but sometimes with a pain in his soul as sharp as the occasional hurt of that bunion on his right foot.”

~ Langston Hughes, 1961

Who is Simple???

For this week’s episode of Real Ballers Read, we introduce you to one of Langston Hughes’s most hilarious and lesser known characters: Jess B. Semple, nicknamed “Simple”.

Simple and his stories are a celebration of many of the black folks that Hughes encountered in Harlem. Through short dialogues between himself and Simple, Hughes brings readers’ attention to the humor, rhythm and blues of everyday Black life.

We’ve been laughing and learning so much along the way of reading Hughes’s Simple stories, and we’re excited to share that with you this Black History Month. Podcast dropping today everywhere you listen!

:40 Miles’ trip to Ghana

4:02 Homegoing

6:15 Jan’s trip to DC

8:15 Jan Claiming Author Status

10:28 Simple

15:07 Langston Hughes’ explanation of Simple

20:29 How People Talked then vs Now

22:39 Internet Culture and Attention Spans

29:06 “Temptation” by Langston Hughes

34:31 The importance of rhyming

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62. The Spook Who Sat By The Door

Sat, 04 Feb 2023 04:22:22 -0400

In this episode, Miles talks about The Spook Who Sat By The Door by Sam Greenlee. He reads a short passage from the book, talks about the questions it raises and the book's influence on Nipsey Hussle.

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61. The Weight of Wellness with Akili Nzuri

Fri, 27 Jan 2023 20:14:39 -0400

“Are you sure, sweetheart you want to be well? …Cause wholeness is no trifling matter. A lot of weight when you’re well.” Toni Cade Bambara opens her novel The Salt Eaters with these lines - questioning both the protagonist AND the reader to decide if they want to take on the weight of wellness. Reading this book is unlike any other reading experience we’ve had. It feels like trudging through mud, and in this episode Akili assures us that that means that The Salt Eaters is working!?!? Akili shows us, and all our listeners, what it means to be a smart Black man, as he makes one of the hardest books ever look easy, and hits on the many interesting points listed below:

1:35 The Story Behind Akili’s names

6:41 Listening to only jazz for a year

9:25 Akili’s reading journey

12:04 What it means to be a smart Black man

15:44 “When you want something, you have to go after it”

19:35 Trudging through mud with the Salt Eaters

20:46 Taking the Wakanda Leaf to the Ancestral plane

24:51 Who is the main character? What’s going on?

26:33 How the Salt Eaters deepened Akili’s understanding of wellness

31:52 How Akili would teach The Salt Eaters

37:30 Toni Cade Bambara’s legacy

40:02 The Character of the South in the book

45:43 Akili’s time as a rapper

48:30 30 minute freestyles

53:17 It’s not hard to be smart for 60 minutes

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60. Fascinated to Presume: Zadie Smith's Powerful Essay on Fiction

Sat, 21 Jan 2023 05:22:48 -0400

“I have closed novels and stared at their back covers for a long moment and felt known in a way I cannot honestly say I have felt known by many real-life interactions with human beings, or even by myself.” ~ Zadie Smith On this week’s episode of Real Ballers Read, we dive into one of the most thought-provoking essays by the brilliant Zadie Smith, “Fascinated to Presume: In Defense of Fiction”. Here’s a fun contribution to the conversation started by @booksarepopculture on Black bookstagram’s preference for fiction or nonfiction. What’s your go-to genre?? The bros got a whole *concept map* of all the connections we made to Zadie Smith’s essay. This was a fun conversation that somehow covered bell hooks, Toni Morrison, Captain Underpants and the new culture wars in the same episode. Tune in wherever you listen to podcasts. . . .

2:57 The Story Behind this episode

7:42 The first paragraph of “Fascinated to Presume”

9:24 Having fluid or “inconsistent” personalities

10:56 Ways we’ve felt more secure

12:26 Relating to fictional characters

13:34 To Kill A Mockingbird

16:05 Your Blues Ain’t Like Mine

19:36 Feeling seen by people vs. books

21:52 What happens to people when the news cameras leave?

23:47 The Dance of Human Interaction and its absence in reading

26:27 Trick Mirror

28:16 The Potential for Radical Change

32:44 American Dirt

38:02 Is it irresponsible to write from someone else’s point of view?

42:10 What does harm mean in a literary sense?

46:41 Trigger warnings at the start of books?

47:31 Sisters of the Yam by bell hooks

52:18 Stanley Crouch

54:16 John Howard Griffin and Black Like Me

55:45 Limits of empathy

57:38 The illusion of the self

59:30 Reading as a writer vs. as a casual reader

1:01 Consumerism as an identity

1:06 The Reader decides to believe or not

1:07 What we want from good fiction

1:14 Difference between acting and writing

1:16 Cultural Appropriation as a verbal container

1:23 Does this essay convince us to read more classics?

1:31 Hector Abad quote

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59. Poetry is Not A Luxury with Dr. Eve L. Ewing

Fri, 13 Jan 2023 22:31:27 -0400

Introducing… Dr Eve L. Ewing as the newest guest on the Real Ballers Read podcast!! We talked with Dr. Ewing about the power and problems of reading, why the way we frame education matters, and the two Audre Lorde essays that Dr. Ewing is constantly learning from: “Poetry is Not a Luxury” and “The Transformation of Silence into Language and Action.” We’ve been dreaming to host Dr. Ewing on our podcast since Day 1 because of her incredible artistry, scholarship and organizing. We look up to her as a Chicago writer (in the traditions of Gwendolyn Brooks and Sandra Cisneros) and could not be more excited to share our interview with you today. 1:37 Eve’s powerful quote from Black Futures 2:29 Eve’s journey with reading 3:21 The fugitive element of children’s inner lives 5:12 The different performances of intelligence 7:36 Black people were forbidden from reading and writing 9:24 The difference between school and education 9:55 The Crazy Story of How Frederick Douglass Learned to Read 13:44 Knowledge Systems… Western and Non-Western 18:02 Eve’s Analysis of U.S. Education in Four Frames 18:38 1. The presumption of competition 21:29 2. Compulsion 22:51 Chicago teachers COVID strike 24:48 Culturally responsive pedagogy 25:19 Eve’s visit to a school on the Yurok Reservation 28:02 One of Eve’s favorite memories teaching 29:30 Ableism and different ways of accessing knowledge 32:59 Audre Lorde’s Sister Outsider 34:07 The importance of rereading and continuous learning 35:17 Read popular quotes in CONTEXT! 36:00 The kind of writer Eve wants to be 37:22 Passage from “Poetry is Not a Luxury” 42:08 Why you should buy books! 43:51 Passage from “Transformation of Silence into Language and Action” --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/realballersread/support

58. Lessons from Michael Jordan for 2023

Fri, 06 Jan 2023 21:07:46 -0400

"Teamwork and intelligence wins championships." In this episode, we talk about Michael Jordan's 1994 book, I Can't Accept Not Trying and what we can learn from his mindset in trying to accomplish our own goals in 2023.

1:43 Story behind the book

2:44 I Can’t Accept Not Trying… what does that mean?

4:27 Why are people afraid of failure?

5:32 Difference between faith and hope

7:19 Why people listen to athletes

14:13 The teams around Michael Jordan

19:28 Fear is an illusion

20:59 Boxing

23:30 What success looks like for Jan

27:06 What success looks like for Miles

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/realballersread/support

57. Why It's Important for Black Men to Read

Fri, 30 Dec 2022 06:00:00 -0400

In this episode, we talk about why it's important for Black men to read! This is a topic we've been thinking about for a long time and want continue thinking and talking about with others. Let us know your thoughts and questions!

