A Moment with Erik Fleming

Erik Fleming delivers a solo episode responding to the Supreme Court's recent decision that weakens protections under the Voting Rights Act, using the Louisiana case as a springboard to explain historical roots, gerrymandering, and the broader threat to Black political representation. He mixes legal context, personal reflection, and a call to action—urging listeners to stay engaged, support indepe...

Erik Fleming hosts three interviews: Dr. Adam Barsouk on practical cancer prevention from his book Outsmarting Cancer; Lorissa Rinehart on Jeanette Rankin and her pacifist biography Winning the Earthquake; and Dr. Sherice Janaye Nelson on Visibly Invisible, examining Black women’s legislative power in the Congressional Black Caucus. The episode opens with a news roundup and host appeals to support...

Host Erik Fleming interviews Dr. Ellen Bassuk, her son Daniel Schoonover, and author Susanne Antonetta about two powerful books exploring mental health, care systems, and psychiatry's troubled history. Between Two Worlds recounts a mother and son's struggle for compassionate treatment and recovery, while The Devil's Castle traces Nazi-era eugenics and its echoes in modern psychiatry. The episode b...

Host Erik Fleming sits down with political analyst Chuck Todd and Birmingham advisor Ed Fields for candid conversations about American politics, civic leadership, and the evolving New South. They discuss media independence, electoral dynamics, grassroots engagement, and the documentary "As Goes the South," highlighting how local action and storytelling shape national change.

Host Erik Fleming interviews historian Carla Kaplan about her new biography Troublemaker, exploring Jessica Mitford’s sharp humor, anti‑fascist activism, and impact on consumer rights and social justice. Also featured is Cody Nagle of Civil Survival, who shares her lived experience with addiction and incarceration and her legal work to remove barriers to employment, housing, and record relief for...

Host Erik Fleming welcomes guests Leatrice De Bruhl and W. Ralph Eubanks to discuss grief, healing, and the Mississippi Delta's history and literature. Leatrice shares her personal journey of loss and her Grace to Grieve movement, while Eubanks unpacks his new book exploring the Delta's social and cultural legacy. The episode blends personal testimony with historical insight, offering listeners in...

Host Erik Fleming interviews printmaker Robynn Smith about Print Day in May, a worldwide community printmaking event, and paleontologist Gerta Keller about her book The Last Extinction, which emphasizes massive Deccan volcanism and its lessons for modern climate risk. The episode also features a Moment of News, calls to support independent podcasting (patreon.com/amomentwitherikfleming, momenterik...

Erik Fleming hosts three powerful conversations with Kate Powell (grassroots advocacy and "menacing" elected officials), Gloria J. Browne-Marshall (A Protest History of the United States), and Dr. Ashleigh Brown-Grier (internationalization and support for HBCUs). They discuss protest strategies, voting access, protecting civil rights, and strengthening HBCUs, offering practical takeaways and calls...

Host Erik Fleming guides conversations on current events and politics: Kaivan Shroff on Democratic strategy and the Iran conflict, Louise Story and Ebony Reed on the Black–white wealth gap (15 Cents on the Dollar), and Elizabeth "Libby" Jamison on veterans and military family advocacy. The episode combines news highlights, deep reporting, and personal stories about elections, economic inequality,...

Host Erik Fleming interviews historian and filmmaker Gregory S. Cooke about his documentary Invisible Warriors, which tells the story of 600,000 African-American women who worked in factories and government during World War II, and Dedrick Asante-Muhammad of the Joint Center, who discusses racial economic equity and current policy challenges. The episode explores wartime gains, ongoing struggles f...

Host Erik Fleming interviews historian Dr. Calvin Schermerhorn about his book The Plunder of Black America, tracing how slavery, Jim Crow laws and 20th-century public policies combined to create and sustain the racial wealth gap through individual family stories and economic analysis. The episode also features reflections on the late Reverend Jesse Jackson Sr., and a discussion of remedies — inclu...

Host Erik Fleming speaks with Dr. Decoteau Irby and Dr. Ann Ishimaru about their decade-spanning book "Doing the Work of Equity Leadership for Justice and Systems," exploring how equity leaders build change, the challenges they face amid political backlash, and practical strategies for sustaining justice in schools. Later, Dr. Karlos K. Hill joins to mark 100 years of Black History Month, explaini...

