Tavis Smiley

Professor and Director of the Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity at Duke University, William “Sandy” Darity is back with his take on the impact of the Big Ugly Tax Bill and other Trump policies on the growing wealth inequality. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/tavis-smiley--6286410/support .

Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. from the Cherokee Nation is back with an update on their slavery task force and the impact of the Job Corps shutdown, which is paused for now. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/tavis-smiley--6286410/support .

Peter Beinart, Editor-at-Large for Jewish Currents and CUNY journalist professor, goes inside his new book “Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza: A Reckoning” and shares his thoughts about why MAGA allies are turning on Trump. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/tavis-smiley--6286410/support .

Grammy-nominated singer, songwriter, pianist, and actress Sheléa is back to preview her tribute to her mentor, Quincy Jones, at Disney Hall in Los Angeles this weekend as part of The Inner City Youth Orchestra’s Season Finale Concert. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/tavis-smiley--6286410/support .

Claire Babineaux-Fontenot, CEO of Feeding America and one of TIME Magazine’s Women of the Year (2025), breaks down the real-life hunger games that too many Americans are forced to play, as they face “the largest cut to SNAP in history.” Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/tavis-smiley--6286410/support .

Maurice “Moe” Mitchell, national director of the Working Families Party, explains why “fusion voting” is the way forward for progressives who want to win. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/tavis-smiley--6286410/support .

Founder and director of Civil Rights Corps, Alec Karakatsanis is back to take us inside of his new book "Copaganda: How Police and the Media Manipulate Our News," as he explains the power and impact of the police narrative on our policies and culture. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/tavis-smiley--6286410/support .

Shanelle Matthews, former communications director for the Movement for Black Lives, and immigrant rights organizer Marzena Zukowska, share their new book “Liberation Stories: Building Narrative Power for 21st-Century Social Movements.” Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/tavis-smiley--6286410/support .

Nationally syndicated columnist for The Creators Syndicate, Ruben Navarette, discusses the latest developments in the Texas flood response fallout and how this administration stopped making sense, as we slouch toward fascism. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/tavis-smiley--6286410/support .

Professor of African American studies, award-winning talk show host and Founding Director of The Karson Institute for Race, Peace & Social Justice at Loyola University Maryland, Dr. Kaye Wise Whitehead talks about the upcoming in-person-only summer school Democracy Defenders - Summer Seminar and Summit, and other political topics. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/po...

Speech, the two-time Grammy Award-winning founder of the iconic hip-hop collective Arrested Development, talks about their new album Adult Contemporary Hip Hop and why we need “life music” now more than ever. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/tavis-smiley--6286410/support .

Roeshana Moore-Evans, founder and principal strategist of Equity Empowerment, takes us inside her former role as the inaugural Executive Director of the Harvard Legacy of Slavery Initiative. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/tavis-smiley--6286410/support .

Sean Wynn, former president of the Harvard Black Law Students Association, lays out the controversy surrounding the Ivy League institution’s slavery project. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/tavis-smiley--6286410/support .

Michael Trotter Jr. and Tanya Trotter, the husband-and-wife duo known as the Black country band The War and Treaty, share their latest single “Feels Like Home,” their upcoming tour dates, and what it’s like to open for The Rolling Stones.  Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/tavis-smiley--6286410/support .

Black marine biologist Candace Fields helps us celebrate SHARKFEST on the National Geographic channel with two special programs, “Investigation Shark Attack” and “JAWS @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story.” Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/tavis-smiley--6286410/support .

Laurence Rees, award-winning historian and documentary filmmaker, tells us why his iconic series “The Nazis: A Warning from History” is getting a fresh run on the BBC, and what it can still teach us about the possible and dangerous road ahead. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/tavis-smiley--6286410/support .

Erica Smiley, executive director of Jobs With Justice, updates us on the struggle to build power for working people and address issues of inequality and poverty. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/tavis-smiley--6286410/support .

Mary Sheffield, president of the Detroit City Council, shares why she’s the leading candidate in the Democratic primary for the next mayor of Motown. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/tavis-smiley--6286410/support .

Pennsylvania State Democratic Rep. Chris Rabb is back to announce his run for Congress in the “Fresh Prince’s district,” and how he plans to win as a progressive without the Democratic establishment. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/tavis-smiley--6286410/support .

Dr. Edda L. Fields-Black, Carnegie Mellon University professor, is back to tell us what it’s like to win a 2025 Pulitzer Prize in History for her best-selling book “COMBEE: Harriet Tubman, the Combahee River Raid, and Black Freedom during the Civil War.” Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/tavis-smiley--6286410/support .

Calvin Duncan and Sophie Cull, co-authors of “The Jailhouse Lawyer,” tell us the inspiring story of how Duncan freed himself from prison for a murder he didn’t commit by following advice from a prison elder and becoming his own attorney. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/tavis-smiley--6286410/support .

Karen Elliot House, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and former publisher of the Wall Street Journal, talks about the "modern monarch" of Saudi Arabia and her new book “The Man Who Would Be King: Mohammed bin Salman and the Transformation of Saudi Arabia.” Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/tavis-smiley--6286410/support .

Algernon Austin, Director of Race and Economic Justice at The Center for Economic and Policy Research, is back with his take on the injustices in President Trump’s ugly little tax bill. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/tavis-smiley--6286410/support .

NAACP Image Award-nominated author Elise Bryant talks about her new mystery “The Game is Afoot” and explains why it’s the perfect summer read. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/tavis-smiley--6286410/support .

Award-winning actor Taye Diggs talks about his career and being back on Broadway for the first time in ten years, starring in the new “Moulin Rouge! The Musical.” Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/tavis-smiley--6286410/support .