:32 Why is it important for Black men to read?

:49 Reading as a practice of listening

3:39 The Fear of not being heard

6:22 Why Reading has so many positive side effects

9:30 Miles’ general theory for the difference between why Black Men and Black Women read

11:23 Stereotypes of Black men talking about Black men

17:15 Topics and Issues Around Black men that must be addressed

17:15 Our relationship with ourselves

18:07 Our relationship with Black women

19:01 Our relationship with the queer community

20:17 The education system

24: 46 Our journey with Real Ballers Read

28:20 Owning who we are

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/realballersread/support

56. 2022, A Year in Review!

Fri, 23 Dec 2022 01:16:43 -0400

In this episode, Jan and Miles reflect on their year of reading! They talk about their favorite books, reflect on how reading fit into their lives and think ahead to what they are excited about reading in 2023.

1:09 Miles’ reflection on his year in reading

5:08 Year of Moving

6:33 Jan’s reflection on his year of reading

11:13 Jan’s pace of reading

12:45 Jan’s Year of Poetry and Plays in 2023

15:02 Miles Intention for 2023

17:24 The Library

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/realballersread/support

55. Watering Whole with Jan Ellis Menafee

Fri, 16 Dec 2022 20:39:24 -0400

Y'all - Jan’s first book is coming out this weekend!! It’s a Happy Birthday Pub Day for my bro!! Watering Whole is a chapbook of poems that are inspired by Jan’s personal and cultural relationship with water. Jan has studied water through the lens of Black art and history, environmental justice, technology and spirituality, and his insights all come to the surface in this incredible collection. You will come away from this book with a newfound perspective and appreciation for the all-life-giving source that is water! In this week’s podcast episode, Jan details his story with water, the challenges and lessons learned from writing, and why he’s excited about publishing the book. He also reads three of his poems!! You can order your copy of Watering Whole below starting tomorrow Saturday, December 17th. Buy Watering Whole Here

1:46 How Jan’s describes his new book Watering Whole

3:59 A Site of Trauma, a Site of Transcendence

4:59 Jan’s first real memory with water

7:10 “Blessing from the Big Blue Bay” - poetry reading

8:20 Music’s influence on Jan’s poetry

9:10 Meeting Jacqueline Woodson

10:57 Toni Morrison’s Beloved

12:08 “The Way of My Beloved”- poetry reading

14:53 Water hollows the stone

15:30 Bruce Lee

18:55 The consequence of changing our relationship to water

19:36 Objectifying water

22:14 “Our Choice”- poetry reading

24:35 “For the Mountains On My Shoulders”

25:55 The story of how the book came together

31:45 Publishing is a team sport

33:27 How you can get a copy

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/realballersread/support

54. Seeing a Sermon in Action with Daniel Cast

Fri, 09 Dec 2022 21:16:55 -0400

Because sometimes somebody can give a sermon through words that subtly, yet significantly, respects our humanity. And sometimes somebody can give a sermon without saying a word.

Our newest guest on the Real Ballers Read podcast is one of our favorite bookstagrammers and low-key authors - Daniel Cast!!

We’ve been vibing with his reflections and recommendations for more than a minute, so it was great to finally chop it up with Daniel about The Undocumented Americans by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio, why art is alive, his love of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos and more.

Daniel is dope and definitely somebody for everybody to watch out for and listen to. Check out the full run down of the episode below and tune in this weekend wherever you listen to podcasts!

And hey - who else out here is a Flamin’ Hot Cheetos fan??

0:48 A note on Daniel’s incredible captions

3:02 How Daniel found the Undocumented Americans

5:17 Everyone has a story

7:05 Black and brown bodies

8:00 How Daniel relates to the book

11:16 Seeing a sermon in action

14:15 How Daniel expresses himself through writing

16:05 What is so important about language?

18:13 Music is alive

19:51 Voodoo

22:54 Songwriters that Daniel loves

24:29 Writers that Daniel loves

28:21 Telling stories in very little words

29:53 Album transitions

31:53 How Daniel approaches his book reviews

34:56 The difference between LA people and Compton people

39:52 Daniel’s journey to being a multi-creative

42:46 Daniel’s crazy hilarious snacks story

46:10 Flamin’ Hot Cheetos’ origin story

47:43 How Daniel describes his writing

50:28 The story behind Daniel’s book

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/realballersread/support

53. Portrait of A Young Black Artist on Fire with Vera Grace Menafee

Fri, 02 Dec 2022 23:54:13 -0400

“The word art does not encompass the full meaning of the word”

For this week’s episode of Real Ballers Read, we interviewed our sister Vera Grace (they/she), who is easily the wisest, coolest, and most creative person we know!!

Vera just returned from a life-changing trip to Namibia and Southern Africa, where they deepened their study of Black agricultural practices. We had an awesome time catching up and getting to reflect on her experiences together.

It’s amazing how we can know our sister our entire lives, and still learn so much about them and from them in this episode.

She so fluently expresses their relationships to urban farming, dance, poetry and critical writing, movies, music, education, traveling, and our grandmother that she’s named after yet never got to physically meet.

Vera’s our younger sister and our biggest inspiration. We look up to her in so many ways and it was a huge honor to have them on the show. Every one of her answers left us speechless, so we’re sure you’ll love listening to this episode as much as we did.

0:56 Vera’s love of movies

1:43 Being a slow reader

2:03 The Influence of maya Angelou

3:56 Vera’s favorite movie

5:48 Vera’s favorite movie scores

7:05 The Meaning of Art

7:34 Art and Dance

9:04 When Vera Started to Love Dance

12:31 Vera’s story with writing

13:53 Being the Only Black Student in a Class

16:09 Poetry is not a luxury!

20:33 Vera’s connection to her grandmother

22:32 A ❤️ Story from a Research Presentation

24:53 Story of our Grandmother

29:21 The Origin story of Vera’s research project

35:56 Her approach to research and relationship to academia

40:42 Organizing around dreams and visions

45:38 Traveling to Africa for the first time

50:45 The Connection Between African Americans and people from South Africa

58:15 The Welcoming garden in Cape Town

1:03:57 You can’t describe African concepts in English vernacular

1:09:48 Everyone should go to Africa

1:11:18 Wakanda Forever

1:14:00 What are African-Americans like?

1:16:53 Solidarity between Africa and the Diaspora

1:21:15 Vera’s relationship with bell hooks

1:26:17 Writers who talk like they write

1:29:31 What Vera is dreaming about

1:36:26 What has been bringing Vera joy

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/realballersread/support

52. Celebrating Black Women for Who They Are with Shanita Hubbard

Sat, 26 Nov 2022 03:29:26 -0400

In this episode, we talk with Shanita Hubbard, the author of the new book Ride or Die: A Feminist Manifesto for the Well-Being of Black Women. We had an awesome time hearing from Shanita about her journey writing Ride or Die, why we must stop imposing and glorifying a Ride or Die mentality on Black women, how she's growing as a parent, her favorite hip-hop artists and more. This is an incredible book and an incredible episode! You'll love it as much as we did.

Ride or Die Book Link

Shanita's Website

0:00 Shanita Hubbard Intro!