Host Erik Fleming sits down with award-winning author Kelly Cervantes and nurse-researcher Dr. Monica McLemore for a powerful episode on grief, motherhood, and fighting for health equity. Cervantes shares her memoir The Luckiest and the work of remembering after loss; Dr. McLemore discusses reproductive justice, rising U.S. maternal mortality, and urgent policy changes to protect families and comm...

In this episode Erik Fleming celebrates his 61st birthday and leads a powerful conversation covering local and national news, protests, and justice. He interviews Kaylee Jade Peterson, a progressive candidate running for Congress in rural Idaho, about restoring trust in government, public lands, and economic challenges for working-class families. David Eliot, an AI researcher and author, discusses...

Erik Fleming hosts a wide-ranging episode featuring Fox contributor Leslie Marshall, Bloomberg journalist Charlie Wells, and scholar Dr. Vincent Adejumo. Conversations cover protests and arrests in Minnesota, the state of the Trump administration, millennial identity and politics, and the rise of Black nationalism and reparations. Guests share personal stories, political analysis, and practical pr...

Host Erik Fleming speaks with three guests about urgent national and local issues: Nekima Levy Armstrong on police and ICE violence and community-led demands following Renee Good’s killing in Minnesota; Dr. Kem-Laurin Lubin on ethical AI, the risks of computational bias, and design heuristics to protect human dignity; and Mishael White on his campaign for Georgia’s District 81, focusing on transpo...

Host Erik Fleming opens the year by urging listeners to subscribe and support the podcast, then leads three in-depth interviews. Naomi Raquel Enright discusses her book Strength of Soul and the role of language and identity in confronting systemic racism. Dr. Eboni Preston Goddard explains her work with the National Parks Conservation Association to preserve and elevate Black history within nation...

Host Erik Fleming interviews Dr. Marlee Bunch about preserving Black female educators' oral histories from Mississippi, the Unhush framework, lifelong learning, and ethical uses of AI in classrooms. He also speaks with Dr. Patrice Fenton about the Ella Baker Institute’s youth leadership programs, community well‑being, and efforts to increase teacher diversity—especially Black men in schools. The e...

Host Erik Fleming speaks with Dr. Laura Chavez-Moreno about her book "How Schools Make Race," exploring how education shapes Latinx racial identities, bilingual programs, and racial projects. He also interviews political strategist Jacquetta Van Zandt on Boston politics, community power, and strategies for advancing Black leadership and Democratic prospects. The episode highlights how schools cons...

Host Erik Fleming interviews Cheryl Ann Wadlington, founder of Evoluer House, about her two-decade fight to heal and prepare Black and brown teen girls for college and life — and Kristen Torres, a Mississippi-born public policy strategist who explains how nonprofits and local governments can navigate Congress and federal agencies. The episode mixes uplifting success stories, policy insights on adv...

Host Erik Fleming welcomes return guests Bremond MacDougall and Lisa Cooper, who run Quite Literally Books, and a community leader driving change in Arkansas. The episode features lively discussion about three newly republished books — a women-only utopia by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, a witty Civil War-era satire by María Amparo Ruiz de Burton, and a charming 1892 guide to intimate dinners — plus i...

Host Erik Fleming welcomes listeners and interviews two experts: Rajiv Vinnakota on rebuilding civic culture in colleges and engaging Gen Z, and Howard Yaruss explaining clear, practical economics. The episode explores constructive campus dialogue, the college presidents initiative for civic preparedness, how young people want to engage in person, and accessible explanations of tariffs, crypto, na...

Host Erik Fleming speaks with Lorena Quiroz about organizing after the 2019 mass worksite raids in Mississippi and efforts to prepare and protect immigrant communities, and with Anne Hand about reclaiming family history and pursuing Austrian citizenship through a restorative program. The episode explores themes of belonging, due process, humane immigration policy, intergenerational history, and th...

Host Erik Fleming discusses revival and purpose with Michael Bedenbaugh on constitutional reform and civic renewal, and Representative Pamelya Herndon on New Mexico’s universal childcare, gun safety, mental health in schools, and community justice initiatives.

Host Erik Fleming speaks with Dr. Wylin D. Wilson and Dr. Terri Givens about ethics, womanist bioethics, the role of the Black church in community care, and the politics of radical empathy. The episode covers Hurricane Melissa relief, recent election outcomes, and how education, empathy, and faith shape civic life and public health.