2:21 The Black community’s response to Shanita’s book

3:55 bell hooks’ legacy

6:05 What is a Ride or Die?

12:39 Shanita’s Story with the term

15:51 What Shanita felt writing the book

22:20 The Cost of the Ride or Die mentality

27:25 Shanita’s relationship with hip-hop now

30:43 F-R-E-E F.N.F

33:34 Sexual Freedom and Patriarchy

36:58 What Shanita has learned as a parent

44:36 Praising Black women without dehumanizing them

46:46 What Restorative Justice can look on a community level

52:12 Shanita’s Top 5 (SPECIAL EDITION)

59:40 Future Top 5 entries from new rappers

1:09:41 Anti-Blackness disguised as fandom

1:13:46 The Uses of Anger for Shanita

1:17:44 Shanita’s Book Recs

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/realballersread/support

51. Dreaming Big with Anthony Ireland

Fri, 18 Nov 2022 23:44:37 -0400

Anthony Ireland is a graduate of Loyal Marymount University, he played nine years of basketball professionally in Europe, and he is the founder of the AI three Leadership Academy and host of the Grind podcast. In this episode, we talk about his love of basketball and reading and his journey with both over the years. You'll love this conversation as much as we did! :46 What Anthony has been up to recently 1:43 Anthony’s non-profit 3:07 Why Anthony Pursued Basketball in the first place 4:23 What kept Anthony in the game 5:14 What LMU was like 6:44 What he learned from being there 7:32 Anthony’s journey with reading 11:00 DREAM BIG 12:45 Transitioning from college to Pro in Europe 15:00 Favorite memory from Europe 16:03 Crazy European Fans 18:06 Being Black in Europe 19:47 Malcolm X 22:24 Being a Multifaceted Person 25:00 Starting his Basketball Academy 28:00 Anthony’s podcast 31:10 The 5 AM Club 36:00 Anthony’s Book Recommendation --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/realballersread/support

50. Retiring at 24 with Symone Speech

Fri, 11 Nov 2022 21:37:14 -0400

To celebrate our 50th episode, Real Ballers Read had a special guest on today’s podcast: Symone Speech!! Symone is the Executive Director, college advisor and NCAA specialist for @ccachicago , a volleyball coach, retired pro athlete extraordinaire, and Jan's fiancé. In this episode, we hear Symone’s incredible story from not making tryouts as a 7th grader to making it as a pro volleyballer in Italy and Germany - with a super successful D1 college career at Georgetown University in between. Along the way of her athletic career, self-help and fantasy books helped her navigate many challenges and triumphs. The main one that we discuss in this episode is Stillness Is The Key by Ryan Holiday, which helped her define her values and commit to serving others in her post-pro athlete life. This is a really fun family episode so make sure to check it out asap!! Everywhere you listen to podcasts and on YT.

:30 Symone’s Intro

1:33 Books that Symone grew up on

2:30 Symone’s first time playing volleyball

4:00 Symone’s recruiting process

6:31 Committing to Georgetown

9:00 Playing professional volleyball overseas

13:00 One of Symone’s biggest challenges

15:51 Where Symone feels she is in her growth journey

16:58 Shameless self-promotion

17:55 What Happens when you gift books…

19:03 Subtly Not Giving A F*K

21:34 Balance

24:25 Retiring from the game

26:00 💍

27:35 What’s sticking from Stillness is the Key

30:00 Symone’s advice for high performance

32:39 American volleyball

34:00 Slam ball 🤝 Volleyball

35:20 Coaching Volleyball

37:39 Being Black playing volleyball

39:45 Transitioning into Work-Life

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/realballersread/support

49. We Real Cool: Breaking Down bell hooks' Book on Black Masculinity

Fri, 04 Nov 2022 18:31:05 -0400

What a joy this episode was to record! bell hooks is one of our favorite authors and there is still so much we have to learn from her work. In this episode, we talk about one of our favorite books of hers, We Real Cool. We discuss what our favorite chapters are, whether or not we agree with her analysis and so many different aspects of masculinity and Black masculinity in particular. Share this episode with someone you think would appreciate it! Leave a review while you're here too!

Real Ballers Read Instagram

0:51 Our podcast with Blacks With Books

2:30 How we stumbled upon We Real Cool

5:13 The Gwendolyn Brooks Poem the Book is Named After

6:43 The main problem facing Black men

8:18 bell hooks’ quote from the preface

10:40 What stood out to Jan most about the book

11:00 Thinking About School and Childhood

14:01 White Patriarchy

16:45 Plantation Patriarchy

18:04 The NFL

19:30 The neuroscience of absolute power

20:49 From Angry Boys to Angry Men

23:10 When Black Boys are quiet and obedient

25:12 How to use anger as a positive

26:30 Sex in Today’s World

28:16 We are born sensual

30:35 You are not alone

32:38 Which male problem is the root of all of them

34:02 What happens when your emotional needs aren’t met…

36:17 Masculinity and earning potential

38:12 Women’s influence on men today

40:33 How We Real Cool Makes Us Better Men

42:54 Being Warm

44:38 Debates about what a man is

46:55 bell hooks’ legacy

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/realballersread/support

48. Part 3. Keeping It Real with Reggie Bailey

Fri, 28 Oct 2022 18:38:30 -0400

In this final Part 3 episode, Jan and Miles keep talking with Reggie Bailey— the man behind @reggiereads and one of the hosts of the awesome podcast, Books Are Pop Culture! The party don't stop...

2:32 You can’t get to the next level by being agreeable

4:34 How does Reggie measure his growth

7:39 Practicing the community you preach

10:34 Talking with Imani Perry

13:18 How to contact and talk with authors’

14:41 👀

19:17 Miles’ questions about the future of the book industry

21:47 Jan’s big questions that he’s pondering

24:47 The media’s selectivity

31:27 The disturbing truth about banned books

38:18 Reggie has his Fat Joe moment

Reggie's Instagram

Books Are Pop Culture Instagram

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/realballersread/support

47. Part 2. Keeping It Real with Reggie Bailey

Fri, 21 Oct 2022 23:19:46 -0400

In this Part 2 episode, Jan and Miles keep talking with Reggie Bailey— the man behind @reggiereads and one of the hosts of the awesome podcast, Books Are Pop Culture! We talk about whether or not books should have trigger warnings, Reggie’s 10 Books 10 Decades challenge, and his story of how Books Are Pop Culture started. This is another episode full of gems and energy from Reggie so we know you’ll love it.

Reggie's Instagram

Books Are Pop Culture Instagram

1:10 Trigger warnings quote

2:10 Reggie’s take on trigger warnings

6:05 Movie and TV Ratings

7:10 The new Marilyn Monroe movie

8:50 Should books have a rating system?

13:10 When Black Trauma Feels Unnecessary or Performative

14:45 Has a book ever triggered Reggie?

17:08 The Bluest Eye

19:15 The Risk in Reducing the Bluest Eye

20:25 Other books Deborah Appleman has written

21:05 Giving kids the freedom to read what they want

22:45 Trigger warnings in the Syllabi

25:05 Why Publishers Maybe Haven’t Done a Rating System

32:39 White Authors Writing About Black People

36:17 How Reggie Started the 10 Books 10 Decades Challenge

37:57 Reading Books Only By Women

43:12 Reggie’s Second Challenge—Two Books Under 50 Reviews

47:47 The Most Rewarding Thing for Reggie doing 10 B 10 D

49:06 Curating Your Own Cannon

52:29 People still be passing in 2022?

54:56 How Books Are Pop Culture Started

1:03:17 Why Reggie and Akili Do What they do

1:08:36 Creating the Culture

1:12:28 What Reggie Would Write About

1:18:53 Reggie’s test for writing success

1:20 Reggie on Kanye

1:22:22 If World Peace Ever Happens…

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/realballersread/support

46. Keeping It Real with Reggie Bailey

Fri, 14 Oct 2022 19:26:37 -0400

In this episode, Jan and Miles talk with Reggie Bailey— the man behind @reggiereads and one of the hosts of the awesome podcast, Books Are Pop Culture! We talk about Reggie’s epic story of how he got into reading and our thoughts about Deborah Appleman’s new book, Literature and the New Culture Wars. We kept it real for three + hours so this is just the first part of our convo! Stay tuned for Part 2….

2:04 How Reggie got into reading

10:17 How Reggie built his own Black canon

14:38 How Reggie Left the Mob

16:07 Challenge Me, Don’t Coddle Me

21:00 Where Reggie’s Draws the Line with Censoring Books

23:20 Are you complicit? 28:04 Why People Can’t Hold Opposing Ideas

31:17 What Reggie Appreciates in Non-Fiction Books

36:52 How Literary Beef Plays Out On Social Media

39:29 How to Actually Cancel Something…

45:04 The Brian Stevenson Paradox

Reggie's Instagram

Books Are Pop Culture Instagram

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/realballersread/support

45. You Owe You: Ignite Your Power, Your Purpose and Your Why

Sat, 08 Oct 2022 01:40:48 -0400

In this episode, Miles interviews Jan about Eric Thomas' new book, You Owe You. We have been fans of ET's message for some time and this book did not disappoint. It brought all of the energy and focus of his speeches in an even more personal package.

0:41 Background on Eric Thomas

2:08 What surprised Jan most about You Owe You

3:38 Eric Thomas’ Childhood story

5:30 How Jan clarified his purpose from reading this book

8:49 What Jan owes himself

10:04 Jan’s daily non-negotiables

11:34 The Journey to Understanding What You Need

15:40 Having an Abundance Mindset with Time and Energy

17:47 The difference between presence and avoidance

19:22 What reading brings you

20:24 We Avoid Things that Have the Most Potential to Change Us

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/realballersread/support

44. Native Son: Masculinity, Emotions, and Being Misunderstood

Fri, 30 Sep 2022 23:06:06 -0400

In this episode, Miles and Jan talk about a book that Miles read recently: Native Son by Richard Wright. It's a crazy and complex book that has an even more important legacy. We talk about why the book had such a big impact, what’s relatable and realistic about Bigger Thomas, dive into what it really means to understand other people's emotions and our own. CW: In discussing Native Son, we talk about the novel’s depictions of sexual violence. 3:04 Books that Native Son influenced 6:00 Non-Fiction Writers who are great novelists 6:45 Richard Wright's writing about Africa 7:00 Talk about Native Son’s Impact Culturally 9:45 The Difference Between Bigger Thomas and Richard Wright 11:45 Why was Native Son written? 13:10 What did you take away from the book? 16:00 Comparing Native Son and Get Out 19:14 What it means to be understood 21:20 What being self-conscious even means 24:20 The link between masculinity and violence 29:50 James Baldwin’s Here Be Dragons: Freaks and the Ideal of American Manhood 33:15 “Emotions are bigger than people” 36:30 Good writers are masters of emotion 38:37 Does Miles recommend Native Son? 42:00 Fight Club author’s take on internal dialogue 45:30 Miles thinks of stupid literary experiment haha --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/realballersread/support

43. Relationships Aren't Everything...

Tue, 20 Sep 2022 20:15:34 -0400

They are the ONLY thing. In this podcast episode, we talk about all of the places we've been in the past couple of years, and how our relationships to each other and our friends and family have changed during that time. 0:50 What We’re Looking Forward to In Chicago 3:31 What DC Means to Jan 5:04 The difference between people and place 5:30 Miles talks about New York City 11:00 How City Stereotypes Affect How You Live there 13:00 Miles talks about teaching in New York City 16:00 All the places we’ve been in the last two years 22.52 What the podcast has meant to us 27:00 The importance of thinking long term 30:20 Jan talking about Wendell Berry’s “Marriage and Poetry” 36:28 How Miles changed how he thought about relationships 39:00 Detaching Self-worth from your income 40:20 Not worrying about other’s validation 41:40 Kobe Bryant’s view of friendships 43:53 Can you care about somebody without spending time with them? 49:20 Starting a relationship podcast? 50:00 The Possible Consequences of Talking Intimately about relationships --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/realballersread/support

42. Why Real Ballers Read

Sat, 10 Sep 2022 00:38:19 -0400

In this episode, we talk about why Real Ballers Read, the origin of the phrase, why reading is important to us, how our relationship to reading has changed over time and how you can start to strengthen your own reading habits. This episode has been years in the making! We know you'll love it. Subscribe to our podcast and leave a review!

1:31 The Story of When Our Mom First Said Real Ballers Read

4:49 How Our Dad Helped Us Love Reading through Basketball

8:14 The Origins of Real Ballers Read

11:15 The importance of the Self-Help book phase

15:40 Favorite Self help books

18:20 The Whiteness of Self-Help Books

20:00 Miles’ favorite self help book

22:02 Black Self Help Authors

22:20 How Stories of Personal Growth Inspire Potential

24:37 How Our Relationship to reading has changed in the last two years

30:26 How Our Definition of a Ballers Has Changed

32:23 Reading Now vs Reading 80 years ago

34:23 The Joy of Talking to Other People About Books

37:08 What makes reading seem pretentious?

46:26 How School Ruins Reading

48:57 How Meditation Compares to Reading

50:45 Mindfulness Industry vs. The Book Publishing Industry

52: 39 The Personal and Societal Consequences of Reading

57:00 How to Build Your Reading Habits

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/realballersread/support

41. 5 Lessons From Our First Year of Podcasting

Tue, 30 Aug 2022 21:11:37 -0400

We're back to reflect on all of the ways we've grown from this last year of the Real Ballers Read Podcast. We're excited to embark on this new chapter of the podcast with you all! Subscribe to our podcast and leave a review!

Real Ballers Read Website

Real Ballers Read Instagram

0:40 What We’ve Been up to

6:49 The original purpose of the podcast

10:35 Lesson One- Go First

14:04 How We’ve Changed Through the Podcast

17:40 Lesson Two-Follow up

20:17 Our Favorite Email Chronicles

25:00 Lesson Three- Attention is the greatest gift that you can give to yourself and others

26:06 The impact of technology on how we give and receive attention

36:18 Lesson Four- Ask genuine questions

41:04 Lesson Five- Share Your Story

44:00 Is it possible to overshare your story?

49:00 Everyone needs a podcast

53:00 What Miles Is Looking Forward To

55:40 What Jan is Excited For

56:55 What Jan Has Been Reading

58:35 What Miles Has Been Reading

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/realballersread/support

40. Reaching for Cosmic Glory with Glory Edim

Tue, 28 Jun 2022 16:00:39 -0400

Glory Edim has spent a lifetime gathering and uplifting the stories of Black women.

As a little girl in Arlington Virginia, Glory could be found at her local library reading The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison.

As a college student at Howard University, Glory could be found at Founders Library reading Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston.

As the visionary founder of Well-Read Black Girl, Glory can be found in the pages of her book On Girlhood: 15 Stories from the Well-Read Black Girl Library.

On Girlhood is a beautifully curated anthology of short stories that explore the thin line between Black girlhood and womanhood.

In this episode, we trace the intersections among Glory's experiences and the stories featured in her book, hear how the narratives of Black girls and women help Glory navigate life, and learn from her what it means to believe in your best self.

On Girlhood on Bookshop.org

Well Read Black Girl Website

Well Read Black Girl Instagram

Real Ballers Read Website

Real Ballers Read Instagram

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/realballersread/support

39. Things I Heard My Professor Say with Dr. Curtis Odom and Eli Boulous

Mon, 06 Jun 2022 15:53:09 -0400

On the first day of Dr. Curtis L. Odom’s capstone business class at Northeastern, Dr. Odom tells his students that anything he says twice they should write down.

Eli Boulous, a Senior student in the class one fall, heard this message and then proceeded to take copious notes of everything important Dr. Odom said. He meticulously organized these notes into quotations and by theme, and then gifted these notes to Dr. Odom at the end of the semester, with the title “Odom’s Playbook.”

Dr. Odom was so honored and humbled by the impact his words had on Eli and thought it was one of the best gifts he had ever received. Two years later, Dr. Odom reached out to Eli on LinkedIn asking if he wanted to adapt the playbook into a book, leading to it being published with them both as co-authors in 2021. And now in 2022, they joined us on the podcast right before they release their second book. Dr. Odom is truly a fountain of wisdom and both Dr. Odom and Eli are incredible speakers and storytellers.

The transition from studying to adulting is difficult to say the least.

Luckily, Dr. Curtis Odom and Eli Boulous have co-authored the perfect pair of books for those entering the working world in search of relevant, hard-earned wisdom: Things I Heard My Professor Say and Things I Heard Myself Say.

Listen in to hear their incredible stories and insights on creating your personal definition of success.

Things I Heard My Professor Say on Bookshop.org

Real Ballers Read Website

Real Ballers Read Instagram

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/realballersread/support

38. The Power of Betting On Yourself with Cree Myles

Sun, 29 May 2022 03:59:44 -0400

Cree Myles doesn't believe in book blurbs. After years of reading the newest releases around the clock, she's no longer fooled by any overly positive message on a book jacket. But when the author Jason Reynolds took the time to tweet about Noviolet Bulawayo's new book, Glory, she knew his praise was genuine and decided to read the book for herself⏤and now, Glory is her favorite book of 2022. In this episode, we discuss the novel's deft and humorous use of satire to illuminate recent Zimbabwean history and dive into Cree's journey into becoming a book influencer and inaugural editor and curator of the Penguin Random House initiative All Ways Black. Cree's story is an important reminder in the power of betting on yourself and we really enjoyed our conversation with her. We talk about everything from blue whales to political organizing, trap music, and Audre Lorde's essay "The Uses of the Erotic." You'll love this one!

Cree's Instagram

All Ways Black Instagram

Real Ballers Read Website

Real Ballers Read Instagram

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/realballersread/support

37. The World is a Better Place Because of This Book with Brittany Anderson

Sat, 21 May 2022 16:09:03 -0400

Sometimes its okay to believe the hype.

Brittany Anderson had heard so much about The Final Revival of Opal and New by Dawnie Walton that she figured it was worth picking up a copy.

Little did she know that through this book, she would enter a world of surprises, secrets and betrayal, where a fictional story felt so real that Brittany learned a lot about herself and society.

We were blown away by The Final Revival as well after reading it in preparation for this interview, so we made sure to geek out with Brittany about all of our favorite details and moments from the book.

Check this episode out to learn what made a fictional character so relatable to Brittany, how strange the line between fact and fiction can really get, and why culturally responsive educators are critical in today's world.

Brittany's Instagram

Real Ballers Read Website

Real Ballers Read Instagram

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/realballersread/support

36. Rooted In Love with Halim A. Flowers

Sat, 14 May 2022 16:23:55 -0400

Halim A. Flowers is inspiring a love revolution.

He's a prolific artist, activist, and entrepreneur who’s on another level. And for 22 years and 2 months, Halim spent his life in prison, labeled by society as an unredeemable “Superpredator”.

It was during this time that Halim went from reading everything he could get his hands on, to publishing 11 books of prose and poetry from behind bars. But what no one could predict was how Halim’s words would manifest into a life of freedom, faith, and internationally acclaimed creativity today.

Although we had planned to talk about Halim’s favorite book - Marking Time by Nicole Fleetwood - we hit it off so quickly that we ended up just having an incredible conversation about everything that’s on Halim’s mind these days.

In this episode, Halim raps with us about the importance of reading right now, the keys to creating wealth, how he bridges old and new culture through art, and how he thinks about time.

Halim dropped so many gems in this interview, we know you’ll love it.

Halim A. Flower's Instagram

Real Ballers Read Website

Real Ballers Read Instagram

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/realballersread/support

35. The Art of Pursuing Permanence with Hanif Abdurraqib

Sat, 07 May 2022 11:57:38 -0400

Hanif Abdurraqib was just a twelve-year-old in the 90's when he picked up Your Blues Ain't Like Mine by Bebe Moore Campbell for the first time; he was probably too young to be reading the book and certainly too young to understand all of what captivated him so much about the book. But Hanif kept coming back to Your Blues Ain't Like Mine every couple of years, and it slowly shifted his own understandings of language, sympathy, and death—all the way up to and during this conversation in 2022. In this episode, we talk about the incredible gift that Your Blues Ain't Like Mine by Bebe Moore Campbell is, as well as the performance of literature, the value of platonic friendships, the meaning of justice, and the unbelievable timing of Lebron's 2016 NBA Finals Game 7 chase-down block. Hanif is an amazing person to just hear speak and riff on any of his many curiosities so we know you'll love this episode.

Hanif Abdurraqib's website

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34. Why Our Ancestors Want Us To Know Who They Are with Dr. Gina Paige

Sat, 30 Apr 2022 16:00:15 -0400

In a casual conversation with a friend in 2010, Dr. Gina Paige was introduced to a book with a bold title and an interesting premise—Brainwashed by Tom Burrell. In the book, Burrell takes the framework of advertising and marketing campaigns to explain the hundreds of years-long process of brainwashing Black people into believing their own inferiority. While she was already aware of this connection between Black people and racist advertising because of the research she did in graduate school, Gina found this premise enlightening and helpful in thinking about why her company, African Ancestry, did such important work for the Black community. Using cutting-edge genetic science, African Ancestry is able to reconnect African-Americans to their African heritage down to the specific people and place with just a sample of their DNA. In this episode, we talk about the significance of knowing who your ancestors are, the power of mitochondrial DNA, and the multi-faceted relationship between Black people and science.

African Ancestry's Website

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33. When the Old Children's Book Becomes the New Favorite with Hawa Jalloh

Sun, 17 Apr 2022 18:49:29 -0400

You know a book is a real classic when you can love reading it as a child, then love it even more while rereading it as an adult.

Librarian and bookstagrammer Hawa Jalloh from @hawareads proved that to us by sharing her story with Mildred D. Taylor's Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry.

Hawa first picked this one up because she saw herself in the main character on the book cover. But that recognition only deepened as she enjoyed Taylor's vivid storytelling of Black girlhood and childhood in the early 1900s.

What became clear to Hawa when she reread Roll of Thunder as an adult is just how honest and relevant this book is for current times.

After reading Roll of Thunder for the first time for this episode, we couldn't agree more. Together with Hawa, we combined our opinions on the book to start a larger conversation about what it means to grow up Black in America today.

How have things changed in the last 100 years?

How have things stayed the same?

How can we support Black children as they navigate racism in school and life?

Why is reading still important in a world of Netflix and TikTok?

What is Hawa's biggest guilty pleasure?

These are just a few of the questions that we discuss in this fun interview with Hawa!

Hawa's Bookstagram

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32. The Forrest Gump of Black Radical Politics with Zach Kirk

Sun, 03 Apr 2022 23:35:43 -0400

Double-Agent. Chessmaster. Trickster. Genius. Snitch. Louis E. Tackwood was the "Forrest Gump of Black Radical Politics" and there's no record of his life after 1975. But a careful eye can still find Tackwood in the footnotes of history—as Zach Kirk, a Bay-Area activist, did last year. After frequently seeing Tackwood as a reference in books he was reading, Zach decided to investigate this mysterious figure and discovered one of the most bizarre, interesting, and unknown stories in California history. In this episode, Zach details the amoral activities of Louis Tackwood and explains how his understandings of history, politics, and organizing have changed since learning of this story. Listen to answer for yourself whether Tackwood was the lion of history he thought he was or just a strange pawn for the government.

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31. Being Young, Gifted and Black in the Culinary World with Brandon Butts

Mon, 28 Mar 2022 02:49:59 -0400

In 2011, Brandon decided to take his life-long love and talent for cooking to the next level by getting his first job in the restaurant industry. The reality of the industry was not as sunny as Brandon expected though. After years of packed, no-weekend work schedules and being on the receiving end of an intense amount of pressure and scrutiny, Brandon chose to exit the food business and enjoy his cooking skills outside of the workplace. In the summer of 2021, Brandon stumbled upon a book that finally could speak to his experience in the restaurant industry, Notes From a Young Black Chef by Kwame Onwuachi. In the book, Kwame takes the reader through the extreme highs and lows of a career in food and all the obstacles that come with being Black in the industry. In this episode, we talk about the overlap between Brandon and Kwame's stories as well as theatre and some of Brandon's funniest memories with food. This is a must-listen for any foodies out there!

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30. The Power of Curiosity with Dr. Shana L. Redmond

Wed, 09 Mar 2022 18:07:13 -0400

Dr. Shana L. Redmond is a professor of the first order. She's an interdisciplinary scholar of race, music, culture, and power and has published award-winning books. But most importantly, she is as committed to learning as her students. And in the fall of 2021, she decided to teach a book she had just read—A Little Devil In America: Notes in Praise of Black Performance by Hanif Abdurraqib. Where others would see a risk in teaching a new book, Dr. Redmond saw an opportunity to explore the Blues Epistemology through Hanif's intimate yet expansive peeks into Black culture. Listen to this episode to hear the gems of knowledge and wisdom that Dr. Redmond talked about in her class as well as her explanation for the importance of being an interdisciplinary scholar and the story of why she's always followed her curiosity. This was an amazing conversation that we know you'll love as much as we did.

Dr. Shana L. Redmond's Website

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29. Why Black Books Matter with Ramunda and Derrick Young

Thu, 24 Feb 2022 20:37:58 -0400

It's the 90's—Ramunda was at Langston University in Oklahoma and Derrick was 1,300 miles away at Bowie State University in Prince George's County, Maryland. While separated by geography, Ramunda and Derrick underwent similar transformations when they were introduced to Assata Shakur's autobiography and Huey Newton's autobiography, Revolutionary Suicide. Assata and Revolutionary Suicide, respectively, for Ramunda and Derrick, helped build their lifetime commitment to Black people and Black books. Their bookstore, MahoganyBooks, was founded in 2007 to meet the literary needs of readers nationwide in search of books written for, by, or about people of the African Diaspora. Ten years later, they opened their now world-famous physical location in Washington D.C. In this episode, we talk about the importance of Black history and dive into some of the formative moments of Black people's relationship to literacy here in America. We even cover how owning a bookstore is like being a cultural anthropologist and some current trends in publishing. This is the perfect companion podcast for last week's episode with Freddie Taylor and another wonderful way to celebrate Black History Month. We know you'll love this episode.

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28. Why Black History Matters with Freddie Taylor

Tue, 22 Feb 2022 21:31:51 -0400

Over twenty years ago while attending graduate school, Freddie Taylor came across a book that would change the direction of his life. The book was The Miseducation of the Negro by Carter G. Woodson and it's a book he has read countless times since. Taylor then began a transformative deep dive into Black history that led to him founding Urban Intellectuals, a company committed to informing Black people of their history and culture. In 2017, Urban Intellectuals first released its flagship Black History Flashcards and has sold over 300,000 flashcards since. In this podcast, we wonder how this book, written in 1933, could still be so relevant now, and talk about the critical importance of teaching Black history to our children. Freddie is a one-of-a-kind guest who brought some amazing energy to the show! We know you'll love this one. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/realballersread/support

27. How Earthquakes and Sunrise Missions Gave Birth to the New Black Man with Dr. Mark Anthony Neal

Wed, 26 Jan 2022 21:04:28 -0400

In December of 1984, a young Mark Anthony Neal read a book that jumpstarted his political and cultural awakening, Earthquakes and Sunrise Missions by Haki Madhubuti. The book's honest discussion of Black culture and the relationships between Black men and Black women laid a foundation for inquiries that have guided his journey since. In response to a variety of different questions from us, Dr. Neal slowly unveils the constellation of people, music, and events that shaped him into the writer, scholar, man, husband, and father he is today. We talk about the evolving image of Black masculinity, his most amazing concert experiences, and what he predicts for the future of Black music as a music historian. Dr. Neal is a walking library and record store and will probably put you on to a writer or musician you've never heard of before, so this is not an episode to miss!

Dr. Mark Anthony Neal's Twitter

Dr. Mark Anthony Neal's Website

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26. Why Afrominimalism Is the Wake Up Call I Needed with Kat Trinidad

Tue, 11 Jan 2022 19:41:27 -0400

In this episode, we talk with Kat from @booksenvogue about The Afrominimalist's Guide to Living with Less by Christine Platt. Kat stumbled upon this book listening to a podcast actually (as you will by listening to this show🤯) and she was surprised by the depth of the book and all of the personal revelations it brought about. We talk about everything she appreciated and learned from Afrominimalism as well as her award-winning and amazingly creative Instagram page and all the art she gets inspiration from. We were so grateful to connect and talk with Kat and we know you'll love this conversation too!

Kat's Instagram

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25. Part 2: How to Have Impossible Conversations with Travis Green

Mon, 15 Nov 2021 16:56:12 -0400

In this two-part episode, we brought back Travis Green from @letustalkbooks to talk about an unexpected combo of books: How to Have Impossible Conversations by Peter Boghossian & James Lindsay and God Is Not Great by Christopher Hitchens. Travis is a Senior Instructor at the U.S. Army’s Military Advisor Training Academy, a world-traveler, and an atheist who loves collecting Bibles. He’s a genuinely curious and compassionate person who knows how impactful difficult conversations can be. This conversation was anything but difficult for us though, as we laugh and question our way through talking about religion, foreign policy, and the intersection of these two books.

Travis's Instagram

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24. How to Have Impossible Conversations with Travis Green

Mon, 15 Nov 2021 16:49:53 -0400

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23. Why Our Stories Must Be Told with George M. Johnson

Fri, 29 Oct 2021 20:00:00 -0400

George M. Johnson is an award-winning Black Non-Binary writer, author, and activist with boundless creativity. They are also our first guest that chose their own books to talk about—and we are so glad they did. This is a really special episode for us because we were able to be in conversation with George and Sol Kelly, our friend who came on the podcast to talk about George's book All Boys Aren't Blue!

We dive deep in this episode too. George talks about the power of vulnerability, freedom, the meaning of activism, and what progress looks like for the Black community. And even with all these topics, we share a lot of laughs. You'll love this one.

George's Instagram

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22. Why The Address Book Is One of My Top Three Books of All Time with Cayla Sparkman

Mon, 11 Oct 2021 21:00:00 -0400

In this episode, we talk with Cayla a.k.a. the @bookitqueen about all the interesting facts and stories from The Address Book by Deidre Mask. We were surprised by all of the political and social implications of street addresses and numbers and loved how we got to know the world a little bit better with this book. We discuss the effects of GPS on memory, funny street names(A** Crack Lane), early 2000's nostalgia and even the Quaker Oats guy controversy. This conversation shows how curiosity builds in unexpected ways!

Cayla's Instagram

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21. When Talking to Strangers Actually Goes Well with Travis Green

Thu, 23 Sep 2021 19:00:00 -0400

In this episode, we talk to Travis Green (@letustalkbooks on IG) about Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell. Although we had many hesitations and critiques of this book, Travis showed us how important it is, and has been, in his work training soldiers to actually talk to strangers everywhere around the world. Travis uses the cautionary tales of the book to improve his own and students' open-mindedness and adaptability. However, this conversation among strangers is anything but a cautionary tale, as we share a deep conversation with Travis about his experiences and growth over time, and how books have literally saved his life.

Travis's Instagram

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Talking to Strangers on Bookshop

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20. Why Hurdy-Gurdy Was Love at First Listen with Jacqueline Woodson

Wed, 15 Sep 2021 22:00:00 -0400

In this episode, we talk with the brilliant Jacqueline Woodson about Hurdy-Gurdy by Tim Seibles. When she first heard the poems from the book at one of Seibles' readings in 1992, Jacqueline felt like she was being invited to a party for the first time. She felt like she could finally understand poetry and she's enjoyed the book now for almost thirty years. We read some of our favorite poems from Hurdy-Gurdy, talk about what it means to paint with words, the importance of place in poetry, and Jacqueline even recites passages of her own work from memory (Yes, she's that cool). Hearing the power of Jacqueline's language will really make you want to go read one(or all) of her books.

Jacqueline Woodson's Website

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19. How Between the World and Me Helps Me Empower the Next Generation with Demetrius Frazier

Sat, 11 Sep 2021 11:00:00 -0400

In this episode, we talk to Demetrius Frazier from Black Men Read about Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates. Demetrius loves this book, not only for its impact on him, but also because it seemed like the perfect book for him to share with Black men who don't like to read. Since the shock of an early encounter, Demetrius has been on a journey of lessons learned, deepening passion for Black literacy, and service to Black communities around the U.S. He shares with us what it's like to be a Black father, what it takes to spark more students to become readers, and how every person served is really a family served.

Between the World and Me on Bookshop

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18. Why We Changed Our Minds About The Nickel Boys with Dr. Terrence Johnson

Sat, 04 Sep 2021 21:00:00 -0400

In this episode, we talk to Dr. Terrence Johnson about The Nickel Boys, a novel by Colson Whitehead. Dr. Johnson wanted to take a break from reading non-fiction to read The Nickel Boys and the book ended up causing some unexpected revelations about being a Black parent, how to teach children in school, and our personal relation to historical figures. Our conversation with Dr. Johnson is a powerful example of how dialogue can radically alter first impressions of a book.

Dr. Johnson's new book We Testify With Our Lives

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17. Why I'm Telling the Truth, but I'm Lying Inspired Me to Improve My Mental Health with Tre' Mason

Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:00:00 -0400

On this episode, we're talking about I'm Telling the Truth, but I'm Lying, Essays by Bassey Ikpi, with Tre' Mason (@tre.thelitcritic on IG). Tre' shares her path with getting more serious about her mental health and how the book has informed and inspired her along the way. We talk about the limitations of self-help, why it's important to find a therapist who looks like you, and when it's okay to lie. Be real: would YOU tell someone, to their face, that their food was bad?? Listen to hear our answers and more!

I'm Telling the Truth, but I'm Lying on Bookshop.org

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16. Part 2: How Malcom X Inspired Me to Join the Struggle for Dignity and Liberation with Dr. Lewis Gordon

Tue, 31 Aug 2021 17:00:00 -0400

On this episode, we discuss The Autobiography of Malcolm X (as told to Alex Haley) with Dr. Lewis Gordon. Dr. Gordon is a philosopher at the University of Connecticut, who has a wonderful ability to tell stories and describe the meaning of this book for his life. We already loved The Autobiography of Malcolm X, but Lewis brought us to a wholly new and deep appreciation for it. This conversation includes Lewis's stories of teachers who believed in him and ones who didn't, how to turn everything into a learning opportunity, and why everyone needs a community in order to shine. If you haven't read The Autobiography of Malcolm X yet, you'll definitely want to after listening to this episode!

The Autobiography of Malcolm X on Bookshop.org

More Information on Dr. Lewis Gordon

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15. How Malcom X Inspired Me to Join the Struggle for Dignity and Liberation with Dr. Lewis Gordon

Tue, 31 Aug 2021 16:00:00 -0400

The Autobiography of Malcolm X on Bookshop.org

More Information on Dr. Lewis Gordon

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14. How Praise Song For The Butterflies Renewed My Love of Reading with Alexis Milton

Tue, 24 Aug 2021 18:00:00 -0400

On this episode, we're talking about Praise Song For the Butterflies by Bernice L. McFadden with Alexis Milton. We talk about Alexis' Unsung Literature and History project and a whole bunch of other underrated books that you have to check out. Alexis really helped us appreciate Praise Song for the Butterflies in a new light and you'll definitely want to read the book if you haven't!

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13. Why Everyone Should Read Tallulah the Tooth Fairy CEO with Sarah Kamya

Thu, 19 Aug 2021 22:00:00 -0400

On this episode, we’re talking about Tallulah the Tooth Fairy CEO by Dr. Tamara Pizzoli with Sarah Kamya from Diverstories.

Sarah is such an awesome educator and leader and we were so excited to talk with her. We talk about what she's learned from being an elementary school counselor, why she thinks adults need to be reading children's books more often, and how conversations about race and diversity have changed. We know you'll love the episode!

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12. Why Othello Reminds Me That We've Always Been Here with Traci Thomas

Fri, 13 Aug 2021 04:00:00 -0400

On this episode, we’re talking about the play Othello by William Shakespeare with Traci Thomas, the host of (our favorite book podcast) The Stacks.

We’re really excited to share this conversation with you because we had a lot of fun talking to Traci. We discuss why Othello is more relevant than ever, how it represents race and gender, as well as debate over our problematic favorite movies and hear Traci’s book recommendations. We shared a lot of laughs in this conversation and hope you enjoy it!

Othello on Bookshop.org

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11. How Heavy Changed the Way I Understand Black Life with Dr. Charles HF Davis

Tue, 10 Aug 2021 06:33:14 -0400

On this episode, we discuss Heavy by Kiese Laymon with Dr. Charles HF Davis. For Dr. Davis, Heavy is the book that changed how he understands the complexities of Black life.

HF is an educator and creative committed to the lives, love, and liberation of everyday Black people. He is currently an assistant professor in the Center for the Study of Higher and Postsecondary Education at the University of Michigan, where his research and teaching broadly focus on issues of race, racism, and resistance in education and society.

Dr. Charles HF Davis's website

From the back of the book: In Heavy, Laymon writes eloquently and honestly about growing up a hard-headed black son to a complicated and brilliant black mother in Jackson, Mississippi. From his early experiences of sexual violence, to his suspension from college, to his trek to New York as a young college professor, Laymon charts his complex relationship with his mother, grandmother, anorexia, obesity, sex, writing, and ultimately gambling. By attempting to name secrets and lies he and his mother spent a lifetime avoiding, Laymon asks himself, his mother, his nation, and us to confront the terrifying possibility that few in this nation actually know how to responsibly love, and even fewer want to live under the weight of actually becoming free.

Heavy on Bookshop.org

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10. Why I Love the Characters from Under the Feet of Jesus with Dr. Paula Moya

Tue, 29 Jun 2021 19:30:29 -0400

In this episode, we discuss Under the Feet of Jesus by Helena María Viramontes with Dr. Paula Moya. We cover everything from the importance of rereading to the myth of La Llorona and the meaning of womanhood and environmental racism in the book.

Dr. Moya is a Professor of the Humanities at Stanford University and her teaching and research focus on twentieth-century and early twenty-first-century literary studies, feminist theory, critical theory, narrative theory, American cultural studies, interdisciplinary approaches to race and ethnicity, and Chicano/a and U.S. Latina/o studies.

Check out Dr. Paula Moya's Website here!

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9. How All Boys Aren't Blue Explained My Blended Energies with Sol Kelly

Mon, 28 Jun 2021 04:18:56 -0400

In this episode, we talk about All Boys Aren't Blue: A Memoir-Manifesto by George M. Johnson with Sol (@thesolreader on IG). For her, this is "The Book That Explained and Examined My Blended Energies". We discuss the importance of names and pronouns, how to navigate life with depression and perfectionism, inclusive learning and education, growing up as Black and queer, and more.

All Boys Aren't Blue on Bookshop.org

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8. How The Midnight Library Made Me More Confident with Paakow Essandoh

Mon, 28 Jun 2021 01:38:06 -0400

In this episode, we talk about The Midnight Library by Matt Haig, with Paakow Essandoh, CEO of MIZIZI, The Official Lifestyle Brand for the Diaspora. For Paakow, The Midnight Library is "The Book That Made Me More Confident In My Decisions". Learn how in this fun conversation where we cover leadership, Rick and Morty and the meaning of life, and the Black Diaspora.

The Midnight Library on Bookshop.org

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7. Why The Big Leap Is Always With Me with Dereca Blackmon

Sun, 27 Jun 2021 23:29:02 -0400

In this episode, we’re talking about The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks, which for our guest Dereca Blackmon, is "The Book That Is Always With Me". The Big leap is about eliminating the barriers to success by overcoming false fears and beliefs, and this is central to our conversation with Dereca, as well as finding your true genius and healing the disease of racism.

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The Big Leap on Bookshop.org

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6. Part 2: Why I Haven't Stopped Thinking About The Color Purple for 18 YEARS with Dr. Jakeya Caruthers

Sun, 23 May 2021 00:19:01 -0400

In this episode we talk about The Color Purple by Alice Walker with our guest, Dr. Jakeya Caruthers. Jakeya is an Assistant Professor of African & African American Studies and Women’s and Gender Studies at Berea College. She is a scholar of black political humor; cultural coherence and memory within contemporary black aesthetic movements; and issues of race, gender, sexuality, and (resistance to) state discipline.

For her, The Color Purple is "the book that I haven’t stopped thinking about for 18 years". That’s a big blank and it turned into a big 2 part conversation. In the second half, we continue the conversation and bring in themes of God, fractals, healing your inner child, settler and extractive colonialism, human relationships with their ecosystems and more.

We loved this conversation and hope you enjoy it too!

Jakeya's Bio

The Color Purple on Bookshop.org

Stanford Lecture featuring Quill Christie-Peters

Critical Aunty Studies

Evelyn Hammond's Black (W)holes

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5. Why I Haven't Stopped Thinking About The Color Purple for 18 YEARS with Dr. Jakeya Caruthers

Sun, 23 May 2021 00:10:33 -0400

For her, The Color Purple is "the book that I haven’t stopped thinking about for 18 years". That’s a big blank and it turned into a big 2 part conversation. In the first half we talk about love, localism, the fluidity of gender and sexuality, misogynoir, the failures of patriarchy, and more.

We loved this conversation and hope you enjoy it to!

Jakeya's Bio

The Color Purple on Bookshop.org

Stanford Lecture featuring Quill Christie-Peters

Critical Aunty Studies

Evelyn Hammond's Black (W)holes

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4. Why Tram 83 Changed My Mind About Jazz with Dr. Ato Quayson

Wed, 07 Apr 2021 04:13:04 -0400

In this episode, we’re talking about Tram 83 by Fiston Mwanza Mujila, which is a post-colonial critique that centers around two friends reunited in an unnamed city-state in Africa. For Dr Ato Quayson, Tram 83 is the book that changed my mind about jazz and political allegory.

Now, Ato is dope. He’s currently an English professor at Stanford University, whose academic work lives at the intersection of postcolonial literature, disability studies, urban studies, and diaspora studies.

Our conversation with him also covered a lot of ground from fashion to jazz, neo-colonialism, extractive capitalism, the resourcefulness and resilience of women, writing a new story of Africa and wondering, who is African, as well as Zoom dance parties.

We had a lot of fun in this conversation and hope that you enjoy it too!

Tram 83 on Bookshop.org

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3. What The Other Wes Moore Reveals About Systemic Racism with Felicia A. Smith

Sun, 28 Mar 2021 16:51:32 -0400

In this episode of The Book that (Reminds Me of Interpenetrating Dimensions and Psychospiritual Integration) we talk about The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore and Felicia A. Smith does an incredible breakdown of all of the layers of systemic racism present in the book. We also cover how much personal responsibility should factor into analysis of systemic racism, what freedom is and more!

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2. How Motherless Daughters Defined My Life with Nina Collins

Sun, 28 Mar 2021 06:28:42 -0400

In this episode we talk about Motherless Daughters by Hope Edelman, aging, how to think about death, our views on religion, and why our best traits can sometimes be our worst.

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1. Why Sassafrass, Cypress and Indigo Makes Me Feel Seen and Heard with Forrest Evans

Mon, 15 Mar 2021 00:00:00 -0400

In this episode, we talk about Sassafrass, Cypress and Indigo by Ntozake Shange in all of its richness and nuance with Forrest Your Favorite Librarian.

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Discover a world of literature featuring Black stories at MahoganyBooks.com! Enhance your reading experience with a diverse collection of culturally enriching books. By using our affiliate link, you can support Black-owned businesses and promote representation in literature. Visit MahoganyBooks.com today and save 10% on your first purchase!

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